

		HARVEST GUIDE  

		by  Gail Damerow   

(Mother Earth News  /  August/September 1993)   


  Those of us who enjoy eating fruit and vegetables straight from our
orchards and gardens dread winter when there's no fresh produce to pick.
Sure, we can dry, pickle, can, and freeze summer's bounty, but it's nice
to have something fresh once in a while.  And sure, we can buy "fresh"
produce at the grocery store, but it just doesn't taste the same.  Happily,
there's another alternative.  By judiciously selecting the varieties we
grow, and by learning to handle and store them to maximize their shelf
life, we can enjoy fresh produce from our gardens well into winter and
maybe into spring.    

  SELECTING and GROWING   

  Selecting the right fruits and vegetables doesn't just involve growing
foods that traditionally store well (such as apples and potatoes), but
growing cultivars that ripen late and have especially long shelf lives
(such as Winesap apples and Kennebec potatoes).  Some nursery catalogs
offer storage information in their seed and plant descriptions.  The
accompanying chart lists varieties that are well known for their good
storing qualities.   
  Due to variations in climate and soil, cultivars perform differently in
different areas.  MacIntosh apples, for example, generally don't store as
well as the varieties listed in the chart, but those grown in New England
store better than MacIntosh grown elsewhere.  If you're fond of a
particular variety, try storing a sample to see how it holds up.  Planting
times and growing conditions will also affect storage quality.  Most
vegetables that store well grow best in cool weather.  Unless you're
growing something that needs a long season (like melon squash), start
seeds as late as possible.  Plants that mature during cool autumn weather
produce fruit with tougher skins and better keeping qualities.  Go easy on
the fertilizer -- for winter storage you want fruit that's firm and solid,
not mushy.    

  PICKING and CURING   

  With the exception of tomatoes and pears, storage produce should be
fully mature and prime for serving.  No fruits or vegetables should have
insect damage or cuts or bruises caused by rough handling during harvest.
Some things (including pears and squash), are easily damaged by frost and
should be harvested at the slightest hint of freezing weather.  Others
(like Brussels sprouts and parsnips), improve after exposure to a light
frost, because freezing converts their starches into sugars.  Potatoes and
squash keep longer if they're cured to toughen their skins.  No produce
should be washed -- this encourages decay.  Instead, harvest root crops
when the soil is dry and gently brush off excessive dirt, taking great
care not to break through the skins.    

  STORING   

  Some vegetables can be left in the ground until the soil freezes hard.
Some can be left in the ground all winter and harvested after the spring
thaw.  Some must be brought in and stored in a cool, dry place, others
must be stored in a cool, humid place.  Your produce will last longer if
you combine foods with similar preferences in temperature and humidity, as
indicated in the chart.  An inexpensive thermometer/hygrometer will help
you find or create the ideal storage spot.    
  At tempertures higher than those recommended, produce deteriorates more
quickly; humidity is equally important.  Most fruits and vegetables
contain approximately 85% water, and loss of moisture through evaporation
causes shriveling.  Vegetables that are especially prone to drying should
be packed in damp (but not wet) sand or sawdust, or replanted in buckets
of moist soil or sand so their roots can continue drawing up the moisture
they need.    
  Root cellars -- which take advantage of the earth's natural coolness and
moisture -- are popular in areas where the frost line is deep.  If you
have an unfinished basement that's cold and damp, commandeer a corner for
your root cellar.  If your basement is cold but dry, increase humidity by
leaving a bucket or two of water among your vegetables; if your basement
tends to be on the warm side, you can still store produce that prefers
warmer temperatures.  Try sweet potatoes, pumpkins, and squash.   
  In areas where the frost line isn't very deep, produce can be stored in
shallow outdoor pits.  Dig the pit on a gentle slope, one or two feet
below the frost line.  Add a trench around the pit to divert runoff.  Heap
loose soil in the center of the pit and line the pit with straw, bringing
the straw well over the sides.  Mound produce in the center, bring the
straw together over it, and tie the straw together at the center to form
an exhaust chimney.  Cover the whole thing with loose soil and add a sheet
of tin or roofing felt to keep out heavy rain.  Then, when you want to
retrieve a potato or cabbage, lift the cover and reach through the
chimney.     
  Stored produce needs ventilation to bring in fresh air.  If you're
storing apples, pears, or tomatoes, ventilation also removes the ethylene
gas naturally produced as they ripen.  The warmer the temperature, the
more rapidly gas is produced and the faster foods ripen; the cooler the
temperature, the slower they ripen.  Bagging ethylene producers in plastic
slows the rate of ripening (by limiting oxygen).  To hasten ripening of
other produce, store an ethylene producer alongside.  To slow ripening, 
separate them.  

  MAIN CROPS   

  CELERY is one of those vegetables you can keep in the garden right up
until the ground freezes hard.  Gradually bank soil around plants so
they're covered by the time the first hard frost hits.  The banked soil,
besides protecting the plants, also blanches them so they'll taste
somewhat milder.  (Unfortunately, they'll also be lower in vitamins.)
When frost does threaten, cover the mounded row with a thick layer of
mulch.  Before the ground freezes hard, dig up and replant celery, closely
spaced, in a bucket with a shallow layer of damp sand or soil in the
bottom.  Keep the sand or soil moist, using a length of hose to place the
water so you won't wet leaves and stalks, causing them to rot.  Store
celery separately from vegetables that give off strong odors, such as
cabbages and turnips.   
  GARLIC is the cat of the vegetable world -- it does what it darn well
pleases.  Grow the variety that does best in your area, and plant it at
the best time for your area.  We break up one or two of our best bulbs and
replant the cloves right after the fall harvest.  We plant more cloves in
spring, when our stored garlic starts to sprout.  Some years the
fall-planted cloves grow best, other years the spring-planted crop
prevails.  Harvest garlic as soon as the tops die back.  Dig up the bulbs,
shake off loose soil, and clip off the roots.  Cure bulbs in the sun for
three or four days to toughen skins.  Stored garlic needs good air
circulation, so place bulbs in open plastic crates or hang them in a cool,
dry place.  Some people claim to braid garlic for storage, but our bulbs
always fall off the braid.  
  JERUSALEM ARTICHOKES can be mulched heavily and harvested from the
garden until the ground freezes hard.  To serve crisp chokes during
winter, bring in tubers before the soil gets too hard to dig, taking care
not to break through the skins.  Store chokes in buckets of damp sand or
sawdust.     
  ONIONS should be lightly stepped on or knocked down with the back side
of a rake when the tops turn yellow and half have fallen over.  Leave the
bulbs in the ground to dry for another week, then dig them and cut the
tops to within one inch.  Sort out damaged bulbs and any with thick necks;
they won't keep as well as thin-necked bulbs.  Spread the bulbs on screens
to cure in the sun for a day or two.  Move the screens to a dry, shady,
airy place and continue curing for three weeks more.  Onions need good air
circulation during storage.  Place them in open plastic crates or hang
them in mesh or net bags and store them in a cool, dry place.  Some people
like to braid their onions and cut off bulbs as they're needed.  In
general, yellow onions store better than whites or reds.   
  POTATOES store best if they're planted late enough in the season so that
cool autumn nights help them to store starch before the harvest.  Dig
potatoes when their tops die back.  In some areas, they may be left in the
ground for as long as six weeks.  But here in Tennessee, ours rot if we
don't harvest them right away.  Cure potatoes by spreading them on screens
in a dry, dark, warm (60øF to 75øF) place for two weeks, while skins
toughen and nicks heal over.  Potatoes need plenty of ventilation during
storage, so don't pile them in great heaps.  Keep them in a dark, dry
place where the temperature does not fall below 35øF, otherwise starch
will turn to sugar, making your potatoes taste funny (you can reverse the
process by holding them at room temperature for a week before cooking
them).    
  SWEET POTATOES are more popular here in the South than Irish potatoes.
Traditionally, most houses here don't have cellars, and sweet potatoes
keep better in the warm, dry air produced by winter wood stoves (indeed,
sweet potatoes stored at too cold a temperature develop black spots and
corky areas).  Dig sweet potatoes when vines die back or before fall rains
make the soil soggy, whichever comes first.  If frost kills the vines, dig
the tubers right away.  Let them lie on the ground for a half day to air
dry.  Then sort out seriously damaged tubers, spread the rest on screens,
and cure them in a dark, warm (80øF to 85føF) place for two weeks, during
which minor breaks will heal over.  Before storing the tubers, gently
brush away loose soil, taking care not to break through the skins.  
  Some people wrap each tuber in newspaper, others pack them in cartons
separated by dry sawdust.  We gently stack ours in open bins, and they
last until spring.  Because they need a good amount of ventilation, we
don't pile them in great heaps.  In our experience, larger tubers store
longer, so we eat the smaller ones first.    
  TOMATOES are not usually thought of in terms of storage, but you can
extend the fresh tomato season by 12 weeks or more if you grow LONG
KEEPER, developed specifically for winter storage.  Stored tomatoes don't
taste as good as fresh ones, but they're a darn sight tastier than
hothouse tomatoes from the store.  If you already have a favorite tomato
growing in your garden, you still have a few tricks to extend your season.
Begin by pinching out blossoms and small fruit a couple of weeks before
the expected first frost, which helps the remaining fruit mature more
rapidly.  Because tomatoes touched by frost may not ripen, protect plants
with sheets when light frost threatens.  Before a hard frost, pick
unblemished tomatoes of at least three-quarters full size, with shiny
skins.    
  Set the tomatoes on a shelf, away from direct sunlight, where the
temperature is between 65øF and 70øF.  To trap ethylene gas and hasten
ripening, cover some tomatoes with newspaper; lift the paper daily and
remove any that have ripened or are rotting.  Your tomatoes should ripen
in one to two weeks.  To slow ripening by an extra week, store some
tomatoes at 55øF to 60øF.  Another way to store tomatoes is to pull up the
whole plant, roots and all, and hang it in your garage or basement away
from sunlight, where tomatoes will continue to ripen for four to six
weeks.  Ripened or rotting tomatoes fall with a splat, so check your
plants frequently or spread newspaper on the floor to simplify cleanup.  
  Tomatoes store best if they come from young, rather than almost played
out, plants.  To ensure that you have maturing tomatoes on the vine in
late fall, start new plants in mid or late summer by cutting six-inch
suckers (or the plant's top 12") from spring plants.  Remove lower leaves
and encourage roots by setting cuttings in water for a few hours or
dusting them with a rooting hormone before planting them.    
  WINTER SQUASH and PUMPKINS are all reasonably good keepers, but butternut
cultivars (All Season, Hercules, and Waltham) and sweet potato cultivars
(Delicata and Sweet Dumpling) keep best of all.  Spaghetti squash is next
best, with pumpkins running close behind, although _pepos_ or true pumpkins
don't keep quite as well as _maximas_.  Stored on hay bales in our barn,
_maximas_ last into April.  Acorn squash (especially after the skin turns
orange) is the least easy keeper and requires a lower temperature than
other squash.   
  Plant squash and pumpkins late so they won't mature until the weather
cools.  To hasten ripening, pinch out plant leaders, flowers, and small
fruit three weeks before expected frost.  Squash exposed to frost doesn't
keep well, so harvest before a hard frost.  Store fruit with two-inch
stems and skin so tough you can't punch through it with a fingernail.  
  Cure all varieties except acorn and sweet potato cultivars by leaving
them in the sun for 10 days, covering them if rain or frost threatens.
Stored squash needs good air circulation, so place fruit in a single layer
with space between them, not in heaps.  Although squash and pumpkins keep
well at lower humidity and higher temperatures than other produce, they
will get stringy if stored where it's too warm.    

  ROOT CROPS    

  Root crops such as beets, carrots, and turnips tend to dry out during
storage unless kept in damp sand or sawdust.  Dig roots, brush off loose
dirt, twist off tops to within one inch, and pack roots in five-gallon
buckets, one variety per bucket.  Set the cover lightly on top of the
bucket to slow evaporation.  Pack only roots that aren't damaged during
harvest, and store them in a place that's cold (32øF to 40øF) and humid
(90% to 95% relative humidity).   
  BEETS developed for storage (such as Long Season and Lutz Green Leaf)
won't get woody if you leave them in the ground, others should be harvested
before they get much over two inches in diameter.  Pull up beets before a
hard frost and twist off the tops but leave the bottom root.   
  CARROTS in the garden can be mulched and harvested until the ground
freezes hard.  If you wish, you can leave them in the ground until the
spring thaw, covering them with one to two feet of mulch before the ground
starts to freeze.  Otherwise, dig them for winter use and store them away
from ethylene producers, or they may turn bitter.       
  KOHLRABI, RUTABAGA, and TURNIPS are brassicas grown for their bulbous
roots rather than their leaves.  Kohlrabi tastes best when bulbs are no
more than about three inches across.  Rutabaga tastes mildest when bulbs
are no more than two inches across, and sweetest after a couple of light
frosts.  Turnips taste mildest when bulbs are four to five inches across,
and sweetest after a couple of light frosts.  Harvest all three before a
heavy frost.      
  PARSNIPS, like carrots, can be harvested and stored (away from ethylene
producers so they won't turn bitter) or left in the garden.  If you leave
some in the ground to enjoy after the spring thaw, harvest them when small
leaves poke through the soil, or they'll soon get tough.   
  SALSIFY also tastes best after a couple of light frosts.  It may be
harvested and stored the same as carrots and parsnips but won't keep quite
as long.   
  WINTER RADISHES may be left in the ground, well mulched, or stored in
damp sand or sawdust.  Left uncovered after harvest, they shrivel fast.  

  COLE CROPS    

  Storing brassicas will give you something green to eat during winter.
The best keepers are brussels sprouts, cauliflower, head cabbage, and
Chinese cabbage.      
  BRUSSELS SPROUTS are short-term keepers, but at low temperatures can be
kept for a month or more.  Leave plants in the garden until temperatures
dip intothe 20s.  The sprouts, in fact, taste best after a frost.  When
serious cold weather threatens, uproot entire plants and either hang them
upside down in the basement or replant them in buckets of moist soil.
Picked sprouts may be kept in perforated plastic bags (the kind carrots
are sold in), and stored for three weeks or longer.      
  CABBAGES with solid, firm heads will keep for two months or more.  Split
heads don't keep well, though, so in rainy weather twist heads (or push a
shovel into the ground on two opposite sides of each head) to break off
feeder roots so that they can't draw in any excess moisture.  Grow a
winter cultivar and harvest just before heads reach full maturity -- right
before their outer leaves start to pale.  Pull up plants with roots intact
and trim off large, loose leaves.    
  Heads may be stored in a variety of ways; hang them from strings tied
around the roots; lay them on a dirt floor, root side up, and cover them
with loose soil; arrange them in a circle in a pit, so that each head
covers the root of the next; wrap heads in newspaper and then pack them
into crates; pack heads in layers with straw between them; or space heads
along a shelf.  Cabbages give off a pungent ordor, so you might not care
to store them in the house or with nonbrassicas, which could take on a
strange tasts.    
  CAULIFLOWER does not keep well if the storage temperature is warmer than
the ideal.  Purple-headed cultivars store best, since they mature later in
fall than white varieties.  Uproot plants with solid heads and store them
any number of ways hung by the roots, laid on shelves, or replanted in
buckets of moist soil or sand.  Heads will keep best if they're wrapped in
plastic and stored in a cool, humid place.    
  CHINESE CABBAGE does not keep quite as well as regular cabbage, but it
is nice to have for variety.  Uprooted and stored in a straw-lined pit,
it'll keep for about one month.  Replanted in buckets of moist sand or
soil and stored in a cool, humid place, chinese cabbage keeps for three
months or more, if you don't wet the crowns during watering.  Store
mature, solid heads, harvested before a hard frost (mild frost improves
the flavor).    

  FRESH FRUIT   

  Fresh fruit is a real treat during the winter, but most fruit doesn't
store well.  Exceptions are some varieties of apples and pears, and melon
squash grown in your garden.  
  APPLES harvested from the tree keep best, but we have sorted through
windfalls of apples and stored the least damaged ones for several months.
Stored apples must be ripe.  If they're underripe, they'll go bad fast; if
overripe, they'll turn soft.  Apples harvested in early and mid-fall, such
as Cortland and Grimes Golden, keep for two months at best, but the late
fall apples listed in the chart keep much longer.  Many antique varieties
are also good keepers.  Those in our orchard include Ben Davis, Pound
Apple, Roxbury Russet, Spitzenburg, and Winter Rambo.   
  For any cultivar, the higher the temperature, the shorter the shelf life.
Stored at temperatures close to 32øF, late-fall apples will keep all
winter.  At temperatures as high as 40øF, they'll get soft in a month or
two.  If apples shrivel fast, either your temperature is too high or your
humidity too low.  Don't store apples in great heaps, or they'll bruise
and rot.  We wrap ours individually in newspaper and sort through them
often looking for soft ones.  If they're not too far gone, we use soft
ones for baking or in pancakes.   
  PEARS, unlike apples, don't taste as good if allowed to ripen on the
tree; tree ripened causes gritty texture.  Pick pears just as their skins
start turning yellow and the fruit drops easily into your hand when you
push up on it.  Wrap pears individually in newspaper and store in a cool
place, keeping the layers fairly shallow to avoid bruising.  Pears won't
ripen during storage, so bring them into a warm room to ripen for several
days before you plan to serve them.      
  MELONS, of course, do not store well, but a certain variety of winter
squash, appropriately called "melon squash," has the taste and texture of
a crisp, firm melon.  Try it if you can squeeze six to seven months out of
your growing season (get a jump on the season by starting seeds indoors).
Harvest melon squash when frost threatens; it will ripen, darken in color,
and sweeten during storage.    

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++  
		SIDEBAR     
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++  

	RESOURCES    

  THE HARVEST GARDENER by Susan McClure (Garden Way, 1993) is a complete
guide to growing and harvesting vegetables and preserving them in a
variety of ways including root cellaring.    

  ROOT CELLARING by Mike and Nancy Bubel (Rodale, 1979) includes everything
you need to know about growing and harvesting food for storage, including
details on how to build a variety of root cellars.   

  Among seed catalogs that indicate storage cultivars are: 

GURNEY'S  			SEEDS BLUM   
 110 Capital Street   		 Idaho Stage City  
 Yankton, SD  57079   		 Boise, ID  83706   

HENRY FIELDS      		SHUMWAYS     
 415 North Burnett     		 POBox 1   
 Shenandoah, IA  51602    	 Graniteville, SC  29829   


++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++  

Produce 			Start	Frost 		Storage 	
				Seeds	Hardy		Temp.	Humidity   Time  

APPLES  
Arkansas Black		N/A		somewhat		32øF		80-90%	4-6 months
Baldwin 			 "		
Northern Spy		 "  
Rome Beauty		 "   
Winesap 			 "  
Yellow Newton		 "  

ARTICHOKES  
Jerusalem 
  artichokes 		anytime	very  		32-35øF	90-95%	1-2 months

BEETS  
Long Season		May-June	somewhat		32-35øF	90-95%	2-4 months
Lutz Green Leaf	 "  
Sweetheart		 "  

BRUSSELS SPROUTS  
Jade Cross		May-June	very			32-40øF	90-95%	1+ months
Cabbage, green		 "  
Danish Roundhead	June-July	very			32-35øF	80-90%	2+ months
Fat Dutch 		 " 
Safekeeper		 "  
Storer			 "  

CABBAGE, RED  
Lasso 			 "   
Winter Red 		 "  

CARROTS   
Autumn King		June-July	somewhat		32-40øF	90-95%	6+ months
Baby Spike		 "  
Minicor			 "  
Nantes			 "  

CAULIFLOWER  
Sicillan Purple	May		somewhat		32øF		80-90%	1+ months
Violet Queen		 "   
Burgundy Queen		 "  
Newton Seale		 "   

CELERY   
Fordhook			April-May	somewhat		32øF		90-95%	2+ months
Giant Pascal		 "  
Utah				 "   

CHINESE CABBAGE   
Chine King		July		somewhat 		32øF		80-90%	1-3 months
Dynasty			 "   
2-Season			 "  
Wintertime		 "   
Wong Bok (Nape)	 "  

GARLIC  
(best brand for 
  your area)		fall/spring somewhat	32-40øF	60-70%	6+ months

KALE   
Dwarf Siberian		May-July	very			N/A		N/A		all winter 
Green Curled Scotch  "   
Vates Blue Curled 	 "   

KOHLRABI   
Grand Duke		July 	very			32-40øF	90-95%	1-2 months
White Vienna		 "   

MELON SQUASH   
Tahitian			April-May	not			50-60øF  

ONIONS   
Ebenezer			seeds:Feb	somewhat		45-50øF	50-60%	1-3 months
				sets:April   
Fiesta			 "   
Spartan Banner		 "   
Sweet Sandwich		 "   
Sweet Writer		 "  
Yellow Globe  		 "   

PARSNIPS   
All-America 		April-May	very			32-35øF	90-95%	1-2 months
Harris Model		 "   
Hollow Crown		 "  

PEARS    
Anjou			N/A		not			32øF		85-90%	2+ months
Devce			 "  
Easter Beurre		 "   
Winter Nells 		 "   

POTATOES    
Beltsville		June		tender		35-40øF	80-90%	4-6 months
Kennebec			 "  
Norgold Russet		 "  
Red Pontiac		 "  
Russet Burbank		 "   

PUMPKINS   
(best brand for 
  your area)		May-June	tender		50-60øF	70-75%	2-3 months
Jack-Be-Little		 " 		 " 			 "		 "		1 year 

RUTABAGA   
AltaSweet 		June-July	very			32-40øF	90-95%	several 
Laurentian		 " 									  weeks  
Macomber 			 "   
Purple-Top		 "   

SWEET POTATOES   
Allgood			May		tender 		50-60øF	60-70%	all winter
Jewell			 "  
Nugget			 "   

TOMATOES   
Long Keeper		July		tender		32-40øF	90-95%	6-12 weeks

TURNIPS   
Just Right		July-August  very 		32-40øF	90-95%	2-4 months
Purple Top 		 "  
White Globe  		 "   

