Is there a way to save tomatoes, green on the vine, from a freeze?

http://www.newstimes.com/news/article/A-freeze-is-coming-how-can-I-save-my-tomatoes-84743.php

Have you given any thought to fried green tomatoes? Egg wash and panko dredge before frying. SO very good!!!

See if you don't find this helpful to ripen your green 'maters: http://www.ext.colostate.edu/ptlk/1831.html

Green tomatoes can be pickled several ways: http://www.simplycanning.com/pickled-green-tomatoes.html

http://www.food.com/recipe/spicy-green-tomato-pickles-334410

http://www.food.com/recipe/dilled-green-tomatoes-43721

You can make a tasty hot dog relish, mixed pickle or chutney: http://www.food.com/recipe/green-tomato-relish-hot-dog-relish-70538

http://www.food.com/recipe/green-tomato-chutney-11234

http://www.food.com/recipe/pennsylvania-dutch-mustard-pickles-256993

http://www.food.com/recipe/chow-chow-aka-green-termater-relish-86385

You can can them plain for frying later: http://www.food.com/recipe/canned-green-tomatoes-92294

You can make salsa: http://www.food.com/recipe/green-un-ripe-tomato-salsa-for-canning-393491

Make jam: http://www.food.com/recipe/raspberry-green-tomato-jam-89430

You can make bread for freezing: http://www.food.com/recipe/green-tomato-bread-53325

Make pie: http://greek.food.com/recipe/green-tomato-pie-55892

For eating right away: http://www.food.com/recipe/green-tomato-casserole-186562

Brenda, I do not know what state you are in, I am in SD and went through this same thing a few years back. Since we love to eat our tomatoes sliced and on burgers and not in salsa and I had already canned all that I had wanted, I decided to try and bring them in off the vines and allow them to ripen OFF the vines and see what would happen! We have a tornado room in our basement which is like a cellar you can set aside vegetables as well. It's extra cold in there. I placed the tomatoes in single layers on straw making sure I ONLY HAD THE ONES WHICH WERE UN-BLEMISHED, in single layers in tubs, in the dark room. I turned them every day and they SLOWLY began to ripen. I only lost about 4 out of the 60-70 we had harvested and they ripened just like they had been on the vine!

Put them on a window sill in low light and wait. Eat when ripe.

We pick them and wrap them individually in a newspaper and set them on a table, not touching, to slowly ripen. Put in a cool room and check often for over-ripening.

I pick them. Wash them. Wrap individually in newspaper. Place them in a box. Place the box in a cool dark place. Check them periodically.

I have a friend that picks her tomatoes green and puts them in a brown paper bag and they are delicious .

At the end of the season I picked the tomatoes that were still green. I wrapped them in newspaper and

put them in the basement. Best tomatoes ever !

Brenda, are you asking for solutions about what to do with your bumper crop of tomatoes? If so, I dried mine in the oven. You can use a dehydrater also. Scoop out the insides & keep for other stuff. Then I squished 5 to 7 cloves of garlic & placed them all in a jar. I added ¼-½cup of grape seed oil, making sure to cover the garlic & rise an inch above the garlic cloves. Then I added all my dried tomatoes. In another batch, I added amethyst basil to the mixture too. Use the tomatoes where you would like a powerful punch of tomatoe flavor.

It took a while for my phone to load the question. I see it now: My reply will not help you keep green tomatoes, but it will after they are ripe :-)

Try suspending the tomato vines upside down by the roots in garage or place protected from freezing. The green tomatoes will still ripen.

I have a friend who takes hay or straw and covers her tomato plants from top to bottom with thick layer of it. We have pulled ripe tomatoes for dinner by pulling back hay and then putting hay back in place in December thru February !! I live in Florida so we are similar to Texas but we have humidity to contend with as well as cold temps.

I had a 5 gallon bucket of green tomatoes from my 4 plants as the first hard freeze was predicted, Montana, I simply lay them on the shelves in my garage, NOT wrapped in anything, temp is about 40 as it is heated to prevent freezing, and is NOT in the sun from the huge south facing window. I have been doing this for YEARS . I am 86, wrapping is simply a huge waste of time.

I forgot to mention, I am still eating the last of them as they ripen, almost done

Hanging banana skins on the plant will make the fruit ripen quicker

We pull the plants, wash off the roots, & hang from beams in our basement. I can pick fresh tomatoes for Christmas dinner! We place foam from an old sofa on the floor under a plastic tablecloth just in case any tomatoes drop free so there is no mess. Delicious. A horticulturalist gave us this tip. We live in Canada so our growing season is quite short compared to U.S.