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  • From: "Tradingpost" <tradingpost@lobo.net>
  • To: livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [Livingontheland] Storage of Home-Grown Vegetables
  • Date: Wed, 21 Oct 2009 11:55:27 -0600


Here's a timely topic. Our own root veggies were somewhat neglected this year
due to more work on greenhouse tomatoes and sweet peppers for market. But we
expect to remedy that come spring. And we'll need all the info we can get on
root crop storage. No basements here in central NM tho ;-)

paul tradingpost@lobo.net
------------------------------------------

Storage of Home-Grown Vegetables
by J.E. Ells, C.J. Jorgensen and D. Whiting1(3/08)
http://www.ext.colostate.edu/Pubs/Garden/07601.html

Quick Facts...

* Many home-grown vegetables lend themselves to storage.
* Storing vegetables can be quicker, easier and more economical than
canning, freezing or dehydrating.
* Root Crops store best where they are grown until there is a danger of
soil freezing.
* Storage facilities can be constructed at little or no cost.

Storing vegetables produced in the home Garden can be easier, quicker and
more economical than freezing, canning or dehydrating them. The storage
facilities can be built at little or no cost. Stored vegetables can represent
considerable savings in food dollars.
Harvesting

Root Crops store best where they are grown until there is a danger of soil
freezing. Postpone harvesting by hilling the soil over the shoulders of
carrots and beets to protect from freezing. If straw and soil are piled over
the row as insulation, harvest may be delayed even longer. While in the row,
the vegetables are readily accessible and the time and damage associated with
harvesting and storage are circumvented. Dig the remaining roots before the
soil freezes, top, clean, and put into storage.

Harvest onions soon after the tops fall over. Pull the onions, remove the
tops, and cure the onions in mesh bags or crates where they have good air
circulation until the necks dry down. When they rustle upon handling, they
are ready to move to a cool, dry storage area.

Do not harvest winter squash and pumpkins until the vines are frost-killed
and the skin is hard to the thumbnail. Leave stems on the fruit to protect
against disease invasion.
Barrel storage
Figure 1: An outdoor barrel storage pit.

Parsnips will withstand freezing. Leave part of the crop in the ground and
dig in the spring when the flavor is greatly improved.

Kale and collards can be left in the Garden long after the first fall frost.
Harvest as needed until the foliage finally succumbs to cold weather. Wind
protection will prolong its usefulness.

Celery and late cabbage may be harvested after the frost has stopped their
growth. Pull celery with its roots attached. Cut cabbage and remove the loose
outer leaves.
Storage

Root Crops, including potatoes, carrots, beets, turnips, rutabagas, winter
radishes, kohlrabi and parsnips, adapt to home storage. This group stores
best at near freezing with a high relative humidity. Store onions near
freezing but with a low relative humidity to discourage neck rot. Leafy Crops
such as celery and cabbage may also be stored. Store them by themselves --
they give off ethylene gas while in storage, which has proven detrimental to
other vegetables.

Celery may be harvested and stored directly in trenches that are dug for that
purpose. Pull the celery plants and pack them upright in the trench. Cover
with paper, boards and soil. They will root, bleach, tenderize and develop a
nutty flavor when removed in late December.

Pack cabbage upside down so the covering soil does not work into the heads.

Pumpkins and winter squash store longer at 50 to 60 degrees F and a low
relative humidity.
Mound storage
Figure 2: A storage mound.

When selecting vegetables for storage, discard any unsound produce. This
includes immature, damaged or diseased specimens. Also, when using vegetables
from storage, check over the produce and discard any showing signs of rot. If
allowed to remain, they will affect adjacent sound produce.
Outdoor Pit

This pit may be either lined or unlined. A lined pit is one that is sealed
against ground water and rodents. This may be a barrel buried
semi-horizontally in the ground (Figure 1). Place the roots in the barrel and
put the lid loosely in place to allow for air transfer. Cover the barrel with
straw held in place by a layer of soil. The straw may be 1 to 3 feet deep,
depending upon the amount of cold that must be endured.

In the unlined pit, the roots are piled on a layer of straw and the pile is
covered with straw held in place by a layer of soil. The unlined pit must be
dug in an area where water will not fill the pit and where rodents are not a
problem.
Storage Mound

A storage mound (see Figure 2) is similar to the unlined pit. It is used
where groundwater is a problem or where only a short storage period under
mild temperatures is anticipated. The vegetables are piled on a layer of
straw on top of the ground. The mound then is covered with a layer of straw
that is held in place by a layer of soil. The mound usually contains one or
two bushels of mixed roots, so when the mounds are removed, all the produce
can be taken into the house.
Basement storage
Figure 3: A basement storage area in the corner of a basement with a window.
Walls are three sheets of 4 x 8-foot 3/8-inch plywood. Cut a 7-foot x 32-inch
door in one sheet. Insulate the ceiling and interior walls. Build shelves and
bins around all walls inside the storage area. Leave a small walkway near the
door.
House Cellar

The root cellar under the house was the most popular means for storing
vegetables before the days of central heating. However, acceptable storage
can be constructed in a heated basement by partitioning off a storage room
that includes a basement window (see Figure 3). Insulate the ceiling and
walls of the room and open or close the window to provide the desired
temperature. The temperature should be between 33 and 45 degrees. Add bins
and shelves for efficient storage.

Root vegetables store best at high humidities, and onions, pumpkins and
squash at lower humidities. Pack root Crops in bins with moist sand or
vermiculite. These are preferable to organic materials because they don't
decompose and are easier to handle than soil. Store dahlia roots and
gladiolus corms dry in bins with perlite or vermiculite until spring.






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