Instructions: Colombo writes: "

1. You can pull the vines, hang them upside down in the garage or basement and, when the fruit is ripe, pick it from the vine. The temperature should be 55 to 65 degrees. One problem: Youll have to clean up the dirt and tomato-vine debris later.

"

2. Pick the tomatoes and refrigerate the ripe ones. The pinks can be ripened in a ripening bowl (a large plastic-covered bowl with holes drilled in the top). The cover traps the natural ethylene gas and speeds up the ripening process. The air holes allow air and moisture circulation.

"

3. For long-term storage, wrap each tomato in newspaper, then place them, no more than two or three layers deep, in open crates or baskets. Store in a cool, dark place."

"Another storage method is to set the tomatoes on a rack without touching. Cover with a cloth or newspaper. The temperature should be between 55 and 60 degrees and the air a little humid, not damp.

"If you need ripe tomatoes, place those that have turned pink in a ripening bowl or in an area with a temperature between 65 and 70 degrees.

"No matter what method of storage you use, check daily for ripened fruit and store them in the refrigerator."

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