Harvesting your tomatoes at the proper time is important to prevent waste and spoilage. Tomatoes continue to ripen even after picking, so if you pick them when they are bright red they must be used within a day or two or they will go bad. To give your tomatoes the longest shelf life aim to pick them when they are approximately 50% ripe. They should be a half green/half orange or pink. You can then set these aside in your kitchen to use within the week as they finish ripening. While you can always pick your tomatoes the day of use when they are fully ripe on the plant, many people do not have the time to harvest daily. Plus picking them a at half ripe you can always share them with friends or neighbors and they will have a few days to work them into meals! Save this for your future