I pulled up the last of my tomato plants about 10 days ago. I saved all the tomatoes that looked like they would ripen. Here’s how you know which ones will ripen.
Tomatoes that will eventually ripen have a white star on the bottom. This one’s star has turned into stripes up the sides of the tomato. Even if the star is quite small, you have a chance of harvesting one more delicious home grown tomato.
This one has started to turn yellow. If your tomatoes are yellow, they will almost certainly ripen for you.
This one is very nearly ripe. If you look closely, you can still see the star pattern radiating out from the blossom end of the tomato.
This tomato is perfectly ripe. It is a Cherokee Purple and they usually have the green lines like this and the tops are greenish too.
Other tips:
- Never, ever, ever put your tomatoes in the fridge. Refrigeration kills the enzymes that produce that delicious tomato flavor.
- Always store in one layer on a baking tray or platter.
- Since they ripen from the bottom, I store them upside down.
When it is clear that the tomatoes are going to ripen, I move them to the kitchen and put them on the plates in my pie server.
I picked all of these tomatoes when they were still green on the vines. We have used quite a few already from the same last harvest before pulling up the vines.
Hope this information is helpful!
Cathy At Home on the River 
Tasty tomatoes long after the vines are dead
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These tomatoes are so good. It would have been such a shame to let them go to waste.
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