STORAGE TIPS
Tip #1: Know the right conditions!
The most important thing to consider when deciding when and how to store your bulk food is what are the optimal conditions for the fruit, vegetable, or grain. In Central Oregon, we are very dry (usually around 20-40% humidity) and can get very cold. Keep these factors in mind while coming up with a plan for your winter storage.
There are four main optimal conditions that most produce fits into:
Tip #2: Create the right environment!
Not many people have root cellars anymore, not everyone lives in a house, and, frankly, Central Oregon isn't the easiest place to live in the winter. But necessity is the mother of invention, and we have some great ideas for you house-, apartment-, or RV-dwellers to store produce regardless of having the ideal situation or not.
For produce that requires Cold and Very Moist conditions:
These items are going to love being in something sort of wet. This can be moistened sand, moistened sawdust or wood shavings, perforate plastic root bags, or wrapped in a wet towel. The trick will be to keep moisture in the produce but not stagnate the airflow. So perforated plastic bags over non-perforated, and wet towels that are changed out frequently.
These are sort of your ideal "root cellar" crops. There are some great, cheap, DIY root cellar ideas. My favorite and by far the easiest is to take a 5 gallon bucket, bury it as far as you can in the earth (but no further than the lid at earth level), and filling it with wet sand and produce. Here is a link to other great DIY root cellar ideas.
This produce can also be kept very well in your refrigerator. If you have room in your home fridge or have an extra fridge in the garage, consider cleaning it out this fall to make room for some storage veggies!
For produce that requires Cold and Moist conditions:
These are also ideal root cellar crops. Though requiring a bit less moisture.
Cabbage is going to be the most challenging of the crops mostly because of its size. I would recommend keeping cabbage in the refrigerator if possible, though you may also be able to use a DIY root cellar technique with some positive outcomes. Remember to check cabbage often and pull off outside leaves as they become less desirable.
Potatoes and apples/pears have a bit more flexibility. It is important to keep potatoes very dark. Storing them in a burlap bag in an unheated garage is an effective technique. Apples will store at a variety of temperatures, but will ripen more quickly the warmer they are. Apples ripen 4 times faster at 50 degrees than 32 degrees.
For cabbage and apples/pears, I would consider storing them for a short amount of time and then potentially preserving them with other methods such as making kraut from the cabbage or applesauce from the apples.
A Potato Clamp is a great way of storing potatoes even in harshly cold environment. It is practically free and takes very little time. See the video below on how to make an old timey potato clamp.
For produce that requires Cool and Dry Conditions:
Cool and dry conditions are going to be some of the easiest to achieve in most any home in Central Oregon. These items can be kept in the back spare bedroom that is kept cool, in the garage, basically any part of your house that is the coolest. Keep them in paper bags for plenty of airflow and to not trap moisture.
For produce that requires Moderately Warm and Dry Conditions:
This is also a very easy to achieve condition in most homes. Sweet potatoes and squash often get sweeter the longer they are left to cure. A short anecdote: we grew sweet potatoes for the first time three years ago. We were so excited when we dug them up that we decided to eat them for dinner that night. We were... underwhelmed to say the least. We then learned that they like to go through a very hot curing process (like 80 degrees for a week) and then left in a warm and dry place, reach their sweetest potential after about two months. I would recommend storing sweet potatoes on the counter in a paper bag.
Winter squash may like it slightly cooler than sweet potatoes. Some varieties like spaghetti squash should be eaten first and prioritized over other squash, as their storage life is one to three months. Here is a chart of squash curing and storing guidelines:
courtesy of Johnny's Select Seeds
Tip #3: Know your produce and check it often!
Check out the chart to the right to determine the relative storage life for each item you purchase. Should you prioritize eating those brussel sprouts for Thanksgiving and maybe wait to eat those sweet potatoes for the winter holidays?
I would recommend setting an alarm on your calendar to check your produce every week or two if you aren't getting into it frequently. Did you make sure the moisture is staying at an optimal point and your carrots and potatoes aren't beginning to shrivel? Did you check your onions and cabbage for mold and peel them back or make a plan to have French Onion soup for dinner that week? Is your garlic starting to dry out and you need to make garlic powder now?
There are some items that do not like to be stored together. Make sure to keep apples away from all other vegetables. Apples release ethylene as they ripen, which can cause other produce to ripen too quickly. Do not keep onions and potatoes together. Onions omit excess moisture and ethylene which can cause potatoes to sprout and spoil.
Make sure to have an intimate relation with your produce. It is here to nourish you all winter long, grown by farmers who care greatly for this place and their community. Treat this food as a gift from the land and give it lots of attention.
courtesy of the NCHFP
Other useful resources:
Storing Vegetables at Home by the National Center for Home Food Preservation (educational PDF)
10 Tips for Storing Garden Vegetables through Winter by the Seasonal Homestead (blog)
Storage Guidelines for Fruits and Vegetables by Cornell Cooperative Extension (educational PDF)
Storing Vegetables Over Winter by The Old Farmers Almanac (blog)
Storing Garden Vegetables and Root Cellars Safe and Secure from the Corporate Food Train by Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners (MOFGA) (fact sheet)
Storage of Fruits and Vegetables by Missouri Botanical Garden