Roma math:
A decent batch of homemade tomato sauce with enough to freeze or can for future use requires a minimum of 15-20 lbs of roma tomatoes.
The average day on the urban farm (with 16 roma tomato plants in high season) results in anywhere from 1-3 lbs of roma tomatoes.
I struggled with this math last year as I watched ripe romas edge toward over-ripeness while waiting for enough companions to be ready at roughly the same time to make a batch of sauce. Out of desperation I started searching “freezing whole tomatoes” and low and behold:
Not only CAN you freeze whole tomatoes, there are a couple of benefits to doing it. Freezing, especially for short term storage doesn’t have to be particularly fussy. Just clean, pop in a bag, remove most of the air and voila – a partial batch of sauce! Also, when frozen tomatoes are thawed to make sauce, the skins just slide right off, saving the blanching step.