Patti responded as follows: “Any produce that was frost bitten should be picked immediately. What you may not know, though, is that low temperatures can harm mature green tomatoes (the full-sized ones that just haven’t turned red yet) to the point that they won’t ripen, even if the plant is covered. Always try to pull mine before the last frost. You can harvest green tomatoes from frost-damaged vines and can them as relish or salsa. I forgot to tell you guys what happened to my plants after that hard frost the other day. Sat Nov 01, 2008 10:58 pm. These tomatoes may have harmful pathogens. Green tomatoes after frost... guthriegatorfarm . Yes, your tomatoes are perfectly safe to eat. Yes, you can eat vegetables after a frost has come to the garden. If stalks and leaves appear normal after a frost, the rhubarb is safe to eat. Tomatoes need sun and plenty of it but not just sun – they need warmth. Saving Effected Foods to Eat . Add acid to all tomatoes before processing. Collards are one of those vegetables. Increased colic and founder risk ... Often, horses begin to prefer grasses after a frost due to the higher sugar levels. 11 years ago. If a split is small and fairly superficial, affecting only the surface of the fruit, it is likely safe to eat. The good news: Late blight cannot infect humans, so depending on when you're able to salvage your tomatoes or potatoes, they are safe to eat. Because the tomatoes may have been frozen during a frost or harder freeze, the quality may not be quite as good, but they're safe to eat. However, frozen tomatoes do work well in sauces and stews. I covered the plants with canvas drop-cloths over the tomato trellises, but all the leaves and the top of the stems ended up dying. If the tomatoes are bad, you will know it. Read more about plants life cycle here. According to Patricia Aaron, Home Economist for the Bernalillo County Extension Service, it is best to err on the side of caution. It was so sad. A bit of extra caution never hurts. That first frost can be a sad time for gardeners because it is often thought of as the end of the time of year when we can harvest garden produce to eat. These vegetables get sweeter after being kissed by frost, making them a delectable wintertime treat. They will probably taste fine if they were ripe before the freeze, however the texture may suffer slightly. Why is this important? We had an unusually late frost after we had already transplanted our tomato starts outside this year. You might assume that tomatoes are definitely annual plants because they always die after one season. Is there any hope? I asked Patti O’Neal, Horiculturist and Urban Food Systems Coordinator for CSU Extension, Jefferson County, CO for her advice. If they’re a little soft you need to use them as soon as possible. At 40 degrees Fahrenheit and lower temperatures, tomato plants' leaves, stems and fruits suffer damage. Frost or freezing temperatures freezes the water crystals inside the plant's cells. After all, you want to savor those garden-fresh flavors as long as you can, and early nippy nights are often followed by weeks of warmer temperatures. If stalks or leaves are damaged, and you’ve pulled the injured stalks, all future regrowth is safe to eat. Editor: While tomatoes can certainly be frozen as a method of preservation, their texture, as you recently discovered, isn’t quite the same once they thaw. Even though indeterminate tomatoes are technically perennials, they are grown as annuals because of their extreme aversion to cold. However, there are actually lots of vegetables that not only withstand the frost, but actually taste better after the temperatures drop! Thank you! Is it possible to force green tomatoes to turn red faster, or will you have to bury them in the compost pile along with all that slimy, frost-killed foliage? 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