Great Plains Gardening

by Edith Koeller, Master Gardener

August 23, 2002

Now that our gardens are producing and in some cases abundantly, I have some information that may be of use to you concerning the storage of some of them.

"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."

"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."

"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."

"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 humidity."

"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."

"An outdoor 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. 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 l 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."

"A storage mound 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."

"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. 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 humidity’s. Pack root crops in bins with 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." (Storage of Home-Grown Vegetables fact sheet #7.601)

Some gardeners like to save the seed from certain plants also. "Before saving seed, consider the method of pollination, the time of seed bearing, whether the plant is a hybrid, and the manner of seed collection."

"There are three pollination methods of concern to the home gardener: air-borne, insect and self. If the seed produced is to have the same genetic composition of its parents, it must be pollinated with pollen from the same variety. In the case of air-borne pollinated crops, there must be no other varieties within a mile shedding pollen at the same time. If a crop is insect pollinated, there should be l/4 mile separating varieties. Otherwise, some of the seed saved may result from the crossing of the varieties. Self-pollinated crops offer the best opportunity for a home gardener to save seed because the pollen is transferred directly to the stigma within the flower."

"Seed is extracted from fruit after it ripens and before it rots. Leave summer squash and cumbers on the vine until after frost, just like winter squash and pumpkin. Separate the seed from its pulp and dry at room temperature. Leave pod crops on the vine until the pod dries. Harvest before the seed is dispersed. Similarly, harvest seed heads after they dry but before dispersal. Once the seed is dried, gently hand rub to rid it of any chaff, then store in an envelope in a cool, dry, rodent-free place. The seed will germinate best the following year. Thereafter, its germination percentage declines in accordance with the storage conditions, seed type and original seed quality. It is, therefore, best to replant every year and then select the best plants for seed." (Saving Seed fact sheet #7.602)

It is not too soon to be considering these things. In a normal year, it is only 6 more weeks until probable frost in our area.