I don't have frost/cold issues here in San Diego, but my approach would be to leave the bananas on the "tree" as long as possible, period. On "tree" time is good time. On nights where freezing weather was expected (or maybe even high 30's) I would bag the fruit and put a small light bulb inside the bag as a heat source to keep the fruit from freezing, and allow it to stay on the stalk longer. I would prop the stalk so that it would supported and less likely to snap or fold. And I would continue to peel off any rotting or mushy parts of the pseudostem. When all of this becomes untenable, then I would cut them off and let the ripen indoors. I have a bunch of Mona Lisa (fhia-2) that had their stalk folded after about two month hanging, and I just left them as is, and they are now ripening normally. I had a bunch of Kru which had the pseudostem snapped off in November, only 4 weeks after bloomng had finished, and I cut the banana bunch off and left it laying on the ground (for a photo-op the day after they snapped, and then was too lazy to throw them away) and by Feb 1, they were ripe, and quite acceptable. So, the moral of my story is, NEVER give up on your bananas. Nurse them along, coddle them, stick with them, and usually you end up with a reward.

Hmmm - neither our ketchup nor our sriracha has ever turned black on us. I don't refrigerate either. Review of chard stem pickles - as I mentioned, I cut the sugar down to 1 cup. DH and I both like the "marinade", but neither of us are fond of the chard stems. They are kind of "chewy". We both came to the conclusion that since we aren't wanting to eat plain chard stems, then it makes sense that we aren't wanting to eat them pickled. From now on, I will either pick my chard small, and include the stems in whatever I am cooking. Or the chard stems will continue to feed the compost. As for the pickling liquid, as I said, we liked the flavor. I should have summer squash within a few days - I'll try slicing a squash into the marinade. We are at least a month off from cucumbers - but if those ever ripen, then I'll also try cukes in the marinade. Radishes are long gone, but if I do a fall planting, I'll try radishes in the marinade.

This is just a little bit of info I found. Being diabetic I really am careful with my food. Elizabeth Andress did not give any information about the refrigerator pickles at the conference. One of the things I wanted to ask was about that subject. LISTERIA What is Listeria monocytogenes? Listeria monocytogenes (Listeria) is a pathogenic (disease-causing) bacterium that is food borne and causes an illness called listeriosis1. It is frequently overlooked as a possible cause of illness due to its unique growth capabilities. First, it is somewhat difficult for laboratories to grow, and when they do so, Listeria can be confused with common harmless contaminants and disregarded. Second, most bacteria grow poorly when temperatures fall below 40°F, while Listeria survives in temperatures from below freezing (20°F) to body temperature and it grows best at 0°F to 50°F,1 including the temperature range that we use for refrigeration. As a result, Listeria may be transmitted in ready-to-eat foods that have been kept properly refrigerated. Its ability to grow in such diverse environments is just one of the many challenges presented by this dangerous bacterium. It is estimated that Listeria causes approximately 1,600 cases of listeriosis annually, resulting in 415 deaths. Where does Listeria monocytogenes come from? There are many opportunities for contamination with Listeria during the process of food production because Listeria monocytogenes is ubiquitous in the environment.1 For example, it can be grown from wild and domestic animals, birds, insects, soil and wastewater, and vegetation. As it is a bacterium found in soil and vegetation, it is easily contracted and transmitted by herd animals. Listeria is found in grazing areas, stale water supplies, and poorly prepared animal feed. It can live in the intestines of humans, animals, and birds for long periods of time without causing infection. The bacterium is often isolated in cattle, sheep, and fowl, and is also found in dairy products, fruits, and vegetables. Here is a link that might be useful: About listeria.

I am new here and see no one has answered. It my be that the "official" answer is a few months but in reality they last longer. I can only give my experience. I made some too with a traditional recipe. I made sure to use really fresh pickling cucumbers from my garden. I opened the last jar from last August last week and they were perfect. I remember reading on the directions that they "last" 2 months. I would imagine that the quality would go down but that has not been my experience. Good luck!