I have never heard of that. It's very interesting. I have a lot of tomatoes.

I saw the article you linked on FB and found it interesting. I've never heard of this, but if you Google, you can find it discussed at some of the permaculture websites.

For those who haven't seen this discussed before, here's an article on the guy that Bon mentioned yesterday on FB:

Burundi Farmer Stores Fresh Tomatoes In Ashes

It is an interesting story, and if it works in his climate, I'd think it ought to work in ours. We don't generally burn wood----no fireplace or wood-burning stove, but I guess I could burn a brush pile and save the ashes. It would be fun to try it next summer and see how long the tomatoes last. I wonder if their true fresh flavor is maintained or if it diminishes over time?

One more fun experiment to try. A lifetime spent gardening is a lifetime spent experimenting with new things!

I've never heard of it. Let us know how it works if you decide to try it.

Huh, learn something new every day. Wood ashes are alkaline, right? Do you suppose that is why they keep well? Maybe the bacteria that would cause them to rot can't grow in alkaline media. Very interesting!

I was wondering that myself, Amy. I'm kinda of surprised that he can sell them since one of the articles I read said the tomatoes do wrinkle and dehydrate---they just don't spoil and go bad. I guess people who buy the tomatoes and try them don't care if they are wrinkly and dehydrated as long as they taste the way a tomato is supposed to taste. I'm betting the alkalinity of the ashes keeps the usual bacterial rot type diseases from setting in, but that's just my best guess. The alkalinity of any hardwood ashes would vary depending on the type of tree and the soil in which the trees were grown, but I think all hardwood ashes likely would have a pH of at least 8 or 9 and possibly as high as 12 or even 13. If it isn't that the alkalinity deters bacteria and fungi, then I cannot begin to guess why this storage method has worked for him.

The pH is the first thought I had, too. Ima try it if I can save back enough tomatoes. Might eat 'em all. hehe