Growing tomatoes is the ultimate act of long-term gardening love. The amount of time it takes to choose your variety, germinate it, care for it through the seedling process, plant it correctly, and train it throughout the season—it’s an investment. That’s what makes the end of the season such a disappointment. You look at your plants, laden with green fruit, begging for the sun to ripen them enough and the rain to hold off long enough to keep them from splitting. At some point, around this time, all gardeners have to decide what to do next: pull the tomatoes, fry some green tomatoes, and turn the bed, pray for no rain, or consider bringing the tomatoes inside?

There are all sorts of suggestions for ripening your tomatoes, or even storing them for the winter. Here are all the methods out there, and how I went about it.

Pros: Works pretty well

Cons: Takes up space and is super messy on the floor