Download - Fall Vegetables Tips for Storing
Types of Vegetables to Store Pumpkins and Winter Squash
Onions
Garlic
Potatoes
Carrots (and other root crops such
as beets, horseradish, parsnips, rutabaga, turnips, winder radishes.)
Tomatoes
Apples/Pears
Leafy greens
Cabbage
Places to store vegetablesYou always want to keep in mind, (temperature, humidity, ventilation, accessibility) Just Remember: The human race probably wouldn’t be around today if preserving food were technically complicated (Dont stress!)
TemperatureCool/Dark (Without Freezeing!)
IDEAL storing temps between (32-40 degrees) A general rule for vegetables is that cool-season crops should be stored at cooler temperatures (32 to 35°F), and warm-season crops should be stored at warmer temperatures (45 to 55°F). There are exceptions to this rule, though.
Examples of warm-season crops: peppers, cucumbers, watermelon, jicima,okra, tomatoes, sweet potato) - (55 degrees with high humidity)Onions and winter squash are the exceptions of cold season crops (They like cool and dry) (not cold) How to do it: Utilize cool places in your homeGarage, basement, under a bed, a certain cabinet, or closet, many of us have a spot in our home which stays rather cool.
Humidity Moisture (High humidity (between 80 and 95 percent relative humidity) Keeps vegetables from drying out! (Hygrometer helps)
The exception to this rule is with cucurbits (squash family) and onions — vegetables that produce a thick wall. These vegetables prefer dry storage conditions and tend to mold when the moisture is high.)
The easiest way to keep the moisture high is to have a dirt floor, which helps the root cellar keep a constant moisture during the winter. If the floor is concrete or wood, it may be necessary to place several pans of water on the floor. Vegetables are 90 percent water. Other ideas(adding container of moistened salt to fridge, damp burlap bags over produce etc)
VentillationVentilation is used to help control the temperature and humidity. Excess moisture that encourages mold can be exhausted and the room can be aired out when not in use. Be sure the ventilation system is screened to keep rodents out.
Storage conditions
● Cool and dry
● (about 55 degrees with low humdity)
● Can store for 6-8 months
Tips
1. Store with stem still attached for
longevity
2. Laundry baskets, or crates with slats
work well for storage containers
3. Squash with the thickest skin will last
the very longest (think acorn vs
butternut)
4. Oil buffing can also help. Putting a
light, non greasy layer of oil prevents
mold on squash. (Make sure squash
are clean)
Onions
Storage conditions
● Cool and dry
● (about 40-50 degrees/60/70%
humidity )
● Storage life- 1-8 months
Tips
1. Plant long-day varieties of onions
2. Harvest onions when ½ leaves die
3. “Cure” onions for two weeks in a cool,
dry ventilated place (no sun!). (gives
them protective skin)
4. Cut tops off leaves 1-2”
5. Do not store near potatoes or apples!
Onions
Storage conditions
● Cool and dry
● (about 30-45 degrees/60/70%
humidity )
● Storage life- 6-7 months
Tips
1. Similar to onions in harvest/storage
conditions
2. Other methods of storing besides
pantiohose include -vegetable rack,
mesh bag, braiding
3. If they are starting to get mushy or
spouting/don't want it to deteriorate,
separate head of garlic into whole
cloves and freeze with skin on. When
thawed, skin will peel easily for
cooking.
● Cool and dry
● (about 40 degrees 90% humidity )
● Storage life- 5-10 months
Tips
1. When harvesting (storage potatoes),
brush dirt but do not wash potatoes
2. Cure for two weeks on layers of
newspaper in a cool dark place to develop
skin
3. Prevent rot and sprouting, layer in box
with straw/peat moss, paper shavings .
(make sure potatoes aren’t touching.)
Other ways to store, brown paper bag
away from light.-
4. Check for rot/sprouting frequently
5. Keep away from apples, bananas , onions,
garlic
6. Do not store in fridge! (Increases sugars
and chemical called acrylamide
Onions
Storage conditions
● Cold and humid
● (about 32 degrees/90-100%humidity )
● Storage life- 4-6 months
Tips
1. Cut tops off (the green part, because it
pulls moisture from the
vegetable=dry/cracked)
2. Make sure none are damaged (spoil
quickly)
3. Place unwashed root veggies with tops
cut into moist sand/peatmoss,pine
shavings, fresh potting soil, in
alternating rows.
4. Cover each layer with material of
choice.)
5. Place them in cool place, check for
spoilage.
Tomatoes
Storage conditions: 55 degrees,
75% humidity
Pick when green before first
killing frost (below 28 degrees)
Let ripen in box, using the red
ones first
Or, you can pick the whole plant
and hand upside down in a
shed/barn. Eat tomatoes as
they ripen.
Onions
Apples/Pears Storage Conditions
● Cold and humid
● (about 32-40
degrees/90-95%humidity )
● Storage life- 1-12 months
Tips
1. Pick a storage variety of apple
2. Harvest when apples are full of color but
there are not dozens fallen on the ground
(peak ripeness = peak storage cabability
3. Only store apples that have no blemishes,
worm holes, bruising.
4. Wrap in newspaper or store in a cool place
or store in a cool place without them
touching. (Wrapping with elderberry flowers
will give them a pineapple flavor)
5. Do not store near potatoes/other vegetables
Onions
Leafy Greens (Kale/Spinach)
● Cold and humid
● (about 32-40
degrees/90-95%humidity )
● Storage life- 1+ months
Tips
1. If you don’t to store kale outside with season
extenders, pull whole kale/spinach plant up
by root. Replant in pots and store in root
cellar. (Can also be stored with roots intact
on slatted shelf
2. Remove yellowing leaves and water as
necessary
Onions
Cabbage
● Cold and moist
● (about 32 degrees/90-95%humidity )
● Storage life- 5-6 months
Tips
1. Do not wash outer leaves before storing
them.Solid heads picked with outside wrapping leaves store the best.
2. Pull cabbage by root and replant in soil. Keep
in cool storage.
3. Can also hang upside down from root.
4. Like all storage fruits and vegetables, can be
stored in a garden pit/mound, trench,
5. Check cabbages often for
Sourcesfile:///home/chronos/u-12fc65c6959991de07fecf3a3864193eef694c72/MyFiles/Downloads/HGA-00331.pdf (Alaska Extension Office)
https://extension.umn.edu/planting-and-growing-guides/harvesting-and-storing-home-garden-vegetables
https://extension.umd.edu/hgic/topics/storing-garden-produce
https://extension.colostate.edu/topic-areas/yard-garden/storage-of-home-grown-vegetables-7-601/
https://hortnews.extension.iastate.edu/faq/i-would-grow-onions-storage-over-winter-which-onion-varieties-are-best-storage#:~:text=Onion%20cultivars%20that%20are%20good,suitable%20for%20short%2Dterm%20storage.
https://ag.umass.edu/vegetable/fact-sheets/onions-harvest-curing
https://extension.umaine.edu/publications/4135e/#:~:text=A%20general%20rule%20for%20vegetables,exceptions%20to%20this%20rule%2C%20though.
https://www.southernexposure.com/blog/2017/08/how-to-store-crops-without-a-root-cellar/
https://extension.unh.edu/blog/storing-fall-vegetables
https://extension.missouri.edu/publications/g6226
https://news.extension.uconn.edu/2017/11/30/cold-storage-a-sustainable-way-to-preserve-the-harvest/
https://web.extension.illinois.edu/tog/storing.cfm#:~:text=Extra%20vegetables%20should%20be%20kept,danger%20of%20the%20soil%20freezing.
http://pubs.cahnrs.wsu.edu/publications/pubs/eb1326e/
https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/freeze_damage_in_fall_vegetables_identifying_and_preventing
http://extension.msstate.edu/vegetable-gardening-mississippi/storing-vegetables-and-seeds