Harvesting and Storing Produce

Now that you can walk out to the garden early in the morning and see your breath, it's time to think about gathering your garden's bounty to keep it as long as possible to enjoy when the garden is covered with snow. Different vegetables require different harvest times; storage methods also differ for the best results.

Let's start with onions. Let them stay in the garden until the necks are tight and the scales (paper covering) are dry. Usually they are fine left in the garden into the fall but not if a frost is threatening. Be careful not to bruise them when picking. Lay them in the sun to dry down. Cure them in a warm, dry place for 2 weeks before storing. Onions need to be stored cold and dry, 32-40 degrees with low humidity. Many houses do not have a cool enough space so a spare non-frost-free refrigerator is an alternative. Some varieties do not store well and need to be turned into onion soup!

Squash and pumpkins need to have a hard shell before harvesting and will not tolerate a hard frost. They can be cured in a warm, dry place for about ten days before storing. Washing them with a weak bleach solution or an alcohol solution helps prevent molds and rot. They need to be stored in a cool, dry location, 50-60 degrees. Many basements fit this description. A variety we grow lasts until April this way. Summer squash, peppers and cucumbers do not store well; you can only expect a week or more if stored in a perforated bag, but not in the refrigerator.

Tomatoes are late this year but will continue to ripen after picking. If you have a place to lay them out on newspapers, they will ripen at room temperature. Washing with a weak bleach or alcohol solution and rinsing after picking will reduce the number that rot. Do not store them in the refrigerator, they lose color and firmness below 40 degrees.

Some vegetables require cold and moist conditions for storage - 32-40 degrees with 95% humidity. Root cellars or a specially designed storage room are the only ways to achieve this with modern building methods. Beets, cabbage, kohlrabi, carrots, cauliflower, muskmelon, parsnips, rutabagas, turnips, and especially potatoes require this means of storage if not processed. Light should be excluded from potatoes. A feature you may want to consider is an underground root cellar. Houses built in the 50s with a fallout shelter are a real find!

Vegetables are not inert and continue to breathe after harvesting, Placing them in a closed container is not desirable; they need ventilation to prevent rot. Polyethylene bags with holes cut for breathing is good for cold, moist storage. Other alternatives for storage for carrots and parsnips can be used. Generally we do not harvest all of our carrots until very late although carrot flavor is damaged at 25 degrees. A thick layer of mulch can extend the harvest time. With parsnips, simply leave the ones you do not eat in the ground until the next spring, again mulching to protect them. They actually improve in flavor this way! Waxing is not recommended for the home gardener because of the availability of safe waxes, the cleanliness required, and the difficulty in applying the correct wax thickness