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  • From: Harvey Ussery <huboxwood@earthlink.net>
  • To: livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [Livingontheland] Natural storage of garden produce (was: Looking for advice on a few topics)
  • Date: Sat, 22 Jul 2006 12:13:37 +0000

Finally, does anyone know anything about root cellar type storage in the
South? My crawl space is about 74 degrees now (outside highs are the upper
90's) which is where I am storing the surplus potatoes and winter squash
from this year's garden. But that temperature is too warm (according to
the books). Any ideas how I could create a cooler space without a
refrigeration device?

I store potatoes and sweet potatoes in my basement. Unlike Art, I get excellent results with both. (Maybe the difference is in the warmth and humidity in our respective climates--I'm in northern VA, zone 6b).

Winter squashes, however, are not a candidate for root cellar type storage--too humid.

Here is a quote from an article I wrote "Achieving Food Independence on the Modern Homestead." (Supposedly it is going to be published in Countryside Magazine, so please consider it copyrighted material.)

*********************

Produce storage

Because we think of fall as the season of harvest par excellence, let's think about how best to keep that harvest---i.e., preserving and storing the food we have grown. Perhaps most people think first of canning and freezing when they think of preserving the garden's bounty, but for the most part, neither of those is my choice. I want to eat fresh twelve months of the year! Canning and freezing are home equivalents to processed supermarket foods---and I am not especially interested in seeing processed foods on my table. What strategies are available for eating fresh at the table when there is no longer anything to harvest in the garden?

There are first of all a number of crops that store well naturally, in conditions that can be produced in most households. Indeed, onions, garlic, shallots, and winter squash keep well in cool room temperature in the living space of the house. Potatoes and sweet potatoes store well in the basement or cellar, if available. Of course, you can make a "root cellar" for all sorts of natural storage of roots, tubers, even green vegetables such as cabbages, Chinese cabbages, and heading chicories. But even without a root cellar, it is easy to store many of the common vegetables. For example, my preferred method of storage for fall carrots is simply to leave them in the ground, and cover with a mulch deep enough to prevent freezing. Other root crops such as rutabagas, beets, and winter radishes can be stored the same way. I love going out to the garden in the dead of winter, kicking aside the mulch and maybe a layer of snow or ice, and digging the carrots hiding below. The latest I ever dug a carrot stored under mulch was April 1, and it was even sweeter than the previous fall! The mulch is necessary because carrots turn to mush if they freeze. However, there are a few root crops such as parsnips which can freeze and thaw without ill effect. Of course, it is not possible to dig them when the ground is frozen. However, they offer welcome fresh eating in the late winter, long before the first spring crops are ready.

Another option for storage of the dense-fleshed root crops---carrots, beets, winter radishes, etc.---is in an underground pit. Yes, that's right---just a hole in the ground, what could be simpler? Dig the hole any size you need, and at least 18 up to 24 inches deep. Then place your just-harvested roots inside, cover with a piece of plywood or a plastic sheet to shed rainwater, and protect from freezing with bales of straw. The temperature in the storage pit stays quite cold but never freezes, and the humidity stays high---perfect conditions for these root vegetables. They keep far better there than in a refrigerator, which is dehydrating. Cabbages also store quite well in such a cold storage pit.

--
Harvey in northern Va
www.themodernhomestead.us



  • [Livingontheland] Natural storage of garden produce (was: Looking for advice on a few topics), Harvey Ussery, 07/22/2006

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