Tomatoes are among the most beloved plants in the home vegetable garden -- the bright, fleshy fruits have an unmistakeable flavor distinct from their commercially produced cousins. Gardeners dedicate a lot of time to producing these beautiful fruits, so when small flies appear in the garden, they rarely go unnoticed. While fruit flies are more annoying than destructive, other small flies can wreck a tomato stand.
Fruit flies
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Many kinds of fruit flies (Drosophila spp.) wander through the garden. These tiny yellow or brown flies, about 1/10 inch long, search for overripe fruit where the skin has split. These flies are attracted to the fermentation in these fruits and deposit their eggs inside. Larvae hatch within a few days and feed on the souring contents. Damage to fruit is minimal, since fruit flies prefer fruits that gardeners consider unusable, but they can spread disease from plant to plant.
Management
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If their food source is removed, fruit flies will leave your garden and seek food elsewhere. Carefully check plants for ripe tomatoes daily, harvesting those that are ready or nearly so. Fruit flies will continue to hang around if there is a food source nearby, even if it isn't your tomatoes. Lid garbage containers, clean up soda cans that might be lying on the ground and keep overripened fruit of every kind out of the area.
Spotted Wing Drosophila
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Spotted wing drosophila (Drosophila suzukii) is a 1/8-inch-long, brown fruit fly with huge red eyes. They are easy to identify by the black spot on the upper edge near the back of their clear wings. Unlike other fruit flies, the spotted wing drosophila attacks ripening fruits, penetrating the skin to lay their eggs. Growing larvae eat their way through the fruit, making affected tomatoes unmarketable and providing many entrance points for fungal and bacterial pathogens. Often, damage goes undetected until harvest, when a high percentage of fruits have to be destroyed.
Management
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Because spotted wing drosophila is such a serious pest of tomatoes and other fruits, chemical control is always warranted. As tomatoes begin to ripen, spray the plants and fruits thoroughly with spinosad, reapplying every seven to 10 days until all fruits have been removed. Keep fallen fruit cleaned up to eliminate spotted wing drosophila larvae. Broad-spectrum insecticides may also be effective, but they destroy other helpful insects in the garden and are discouraged.
Leafminers
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Leafminers (Liriomyza sativa, L. trifolii and L. huidobrensis) spend much of their lives as small worms that tunnel through the leaves of many garden plants, eventually maturing into small black and yellow flies. Leafminer damage appears as meandering yellow lines on leaves, expanding to white blotches when populations are high. Leaves often drop prematurely, allowing fruits to sunburn and eventually killing affected plants. Adults are often seen in the garden, where they lay their eggs on the leaves of tomatoes and other plants.
Management
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Leafminer outbreaks are often precipitated by heavy usage of wide-spectrum pesticides. Parasitic wasps are the most effective control method available for leafminers, but these generalized pesticides decimate their populations. Minor infestations can be cut out of the affected tomato plant, but be sure to burn the debris so the larvae don't crawl out and reinfest your tomatoes. Apply spinosad to the ground around damaged tomato plants to kill leafminers when they drop out of the leaves to pupate.
Every fall, as we near the end of canning season, my house seems to fill itself with fruit flies. Yes, it is entirely my own fault because I always leave the apples, and the onions, and the potatoes, and the pears, and everything else out on the counter or the table so that we can grab and snack on them whenever we choose. However, it is still a problem when the flies arrive.
Many years ago, my wonderful mommy showed me the simplest trick to getting rid of them naturally. It takes 2 minutes to put together and next thing you know, your flies are all trapped in a jar.
Since I know you all struggle with fruit flies every once in awhile too, I wanted to share my little secret with all of you. Relief from the fruit flies is just a piece of paper, a jar, and a secret recipe away.
- You will need a jar, a piece of paper, a piece of tape, fruit, and bread. Any jar will work. A regular sheet of paper and whatever tape you can find will suffice. A piece of fruit that is a little on the riper side, or even got a few bad spots already is ideal. And a soft, fragrant piece of yeasty bread is the best.
- Roll your paper into a funnel shape so that the top part is as wide as you can make it. The bottom opening only needs to be about as big as your thumb. Tape it in place.
- Put your piece or two of fruit in the jar, and squish it down a little so some juice covers the bottom. The more fragrant the better! Then toss a chunk of bread on top. The bread is your secret weapon. The smell of the fruit will draw them in and the yeast will hook them, they love it! Just don’t fill your jar too full or the flies will crawl right out.
- Top your jar with your paper funnel. Make sure the funnel is not sitting on the bread. Then place it near your worst fruit fly problem. That last picture is after only 5 minutes on my counter. They go down the funnel to the delicious fruit fly food and can’t figure out how to get back out.
- A short while later, when the jar is filled with flies, carefully take it outside and set the buggers loose. Hold the funnel in place until you are away from the house and your door is closed. Repeat as many times as you need. For me, that means I have a fruit fly trap on my counter for a few weeks, but it sure does work great!
No pesticides, no spraying, just a natural way to remove the fruit flies from your house.
Hope this helps you as much as it helps me!
~Farmer’s Wife
I always get a little garden envy during the summer months.
While I have the best memories of hand-picking sweet, fresh tomatoes and jarring them with my parents and brothers when I was growing up, the past few years have been… well, different.
More recently, I have lived in a variety of city apartments throughout Pittsburgh, Boston, and Philly, always with a severe lack of outdoor space to start my own personal garden.
I live vicariously through my parents’ garden back in Western Pennsylvania. And I call home often to receive the latest updates about the rapidly ripening plants.
My mom and dad have completely torn out our old childhood swing set to create their own backyard oasis of garden goodies, including a vine-laden jungle of tomato plants.
Needless to say, they always have plenty of Romas, grapes, and cherries ripe for picking.
I’m sure many of you have a similar situation at home, with a bountiful harvest! When you’re not making your next batch of red sauce or giving away extras to friends and family, how do you store that continually growing supply of all the other ones you want to keep?
And if you’re like me, living in the city and relying on local farmers markets or CSAs for your fresh tomato needs, what are you supposed to do with them after you get home with your tote bags full of fresh finds?
No matter if you’re a city slicker or a devoted garden steward, keep reading below for our go-to guide to storing your next crop of delicious tomatoes!
How to Choose the Best One
If you need more guidance for picking the right tomato, Foodal already has plenty of information on how to select the best tomatoes – ripe, plump, and juicy!
Washing & Cleaning
To extend the freshness of these fruit/vegetables (depending on who you ask), we recommend that you wait to wash and clean them until you are ready to eat.
They should not be washed before storage, since extra moisture will accelerate the growth of mold. And mold is not what you want to find when you’re cutting into them for your next bruschetta recipe!
When you are ready to prepare them, just rinse under the sink and rub with a towel to remove excess dirt.
Room Temperature Storage
Plain and simple, we recommend storing tomatoes at room temperature in a single layer, uncovered, and away from direct sunlight.
Storing them in a single layer is essential to help them last longer. Try to avoid stacking on top of one another.
I have been guilty of plopping all of my fresh produce in just one bowl after rushing home from the market, and end up forgetting altogether to store them properly afterwards.
The consequences of this kind of forgetfulness aren’t pretty.
If they are packed together, airflow is severely limited. Tomatoes are incredibly delicate, especially when ripe.
This not only crushes your precious produce, but will also accelerate ripening and the onset of mold. And it will attract fruit flies. Yuck.
Your countertop is the perfect place for storing them at room temperature. The openness gives these round beauties the right amount of air exposure. And all those heirloom varieties will look gorgeous on display!
A platter of colorful tomatoes versus a bouquet of fresh flowers? It’s close competition.
When Refrigeration Is Necessary
While room temperature tomatoes are the best to develop the most vibrant flavors, you can refrigerate them.
We recommend refrigeration for the following reasons:
If they are very ripe, but you are not ready to use them immediately, it is best to refrigerate to preserve and extend their life expectancy.
If you decide to cut them ahead of time, it is imperative that you store them in the refrigerator until ready to serve and eat.
According to ServSafe Coursebook, the textbook created by the National Restaurant Association for food safety and sanitation, certain food items like a freshly cut tomato are identified as TCS foods.
TCS means “time/temperature control for safety.” The time and temperature at which these foods are held need to be carefully monitored. They are particularly susceptible to unsafe contamination, and attract potentially harmful pathogens more rapidly than other food items.
TCS foods also include items like sliced melons, fresh proteins (such as poultry, meat, fish, and tofu), eggs, dairy products, sprouts, and heat-treated plant foods like rice, beans, and other vegetables.
Here is the basic rule: you should not leave TCS foods out for more than 4 hours at room temperature. Refrigerate them properly (below 41°F) to maintain safe storage.
Store freshly cut tomatoes in an airtight plastic container or zip-top bag in the refrigerator. It is best to use them as soon as possible, within 2-3 days.
Just remember, refrigeration is necessary whenever you cut into a fresh tomato!
Freezing Your Haul
If you are a freezer fanatic, this is a very easy and low-maintenance vegetable to freeze.
While you can simply freeze whole tomatoes to be used later on, you can also add a few extra steps of preparation before freezing.
The culinary prep method called concassée, from the French concasser or “to crush or grind” is basically a rough chop that can be applied to a variety of vegetables, most often seeded and skinned toms.
It’s ideal for preparing larger, juicier varieties like plums and beefsteaks for freezer storage. They will be ready at a moment’s notice to add to your recipes once thawed.
Concassée tomato preparation follows three main steps: peel, seed, and dice.
This method isn’t just limited to freezer storage – it’s a simple technique that can also be applied to any recipes where you do not want the texture of the skins or the extra juice from the seeds.
Store the tomatoes in zip-top freezer storage bags, being sure to push out all that extra air to create the best seal and long-lasting storage.
To save as much room as possible in your freezer, spread the tomatoes out in the bag to form one thin layer. Once frozen, you have a thin sheet that can easily be stacked with other frozen items.
And don’t forget to date the bag!
Labeling with the item’s name and the date it was made will keep your freezer well organized, and your busy mind relieved! Use the FIFO (first in, first out) method as well, storing older items on top and in the front of your freezer, so these will be used up first.
This product can be stored in the freezer for up to 6 months.
To safely thaw the tomato concassée, the best method is to slowly thaw in the refrigerator overnight. Because the fruit is already cut into smaller chunks, this shouldn’t take more than 8-12 hours.
The night before you plan to make your recipe, simply place the frozen bag in a large bowl (to collect condensation) and place it immediately in your refrigerator.
The Recipe
Cooking By the Numbers…
Step 1 – Boil & Cut
Before you start, put a large pot of water on to boil. The size of course depends on how large your batch is, but you want the water to be about twice the volume of your produce.
Not only do you want all of the tomatoes to be completely submerged, you want to boil enough water that adding them doesn’t reduce the temperature significantly.
Prepare a large bowl of ice water as well. Again, you want the volume of ice water to be about double that of your tomatoes.
Now you are ready to prep those tomaters: cut a shallow x-shaped slit in the bottom of each one.
Step 2 – Blanch
Gently place the tomatoes into your pot of boiling water. Using a slotted spoon for this task will make it easy to transfer them in and out of the boiling water without running the risk of splashing on yourself.
Make sure all of the fruit is completely submerged, and let it sit for about 30 seconds.
Step 3 – Chill
Using that same slotted spoon, take the tomatoes out of the boiling water and drop them straight into your bowl of ice water. Again, be careful so as not to burn yourself! That water is hot!
Chilling the tomatoes will stop the cooking abruptly, which helps them to maintain their vibrant red hue, and keeps them from dissolving into a mushy mess.
Let those toms rest in the ice bath for 5-10 minutes, to bring the quick cooking that they received to a complete stop.
Step 4 – Core
Using a paring knife, cut out the cores. This is usually pretty shallow, so be careful not to take too much of the flesh with it!
Step 5 – Peel
Now use your paring knife to peel the skin from the fruit. It will come off really easily, thanks to your x technique!
Start with the edges where you initially sliced and pull downwards. The skin should slide right off.
Step 6 – Halve & Squeeze
Slice each fruit in half and squeeze the seeds into a separate bowl.
Don’t let the tasty insides go to waste – there are countless ways you can harness their flavor. Toss the juice and seeds into a batch of homemade sauce, a fresh juice base for spicy bloody marys, a bowl of vegetable stock, or even a healthy V8-style tomato juice!
If all else fails, this also makes an excellent addition to your compost!
Step 7 – Chop
Now just chop, slice, or dice the flesh into whatever shape suits your cooking needs, and it is ready to store!
You just mastered the concassée technique!
Now what? Go ahead and prep your tomatoes for the freezer, or use them now in Foodal’s recipe for pico de gallo!
No matter where you get your plums or beefsteaks, from your own backyard or from the market, and no matter how you’re preparing them, whether for pico de gallo or a Nicoise salad, proper storage is necessary to maintain the perfectly ripe essence of each tomato!
Do you have any tricks of the trade for successful tomato storage? We would love to know! Share your comments below!
Photos by Nikki Cervone, © Ask the Experts, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. See our TOS for more details. Uncredited photos: Shutterstock. Additional writing and editing by Kendall Vanderslice and Allison Sidhu.