Storing Veggies & Fruit

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  • illini40

    Sharpshooter
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    Nov 28, 2010
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    Hi Everyone

    Outside of canning or refrigerator/freezing, how do you store vegetables and/or fruit for storage? I am not referring to trying to store for a year plus, but nor am I referring to storing for a week.

    I have heard of folks having actual root cellars where they store root veggies (potatoes, sweet potatoes, onions, etc) for months on end. While we don’t have a root cellar, we do have a basement that is dark. Unfortunately for this topic, it does not stay that cold due to central heat still
    keeping it in the 60s in the winter.

    Thus, if I wanted to keep some extra veggies and fruit on hand for the next few months, what do you recommend (if anything)? Will potatoes, onions, apples, etc last long just sitting in the basement?

    Again, not referring to canning, freezing, etc.
     
    Last edited:

    bwframe

    Loneranger
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    I dehydrate.

    DSC-0329.jpg


    DSC-0281.jpg


    20200823-221317-1.jpg


    Also some fermentation...

    20200817-153950.jpg
     
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    bdybdall

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    I'm sure someone here has done this but I have not. With that said, my grandfather would dig a pit in his garden, line it with straw, put in cabbages and root vegetables, cover them with with straw and the the whole thing with dirt. He would dig into the side later and retrieve part of the veggies as he used them. For fruit, he would slice it, sulfur it, and lay it on sheets on his roof. I do not know how he would protect it from birds or insects. Maybe someone here could elaborate. Of course a dehydrator would probably work better.
     

    Expat

    Pdub
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    Can you close off any vents int eh basement?
    I built a separate room in the corner with a window in it, insulated it good, FiL found me an old door from a walk in freezer that we hung on it. Covered the window, but can still get air flow if I need it. Built bins on the walls. If the weather cooperates you can get it pretty cool in there and then maintain it.
     

    snorko

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    I'm sure someone here has done this but I have not. With that said, my grandfather would dig a pit in his garden, line it with straw, put in cabbages and root vegetables, cover them with with straw and the the whole thing with dirt. He would dig into the side later and retrieve part of the veggies as he used them. For fruit, he would slice it, sulfur it, and lay it on sheets on his roof. I do not know how he would protect it from birds or insects. Maybe someone here could elaborate. Of course a dehydrator would probably work better.

    A mixture of sand and straw is common as well. A twist on this is to bury a barrel or trash can at an angle into the ground as kind of a mini root cellar.

    But re-reading the OP, there is not a lot needed to do to store most vegetables for a week. Most can sit on the counter or in the fridge with no ill effects. What and how much are you talking about?
     

    vermilionbird

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    This is geared more toward short term fruit and vegetable storage but I saw a post recently where someone directed a bit of cold spring water into a container of vegetables that sat above a fish pond. Scraps would come off what was being kept cold and feed fish as well. Kinda creative
     

    snorko

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    In olden times most farms had spring houses if possible. Stone (typical) structure built over a natural spring with a shallow flume or tub like counter built in. the spring water flowed into and out of this trough and pots or cans of milk, butter, etc would be placed in the trough which commonly had water temps of 55 degrees or so.
     

    Expat

    Pdub
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    One of my grandpas used to hill up some of his vegetables out in the garden over winter. But that was down in Eastern KY, so it is a bit warmer than up here. No idea how well they would do.
     

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