Dry beans may be stored in cloth bags in a pantry
or in any cool, dry and well ventilated room. The bags should be hung away
from the floor to prevent damage by rats and mice.
Onions require a cool, dry place. They should be cured
by being exposed to the air for a few days in the shade. The tops should be
removed before storing. Keep them in baskets, trays or other holders which
let the air circulate. Onions are not damaged by temperatures slightly below
freezing, and for storing them the attic is better than the cellar. If
stored in the cellar they should be suspended from the ceiling.
Squashes are susceptible to cold and moisture, and for
that reason should be stored in a dry place where the temperature will be
between 50 and 60 degrees F. Squashes may be kept by placing them in a
single layer on a dry floor and covering with rugs or carpets, but care must
be taken that the stems are not broken off and that they do not become
bruised before storing. Whenever it is found that any of the squashes or
pumpkins are showing signs of decay, the sound portions should be canned.
Tomatoes may be saved by pulling up the entire plant
before freezing weather. The vines should be suspended by the roots in a
cool cellar. The tomatoes will gradually ripen. If these tomatoes, when
cooked, are found to be acid, the acidity can be overcome by using baking
soda.
Parsley may be saved by transplanting into flower pots
late in the fall. These should be kept in windows where they will receive
sunshine.
Parsnips and salsify are not injured by remaining in
the ground all winter. Enough for immediate needs may be dug in the fall and
the others harvested as required.
Fig. 5*––Irish potatoes in an outdoor mound. This mound
must be in a well-drained location. After removing 2 or 3 inches of earth,
pile the potatoes on a 2 or 3-inch layer of dry straw, leaves or hay. Cover
the vegetables with 2 or 3 inches of straw, leaves or hay, and cover this
with 3 or 4 inches of earth. Increase the thickness of the earth layer as
severe weather approaches, making it as much as 12 inches in extremely cold
climates. Manure or corn stalks should be piled over the mound. The straw,
coming to the top, will afford ventilation. The opening should be covered
fro protection from rain. |
POTATOES
As one of the staple vegetables, potatoes are
entitled to special consideration for winter storage. If you have raised a
surplus crop in your own garden save as many as possible for your winter's
supply. If you have none of your own raising it is well to buy them early in
the fall, at the time of greatest supply and lowest prices, and store them
for the winter, making yourself independent of the market during the time of
highest prices.
Potatoes may be stored in cellars, pits and outdoor
cellars, as already described. Before they are stored they should be allowed
to dry. This is done by digging them on bright days, if possible, and
allowing them to lie alongside the rows for a few hours. Before storing sort
them carefully as to size and soundness. The smaller potatoes and those
which show signs of threatened decay should not be stored, but should be
used early.
The success of potato storage depends on the exclusion
of light, proper ventilation, the proper amount of moisture, the size of the
pile or container and the type of the tubers stored.
In storing potatoes it should be remembered that the
purpose is to protect them from great changes of temperature and from light.
Even a small amount of light changes the food value of potatoes. There
should be enough moisture to keep the potatoes from wilting, but not enough
to cause moisture to gather on the surface.
If potatoes are stored in a place where there is
moisture in the air, provision should be made to permit free circulation of
air through the containers. Barrels, boxes and bins may be ventilated by
boring holes in sides and bottoms. Barrels, boxes and crates should be set
on slats to hold them off the floor and allow the air to circulate
underneath. If the storage place is light a blanket, several thicknesses of
paper, or old sacks should be placed on top of the containers. If the air of
the storage place is dry, it should not be allowed to circulate freely
through the containers, as dry air will cause withering of the potatoes. In
such storage places the potatoes should be put in containers made airtight
by lining bottom and sides with several thicknesses of newspaper and
covering the top snugly in the same manner.
The temperature of a cellar storage room for potatoes
should be carefully controlled to prevent wide fluctuations. A constant
temperature around 30 degrees F. is desirable. It should not be allowed to
go below 32 degrees or above 50 degrees.
Potatoes should not be washed before storage. If they
begin sprouting in the spring all the shoots should be rubbed off. The bins
should be examined occasionally and any rotting potatoes removed to prevent
the spread of infection Bins
Do not have one large bin for potatoes, as those
in the center will be subjected to too high temperature, which will cause
all of them to go through a sweating process. Too large a bin makes good
ventilation impossible. Open bins, not more than a foot deep, arranged as a
shelf, as shown in Fig. 3, are excellent for cellar storage. Another good
arrangement of shelf storage for certain crops is shown in
Fig. 4.
Pits
A small pit provided with ventilation, as shown
in Fig. 5, is the most satisfactory. It is better to have several small pits
than one large one, as the entire contents must be removed when a pit is
opened. Place not more than two to six weeks' supply in a single pit.. |
