Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Overabundance of produce?
Got a problem with too much produce? Neighbors done accepting more cucumbers and zucchini from you? What do you do? Preserving, canning, drying and even fermenting are great options.
Comprehensive information on varied ways to safely preserve your harvests [Univ. of MN Ext.]
When harvesting vegetables, be careful not to break, nick or bruise them. The less you handle your vegetables, the longer they’ll last in storage. And only harvest the best stuff! Rotting produce doesn’t keep for very long, and can spread disease to other stored vegetables.
My ‘Super sweet millions’ and ‘Grape Juliet’ are still producing. Some are cracking. Perfect to dehydrate. Yes, a little tedious but worth it!
Different vegetables need different storage conditions. Temperature and humidity are the main storage factors to consider.
- Cool and dry
- Cold and dry
- Cold and moist.
There are some conditions that are too moist and will promote rot, like in a closed plastic bag in your refrigerator!
This LINK takes you to the University of MN Ext. with information on what produce stores best in what conditions, how to preserve, how to donate and more!
Basements are generally cool and dry but your vegetables will need some ventilation. Harvested vegetables aren’t dead and still require oxygen to maintain their high quality. Also watch for rodents! For the veggies and YOU!
My basement is more like a root cellar, cold and moist. (no pictures, I don’t want to scare you!) Snap beans and beets are a couple of examples for a root cellar. And my garlic!
