Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Potatoes should be cured for a few days after harvesting to allow the skins to dry out and toughen.
Cover them with straw so the sun doesn't shine on them when you do so, or the light will make the
potatoes turn green. The green bits on potatoes are toxic and should be avoided. Alternatively, find
a warm, dark room to lay them out for curing out of the sunlight. When they are ready, they will
store well in burlap sacks or in milk crates filled with straw.
Just these easy-to-keep vegetables alone would provide plenty of fresh food through the winter until
the spring growing season starts up again. Onions and garlic are the only ones of these crops that
prefer drier conditions; the others like cool and humid. Given the right conditions, some easy keep-
ers like winter squash, potatoes, and apples will last for months.
Over the Garden Fence
Be sure that the fruits and vegetables you store are in excellent shape. Fruits or vegetables with broken
skin, blemishes, missing stems, or other flaws should be used right away. These would also be the fruits
you want to use for fresh eating sauces, or cider.
Fruits. Don't think that fruits and berries can be stored through the winter? Think again! While
many berries are fragile and fleeting (think raspberries), there are other berries and fruits that will
stay fresh for weeks in the cellar.
Apples, pears, and grapes will all store in cold and moist conditions. Give them a little bit of
humidity and not-quite freezing temperatures and you'll have the ability to eat fresh fruit for weeks.
Remember, store the fruits away from the other vegetables, as they can speed overripening of your
veggies. Check over your fruit every week or two to make sure you are removing any spoiled fruit.
All of these fruits will store best when they are not overcrowded and directly touching. We use a
milk crate to store our apples, for example, and avoid spoilage by laying straw between each layer
of apples. Spacing them far enough apart so there is a gap between the skins of individual fruit
helps as well. Fill the milk crate, layering fruit-straw-fruit-straw, and then carefully store in the
cellar away from the potatoes. Alternatively, you can wrap the apples, pears, or other fruit in plain
newspaper so the paper prevents moisture build-up and rotting.
Beans and peas. Your legumes will want a cool and dry place, as humidity can cause the dry beans
to try to sprout. Stored in an airtight container, dried beans, peas, and other legumes will store for
years. Be sure that they are completely dry before storing.
Squash. Squash plants are a well-known crop for root cellars. Winter squash have thicker skins that
store well during the winter. Storage is best when you let the squash fully ripen before harvesting
and leave some of the stem attached. Let the squash sit in the sun for a few days to help toughen
the skin, a process called sun curing . Turn the squash a quarter turn each day so the sun reaches all
sides of the squash, and it will harden evenly. If you aren't able to sun-cure the squash, store them
at room temperature indoors for two weeks, rotating daily as described previously.
Search WWH ::




Custom Search