Healthy soil and sustainable growing

["Tradingpost" <tradingpost@lobo.net>]

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.