GardenSpotlight

  Unfortunately for many of us, winter is coming.   However, that doesn’t mean you have to harvest every single item out of your garden and worry about it spoiling before you can eat it all.   For those of you that have grown root vegetables, you can easily store your bounty in a root cellar.   What’s that, you don’t have a root cellar you say?   Fear not.   You can build your own outdoors, right in your garden if you like! I have researched several different types of root storage spaces and actually, there are many of them.   I tend to like one in particular as it seems a sure fire way to keep out rodents as well as water.   You will need to first know the amount of vegetables you will be storing as this will determine the amount of storage space you will need.   Find a location that is slightly uphill if you have one.   This will help water to drain away from your storage area.   You will need a clean garbage can with a lid, fr...

As I was cooking supper this evening, I got to thinking about winter vegetable storage. I had prepared an oven roasted winter vegetable mix...Yumm! I'll give you the recipe later. For now, if you are storing root vegetables or tubers (ie, potatoes, carrots) use the following recommendations: wash and gently scrub the vegetables and store them either in perforated plastic bags or a plastic container or pail. They should be kept at 31-33 degrees F with high humidity. Check the moisture content weekly and adjust the lid accordingly. You don't want them to dry out, nor do you want to see water droplets on them. If stacking layers of vegetables in the pail or container, stack each layer in the opposite direction to maximize air circulation. Cabbages: Store similar fashion as root vegetables. Just keep them cold. If they freeze slightly, they should still be OK. Just let them thaw out for a couple of days before using. They should be fine. Storing Onions: Onions and shallots can b...