You don't have to wait until a tomato is fully ripe on the vine. Once it begins to blush and show its mature color, you can harvest it and let it finish ripening indoors.

Harvesting at this stage helps you get to your tomatoes before the birds and other hungry garden visitors do. You may sacrifice a little flavor compared with a perfectly vine-ripened tomato, but it will still be far better than the average grocery store tomato.

I keep mine on a tiered tray on the kitchen counter, where they finish ripening, and use them as they're ready. I've also found that harvesting this way gives me a little more time to work through the harvest. Fully ripe tomatoes need to be used pretty quickly, while tomatoes picked at first blush can ripen over several days.

It also means you don't necessarily have to go searching for the perfectly ripe tomato every day. Although when the garden is really producing, you're probably harvesting every day anyway.