Experiment: Preserving fresh tomatoes in wood ash for up to 6 months? 

Okay. Full stop. Dude reveals the answer one minute into the vid and then gives you the option to stick around and learn about it. Full watch, like, and sub. Just for that.

This experiment 100% worked. The result of the experiment is that we know the technique doesn't work. Any experiment in which you learn something is a success.

"I don't want to waste people's time waiting in suspense for nothing" Sir, you are sent from heaven

What about accelerating the tomato to very close to the speed of light? Time dilation will mean that while we age for 6 months the tomato will hardly experience time passing at all, it will literally still be fresh.

My great grandma did this, she wrapped them in newspaper, then put them in a box with cold wood ash, then in the root cellar. But she checked that all the time, and only did it with green ones. As they ripened she'd use them. And she never stored other stuff in the box with them.

I have a friend who planted a tomato plant in a 5-gal bucket. When it was due to frost, she brought the plant inside and kept it in front of her patio door/window where it still got plenty of light. In the summer, outside and in the winter, inside. I visited her in April the year the plant had seen 2 summers and going on the 3rd. It was big and lush and beautiful and produced year round! At that time she lived in Colorado.

As a kid I used to watch my mom picking up the whole tomato vine from the ground with lots of green tomatoes on it and hang them upside down in the cellar ceiling. She used to pick them up all winter long as they become ripe.

My grandmother used to wrap green tomatoes in newspaper and store in a cool, dirt-floored cellar, they would keep for several months.

I thought back in the day, that people pulled the whole tomato plant when tomatoes were big but still green, at the end of the season, and then laid them on burlap bags or was it newspaper, in the dark, in the basement. They would have tomatoes at Christmas and a while after that.

How interesting! The problem might be the tomato variety. In Africa and the Carib. I noticed the skin on tomatoes and lettuce varieties for example, they are able to withstand the heat even in transport to market. Many people who do not have refrigeration so they store produce by burying it (when green or not fully ripe) in terracotta pots layered with sand or ash underground. So, perhaps ditch the box and try a terracotta pot. I would also say keep peppers and tomatoes apart as they will trigger further ripening I believe. I might try this with variety similar to Roma or Amish paste that is a bit more firm and naturally waxy on the exterior. Cheers from an urban farmer in the CA Bay Area :)

You've discovered the ancient Egyptian's method of mummification on the cheap! Haha! Hey, it was worth a shot. Thanks for sharing!

Thank you for the honesty at the beginning of the video. It's really uncommon to see a channel that treats its subscribers well instead of just clickbaiting us. Thanks and see you again :)

Hello we have a tomato variety that is fresh up to one year. Just tie it down the stem and hang it in an airy place. Is a variety only from here a island of Mallorca Spain. The name of the tomato is (tomate de ramallet)

Hallo! I am living in Sweden and I grow Piennolo tomatoes that last for up to 6-7 months after being picked. These tomatoes grow naurally at the sides of vulcano and can be keept inside on a plate or hanging from the sealing until you want to eat them. I ate my last tomatoe from the summer this febuary and it was great. Try Principe Borgese or Ponderosa, these are two of the most common one. Good luck!

The sudden influx of people makes me believe you have triggered RU-vid's algorithms in some positive way. Great video and channel by the way, I'm surprised I didn't find this channel sooner.

Try wrapping green tomatoes in newspaper at the end of the season. Check them frequently and use them as they ripen. They won't last 6 months but you should be finishing them around the holidays.

I'm wondering if they could have gotten too cold and frozen which could have caused them to split providing a way for the ash to migrate inside and dessicate them.

Really great quality video production. If you’re not doing this professionally, you should be.

I absolutely love your experiments. Whether good results or bad results you still show it all. Some people wouldn’t show a failure but fortunately, the two of you don’t see it as a personal failure but see it as nothing ventured, nothing gained. I, too, love to experiment in the garden. You just don’t know until you try. At least I can learn from your experiments & sometimes save myself some time. Keep the videos coming. You’re great teachers.🍅

Thanks for giving the experiment a try. Using the wood ash to preserve foods seems to make sense from a pest perspective, as not many critters would crawl through it to eat your 'maters... However the wood ash seems to do nothing for maintaining water content and slowing enzymatic activity. Here's a few ideas to consider trying next year: 1. coat tomatoes in thick fat or wax before submerging in ash (especially the stem end) 2. store tomatoes with some vine still attached 3. harvest tomatoes a little earlier (maybe experiment with various stages of early ripeness) 4. blanch tomatoes before storing 5. try different tomato varieties, and most importantly, 6. monitor process more closely and note state changes. I think those are some pretty crucial variables that could seriously alter the results... and keep you busy for a lifetime lol

I can’t speculate on the results, but it was super interesting to those of us always interested in ways to preserve food. Two thumbs up!

My thought on the matter would be around humidity issues. I freeze, can, and debydrate. With dehydrated, they take up even less space if I put the dehydrated tomates into the bullet and turn it into tomato powder. Use it in chili and spaghetti, stews and soups. Best for growing over winter inside would be cherry tomatoes...but nothing tastes like the August ones which have suffered blistering heat, winds, rains, etc. Sorry not much help...but nice try. Some things like tomatoes are what keep us old timers waiting for spring to finally spring so we can get out there and get them in the ground. I don't notice a huge difference with peppers grown inside over winter, but your electric bill will go up due to increased lightining needs.

Thank you for being upfront with the results!

I enjoyed that! I found it very interesting and would definitely have stayed to the end. I love your videos!

Fun video. Glad it is getting close to planting time. Looking forward to your summer videos. I am in South Dakota and have strawberry plants greening up and asparagus peeking out. Rhubarb is up. Started seeds indoors last weekend. It will still freeze at night for another month.

Hello, my husband and I are new to your channel, but we found this very interesting. His comment was that maybe you waited too long. The other guy says 'up to' six months, that doesn't mean you're going to get the full six months. How long do tomatoes last normally? A month? So even if you only doubled that, and stored them at the end of the season, that's an additional two months that you would then have tomatoes for (either for eating or selling). An interesting video; got a like from some new watchers. Hope you do try this again. It would be worth it if it worked.

So grateful you did this. Takes a special kind of person to perform these experiments and share them. Thanks so much. Well done.

As soon as this guy said that the experiment didn't work, I paused the video, liked, subscribed, and then of course resumed the video. I wish more channels and videos on youtube could be similarly honest and upfront... that would be great 😋 Thanks mate, it was an interesting watch 🙂

My thoughts are are you using the same kind of wood as in the mentioned article. Each trees ashes have unique compounds and structures. Maybe you didn’t use the right tree.

I've heard the story you were speaking of and wasn't sure if it would work then on one of the health sites I'm on they were talking about how to keep tomato's fresh and they described how keeping green banana's next to tomato's keeps them fresh longer due to the banana's off gases as it's ripening it slows down the ripening process on the tomato's

just reading through your comments.. learned so much.. thanks for doing this experiment!!

Thank you for sharing the experiment. I have never done this. Aside from canning, freezing, and drying, there’s only one way we’ve had fresh tomatoes past the season. We picked them green on a cool morning, wrapped them in newspaper, and then stored them in a cool place in a single layer. Checking them once in awhile, we’d find some had ripened and we’d eat those. If they get warm, be ready to can the lot! I’m not sure how long we were able to eat fresh tomatoes, but it was well into winter. Good luck with further experiments.

Tells us right in the beginning what happens. Liked and subbed just for that, then watched the entire thing.

I've had surprising success by saving my dill pickle jars and juice/brine, then adding those surplus sweet 100 cherry tomatoes that I can't eat fast enough. watching your 3 year old up to her wrist in pickle juice chasing around the last tomato like a cat after a goldfish was just a bonus. the tomatoes will keep until the next years tomatoes are about ready to fruit.

This video made me smile- great experiment. I've been canning forever, and it always happens- Late Feb (here near Buffalo, NY) I miss fresh tomatoes and buy one at the grocer. Always disappointed. I come home and crack a jar of my own tomatoes and remember why I do it. My "must cans" are now homemade V-8 and tomato soup. I think the waiting and the seed starting and all of it- is rewarded by that first red tomato in late July- and makes us appreciate it that much more. I eat tomatoes and salsa non stop for 2 good months to get my fill until the next year.

Videos like this one are my favorite, and authors gain my highest respect. I would only hope there would be more authors like You around.

thumbs up for honesty

First video of yours that I've seen, just want to say that your disclosure of the results at the start made me more inclined to watch the whole videp through, which i did, I appreciate the honesty. Whilst woodash is anti microbial it wouldn't stop any microbes such as fungi from growing inside the fruit. If you waxed and/or sprayed the fruit as it ripened on the fine then repeated the experiment at a lower temperature it might work better but I doubt it's possible to properly preseve fresh produce that long. Maybe an insulated heates greenhouse would be the way to go? I'm pretty spoilt here in Australia you can grow tomatoes year round in some parts of the country.

Thank you for trying! Loved to learn from you!

VERY interesting video! And your editing skills are wonderful!

Hi, you may have heard of Paul Gautschi from Back to Eden Garden, in one of his videos, he explains that tomato has beneficial substance that helps humans resist the sun's uv damaging effect on the skin, however it is not healthful to consume out of season, in colder climates as it has a negative effect at that time, often people say to stay away from tomato and sauces when there are arthritic conditions, which are normally more apparent in colder seasons. i think the logic is to eat food in its season would be the healthiest way to go.

I know that grocery store tomatoes are picked green and allowed to ripen on the trucks. Perhaps the ash is an inhibitor, and a green tomato would have lasted longer. There are also separate types of tomatoes developed for immediate flavour vs shelf life.

Your guys make some very high quality videos. Keep up the good work

I seriously appreciate the disclaimer, but i watched the entire video just because of that. and subbed.

I noticed in the article that Mr. Nduwimana's photo showed him placing his tomatoes in a "stem-down" (upsidedown) fashion in the ashes and covering them. I have also read that certain varieties of tomatoes might perform better than others but this inverted placement might have something to do with it. One certainly can't freeze them as their cellular structure breaks down leaving a bunch of mush! Canning as stewed or as a sauce is our method but I've yet to perfect a tomato "Sauce sandwich"!! ;)

Maybe you are not aware that lye was made from wood ash and water in the days when women regularly made their own lye soaps? As a child I watched my grandmother make her own lye. The liquid of the tomatoes and peppers could have made a mild form of lye which dried them out.

I loved this video! Not only the information and experiment, but the style was pretty cool :)

Great experiment. Thanks for making and sharing.

I'm 64 and when I was a kid we used to pick the tomatoes at the end of the season green wrap them in newspaper and put them in a cool dark place the ripen slowly

Well, I've been to a local outlet that sell products close to the best before dates. There was a 1.6kg jar of Marinated yellow tomatoes and gherkins produced in Bulgaria. The ingredients list is yellow tomatoes, gherkins, water, salt, sugar, acidity regulator: citric acid, parsley and spices. The toms are small plum tomatoes 25-40mm in length. Looks like, tastes like a brine. Yet don't taste vinegar pickled, but brine yet the tomato texture is lightly cooked. Not the usual canned texture. 5% salt in the nutritional info.... Might be trying to replicate this

i am so happy I found your channel. I live in the same area as you and i am always on the lookout for videos in my growing zone.You are funny and informational..which makes you very enjoyable to watch and learn from. Keep em coming!

I just loved your experiment whether it worked out or not. Looking forward to learning lots of new methods from your channel. You are very inspiring to watch.

Maybe the peppers were a factor? I wouldn't think so, but as soon as you added them you changed the parameters.

Perhaps, it's time for a poly tunnel and grow lights. Maybe try all year growing?

That is so awesome that you were willing to be our ginnipig thanks.

Man! Thank you for showing us this.

Different varieties of tomatoes store longer than others too

Great video. Good experiment. Wish it would have worked out for you. Nothing wrong with trying. Looking forward to your next adventures. 😊👍👍

Great to see you guys back. Wondering where you got too. Not far from Saskatoon and we just got rid of our snow. So excited to get back into the garden.

Thanks for doing the experiment.

I'm thinking the potassium from the bottom of banana trees might be the missing ingredient. Just a thought...always thinking when I watch your videos!

Hi I just read the article and I wonder if maybe the climate also has something to do with the results While in storage what temperatures were the norm? What type of ashes were used ? Could these factors possibly influence the outcome ?

Thanks for testing that out. ☺️

Your videos are awesome, nice work!

Tomate de ramallet =(Lycopersicon Eculentum)

Great video. Where's Paula? More videos please.

Cool idea. Thanks for sharing. Appreciate the time and effort to make a video like this.

So glad you did this experiment! I have been researching how to preserve fresh tomatoes 'til the cows came home and honestly...my decision is that I need to get a heated greenhouse for the winter. I live in Quebec right now but we're moving to the Maritimes next spring and I would just LOVE to have a fresh tomato and basil SALAD (with lettuce!!!) in February. I think a heated greenhouse is in my future! Until then, it's the water bath canner!

Temperature, humidity and environment would most likely need to be perfect to get ripe tomatoes to last. So around 40F(or whatever temp they don't lose flavor) for the temp. Oil or wax the skins to prevent moisture loss and have them in high humidity. Finally keep them in a 100% CO2 or nitrogen atmosphere. Packed with stem part down, all greens removed. The ashes are pointless. I imagine it's pretty expensive to try to make ripe tomatoes last longer. It's simpler to turn a room in a house into a grow room or have a heated greenhouse, and do the work of bees yourself.

Nice experiment, the outcome not as much. But you at least tried👍👍👍

thumbs up for trying!

We have the same plates!! So cool, I never see these in other people's houses! My set were a gift from my mom as they were the plates we used 20 years ago when us kids were young.

Excellent - very entertaining and scientific - something too often missing. Every hypothesis has a variety of possible outcomes, so this experiment is valid. It means that the rest of us don't have to find a cardboard box, buy a wood burner, cut down some trees, light them, burn ourselves lighting them or get lung diseases from the dust as we collect our wood ash. Oh! And we get to eat our tomatoes. Best wishes.

Use clay based containers like pottery

My favourite RU-vid channel.

I really enjoyed this video, thank you

gave a"like" for at least warning me to quit this video early for a FAILED exsperiment

Maybe someone already said but try bees wax?? Smother the whole red jewel in a good layer of wax and see how long it lasts?

miss your videos hope u do more!

Dear Paula, Dear Derrick, I discovered your channel yesterday and have watched and enjoyed many of your videos since. This one surprised me a lot! Your love for "fresh-picked, home-grown tomatoes has made you go 180° opposite of "Back To Reality". Is "eating seasonal" not a a part of the forgotten reality? Wouldn't the hiatus imposed by eating seasonally let you enjoy fresh-picked, home-grown tomatoes next season even more? Go for some amazing 'ripe-picked home-grown dried tomatoes' which will be also amazing! Just learn about how to dry them properly. preserving food by drying is an enjoyable and useful topic which fits extremely well to what you are doing. Cheers, TT

Should of done them green

I don't think it will ever work. Root vegetables can be stored, because the plant's reproductive strategy is to survive the winter underground to support shoots in the spring. The reproductive strategy of grains like wheat, which evolved in Mediterranean climates, is to contain little moisture so that it can survive the dry winter and then sprout during the spring rains. Soft fruits like tomatoes, grapes, mangoes, etc. evolved to be attract the attention of an animal who would eat the fruit (hence the bright red color) and then distribute the seeds by shitting them out elsewhere. So, the fruit which is normally going to be inedible after a short time is not going to offer any innate advantages for preservation. If you think of it none of the soft fruits can be kept in their ripened condition for very long. Maybe apples for the winter in a barrel. So, I'd bet against it. Dried tomatoes have more flavor than fresh ones anyway.

Love the production value! I feel like I'm watching "this old house" (a pbs tv show) for vegetable growing. It's entertaining and educational all the way through!

I saw that video a while back, but I never tried this because I don't have a ready access to wood ash. But I'm glad you tried it so that we could see how it works on this side of the world. Perhaps it's the particular type of wood that that guy used to make his ashes.

Part you came for 5:40

You are a great human being,very honest and pure hearted person. All your videos are made very professionally and they are very informative videos. That African farmer must be a LIAR. YOU can't preserve tomatoes. Tomatoes can be Sun dried OR you make tomatoe PUREE.

Wow, An honest youtube video guy video for once. Im liking simply for that sheer fact alone

Great video/content, thank you sir.

Maybe would have worked if the ash was wet?

Very good video friend, thanks for sharing.Very pleased to watch your videos, very talented.

Really nice experiment and saying if it does work or not..not waste of time 😉

Dude.. you blew up my mind 😳😳 Greetings from Alberta 👍👍👍❤️❤️❤️

HEY THANKS FOR THIS VIDEO, I DONT NEED TO TRY THIS OUT!! This was very informative. I may try it out with unripened ones

I’ve just recently found your channel and am totally enjoying it. Your videos are packed full of info, but not drawn out and boring. Are you a scientist by any chance? Lol

Thats crazy. it looks like you mummified it .. very interesting experiment .. Thanks for the video

While we are nearing the end of the summer here in Ontario I have so many unripe tomatoes in my garden. I’ve thrown some in the freezer to use for cooking purposes already but I also want to able to use some as fresh. So I’m gonna hang all the unripe ones from the ceiling in the basement for the experiment.

A lot of good suggestions below to try out. Here is an additional one. Use water glass... people use to use it to keep eggs (uncooked) for long periods without spoilage. No osmosis can occur, no bacteria/ mold intrude. Think I'll try it myself and see how it works out. Great stuff you put out--- loved the suggestion concerning Ruth's potato method. Keep up the great work!

Thank you for your video! ❤️❤️❤️

you should try adding some moisture to your wood ask, probably combine it with a little sand. as you mentioned in the video this method worked for the farmer initially under a banana tree which means outside with some measure of moisture. I also agree with the assessment from many other posts that variety will have a huge effect.

Well, considering that I made lye-water for soap making from scratch using wood ash, I am not sure I would eat ANYTHING that came in contact with wood ash. I was interested in what you were doing because I heat with wood and always have a surplus of wood ash that I am looking for uses for. You always have interesting, fascinating, and really fun experiments! Learning a lot! Thank you!