Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Too much produce? What to do safely
With the pandemic a LOT of folks started vegetable gardening, a healthy outdoor activity while on lockdown. Something to sink our teeth into, so to speak.
Others expanded their gardens and now your neighbors are kind of over accepting more cucumbers and zucchini from you! So what do you do?
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.
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.