Recipe 1: Kingfish with Green Tomato and Asian Celery Salad

Watch Red Spice Road Executive Chef John McLeay prepare a delicious, zingy salad of cured Kingfish, Green Tomato and Asian Celery. Part 1 of the Red Spice Ro…
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Question by Bridge: Should I pick my tomato’s today because the low in Michigan may go down to the high 40’s?
I have mostly green tomatoes left around 50 or so, do you think I should pick them and put them in a brown paper bag today or should I leave them. The high today was 68 and the next few days are in the mid to low 70’s, also when should the lowest temp be before I do pick them. Thank you and I do love my tomato’s.

Best answer:

Answer by cutmemick75
Tomatoes should be firm and fully colored. They are of highest quality when they ripen on healthy vines and daily summer temperatures average about 75°F. When temperatures are high (air temperature of 90°F or more), the softening process is accelerated and color development is retarded, reducing quality. For this reason, during hot summer weather, pick your tomatoes every day or two, harvest the fruits when color has started to develop and ripen them further indoors (at 70 to 75°F). On the day before a killing freeze is expected, harvest all green mature fruit that is desired for later use in the fall. Wrap the tomatoes individually in paper and store at 60 to 65°F. They continue to ripen slowly over the next several weeks. Whole plants may be uprooted and hung in sheltered locations, where fruit continues to ripen.

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7 Comments

  1. I had it a few weeks ago but with Cobia instead of the kingfish, bloody amazing.

  2. shaky table

  3. I’ve had this at Red Spice Road and it has amazing flavour. The green tomatoes are an interesting twist!

  4. Yum

  5. No need to pick your tomatoes unless the forecast is for low 30s. High 40s is nothing to worry about.

  6. Hi, I live in the Buffalo, New York area we are getting this little cold snap also. You don’t have to pick the tomatoes untill the temperature goes down to 40. The cold snap is happening here just for a few days then the nights will be in the 50’s for a week or so.

  7. zip out to the farm and buy up several bales of straw…. surround your plants with the bales and then throw blankets over them to protect from frosts…open them to the sun each morning……. I kept plants growing thru Thanksgiving this way…. and had fresh red ripe tomatoes on the table for that dinner!!… and you’ll have the bales for decorations for Halloween and Thanksbegiving…. and as mulch for the garden after that!!!

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