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Storing Vegetables in the
Fall Preserve Your
Bountiful Harvest
A bountiful harvest may
overwhelm you! During summer, freezing and canning
vegetables are major activities. In late summer and
fall, its time to harvest the carrots, beets, winter
squashes and pumpkins for meals. Good eating depends on
proper harvesting and storage.
Harvesting Vegetables
Harvest vegetables when
they are in their peak, not immature or overripe. Select
vegetables that are free from damage and any insect or
disease injury. Harvest them in the morning or let the
crops cool outdoors overnight.
Storage Conditions
Proper moisture and
ideal temperature are critical in storing vegetables.
Without correct conditions, vegetables lose quality,
shrivel and become unfit to eat. The goal is to store
vegetables for several months after harvest in a cold,
moist atmosphere that will not allow them to freeze or
decompose. Unheated basements, if well ventilated and
cool, are good for storage. In heated basements, it may
be necessary to build a separate section where
temperature and humidity can be controlled and
ventilated. For gardeners with a large quantity of
vegetables, a separate storage building or storage pit
may be necessary. For gardeners with a small harvest, a
second refrigerator is an excellent storage area.
Storage Conditions for Crops
Your storage will
depend upon the crops you wish to harvest and keep for
winter meals. Most crops require a cool or cold moist
area.
Root Crops
Cold, moist storage (32
degrees F 40 degrees F, 90%-95% humidity)
Beets ~ Harvest
fall beets after several moderate frosts (24 28
degrees F) or mulch with straw and leave in the garden
until late fall. For storage, rub off soil, trim tops to
½ inch, place in perforated plastic bags or pack in
layers separated by moist sand or peat moss in a large
box or bin. Store in a refrigerator or a moist, cold
cellar or pit.
Carrots ~ Follow
the same harvest and storage requirements as beets.
Parsnips ~ Harvest
in late fall after several moderate freezes. Exposure to
cold develops their sweet flavor. Store the same as
beets and carrots.
Potatoes ~ Store
in cool area with high humidity and good ventilation.
Avoid exposure to light.
Turnips ~ Harvest
from the time turnips are one inch in diameter. Leave in
the garden until they have withstood several light
freezes or mulch and leave until late fall. Store the
same as beet, carrot and parsnips.
Cole Crops~ Cold,
moist storage (32 40 degrees F, 90%-95% humidity).
Broccoli ~ Harvest
while head is still tight and of good green color. Store
in perforated plastic bags for up to one week in the
refrigerator. Freeze any surplus.
Brussels Sprouts ~
Sprouts can stand several modest freezes (24 28
degrees F). Harvest all sprouts before the first severe
freeze (below 24 degrees F) and stored in the
refrigerator in perforated bags for up to three week.
Freeze any surplus.
Cabbage ~ Harvest
before a moderate freeze. Store in a root cellar in a
bin and cover with moist soil. If stored in an outside
pit, leave roots and stem on. Place head down and cover
with straw or hay, then soil. (Caution: cabbages have
one of the strongest odors of all vegetables, so dont
store them where the smell will drift through the
house.)
Cauliflower ~
Store in perforated plastic bags in the refrigerator for
two weeks. Freeze any surplus.
Collards, Kale,
Spinach ~ Wash and store in perforated plastic bags
in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. Freeze surplus.
(Cool, moist 45 50 degrees F, 80% - 90% relative
humidity.)
Sweet Peppers
~ Store for two to three weeks in the warmer part of
the refrigerator in perforated plastic bags. Cool cellar
storage is also possible.
Tomatoes ~ Harvest
before frost. Wrap mature green tomatoes individually in
newspaper and store in cellar where temperatures are 55
58 degrees F. Inspect for ripeness weekly. (Warm moist
55 60 degrees F, 80% - 85% relative humidity.)
Pumpkins and Winter
Squash ~ Harvest when the skin is hard and the
colors darken. Both pumpkins and winter squash should be
harvested before frost and removed from the vine with a
portion of the stem attached. Store on shelves in a
single layer so that air can circulate around them.
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