Like other fruits and vegetables, tomatoes must be properly packed prior to shipping to ensure that they arrive fresh, succulent and delectable! Here are a few tips on how to properly pack and ship fresh tomatoes.
The best day to ship tomatoes, or any other fruits for that matter, is on a Monday or Tuesday. Shipping them later in the week can lead to a higher risk of your shipment ending up in a warehouse over the weekend.
Ship only half-ripe fruits. This will ensure that the tomatoes will arrive in their best form and not rotten. Nobody wants to get a box of rotten tomatoes!
Wrap each fruit in bubble wrap and then place it in a Ziploc bag. It’s a good idea to tape the variety ID to the bag.
Arrange the wrapped tomatoes in a box with individual dividers (like the ones used for Christmas balls). You can make the dividers using cardboard material and crisscrossing it in the box. The idea is to minimize the movement of the fruits and prevent them from bumping into each other to avoid getting bruised.
Another way is to use a lot of packaging materials like crumpled newspaper or packing peanuts.
Close and seal the box with packaging tape. Address and label the package and take to a shipping company or post office.
If over night shipping is way out of your budget, second or third-day delivery will work out just fine as long as you ship only half-ripe fruits.