How to Hang Your Storage Tomatoes

If you’ve grown a good crop of storage tomatoes, you might be wondering how to store them. This method ensures they’re hung in a way that encourages good air circulation making sure they’re storing in a way that will keep them going for weeks!

Why Hang storage tomatoes?

Hanging your storage tomatoes helps them ripen slowly and evenly while keeping them off damp surfaces that cause mould. It’s a tried-and-tested technique for storing late-season trusses, especially if you grow varieties like Long Keeper or Piennolo Del Vesuvio that are naturally good keepers.

Plus, a bunch of glossy red and green tomatoes hanging from twine looks downright charming, like something straight out of an Italian kitchen.

Step-by-Step: How to Hang Your Storage Tomatoes

Follow these simple steps to make your perfect tomato bunches for storage.

Make Your Hanging Twine

Cut a piece of twine longer than your arm span, then double it over so it’s nice and strong.
Next, fold that doubled length in half again, you should now have a loop made up of four strands of twine. This will be your hanging support.

Start Threading the Tomatoes

Take your first truss and slot the stem between the strands of twine, making sure that you have one or two tomatoes on each side of the string.
This helps keep the weight balanced and gives that full, rounded shape once the bunch is complete.

Alternate Sides for an Even Bunch

As you add more tomatoes, alternate which side of the twine each truss sits on.
The goal is to create an even clump all the way around, not a flat line. Keep working your way up until your loop is filled with trusses.

Hang Them Up to Dry

Once your bunch is ready, hang it somewhere cool, dry, and out of direct sunlight, a shed, pantry, or kitchen beam is perfect.
You want good air circulation so the tomatoes ripen slowly without rotting.

Timing Is Everything

Do this on the day you harvest your tomatoes, while the stems are still soft and flexible. Once they start to dry out, they’ll become brittle and much harder to weave into the twine.
If you leave it too long, the stems will snap and you’ll lose that perfect truss shape.

How Long Will Hanging Tomatoes Last?

Depending on your variety and conditions, storage tomatoes can last for weeks or even months when hung properly.
Green tomatoes will slowly ripen on the vine, giving you a steady supply of fresh fruit long after your outdoor plants have finished.

Just keep an eye on them, remove any that start to soften or split to keep the rest in good shape.

A Few Extra Tips

• Choose firm, unblemished fruit for hanging, they’ll keep best.
  
• Don’t crowd the trusses, air flow is key.
  
• If your space is damp, consider hanging them near gentle airflow (like a kitchen extractor fan or a small window vent).
  
• And don’t worry if a few stay green, they’re perfect for chutneys or roasting later on!

There’s something lovely about seeing your homegrown tomatoes still ripening through autumn, long after the garden has gone quiet. Hanging them is part preservation, part decoration and a brilliant way to make the most of your harvest.

Once you’ve tried it, you’ll wonder why you ever left your trusses to fade in a basket.