Ripe chili peppers can be dried in a forced air dehydrator, but it is usually not necessary to do so. Tomatoes With care, mature green tomatoes will keep and ripen for about 4 to 6 weeks in the fall. Some cultivars have been developed for even longer storage. Tomatoes from nearly spent vines are usually not as good quality as those from vigorous vines and are more subject to decay. A late planting of tomatoes will provide vigorous vines from which fruit can be harvested for storage.
Harvest tomatoes just before the first killing frost.
If an unexpected frost occurs, undamaged fruits can be salvaged and ripened. To store, pick the tomatoes and remove the stems. Dry thoroughly with a soft cloth. Pack tomatoes 1 or 2 layers deep in shallow boxes. Pumpkins and Winter Squash harvest mature fruit with hard rinds before frost.