Need storage help

[desertcat]

First of all, thank you guys for being such enablers! :happy_flower

This year I'm going a little crazy in the garden and am facing the prospect of having waaay more produce than I can keep on top of. I have the techonology and knowledge for canning, drying and freezing, but was wondering about storing root veggies. This year I'm looking at a possible overload on onions, garlic and potatoes. Gonna try a fall crop of carrots, but last fall's carrot experiment is FINALLY at the eating stage, so not sure that they would need storing!

I would love to have a root cellar, but a) ground is flat, b) no backhoe and c) neither DH nor I like to dig big holes. Sooo, anybody have any genius suggestions?

Plan B: We have an unheated shop and garage (poor insulation in both) and a tack room that I keep a heater in just to keep everything a shade above freezing. Any recommendations here?

 

[patandchickens]

Does it really get cold enough for long enough where you are? Most veggies want something pretty close to freezing for a root cellar, and the ground stays warm long after its surface freezes. And of course you need somewhere cool for the veggies *until* you get down to near-freezing temperatures. Do people really successfully root-cellar in TX??

If it is carrots, could you just store them in the ground, with haybales or whatever atop them to keep the ground from freezing? Or do you have too many voles etc? If too many voles etc, there are various arrangements where you basically sink a trashcan or other container up to nearly its brim in the ground, and store the carrots (in damp sawdust or whatever) in there. This assumes good drainage and cool enough ground to start with.

I wonder if your state ag extension service might have some info on how feasible it is in your area?

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[lesa]

I always have a huge crop of carrots- some of them I store in sand in the basement. (But my basement is a lot cooler than yours...) The carrots that are small or imperfect I store in an open plastic bag in an extra fridge. We are still eating these and they are crisp and fresh...I never expected them to last so long. A few might go soft, but I toss them right into the compost pile. I imagine onions might store well like this, too. I think more than anything your potatoes want cool and dark. They cannot go in the fridge...same for garlic. I think if you dry your garlic and braid it- it should last till spring, right in the house.

Another option for some of the onions- you can dice them up (I use the food processor) and put them in baggies in the freezer. Perfect for sauces, soups, etc. Good luck! Enjoy your bounty!

 

[desertcat]

My biggest challenge is that in our "normal" winters, the temps can range from highs in the 60s and lows around freezing to highs around freezing and lows approaching the Arctic...sometimes in the same week. Really I guess I'm trying to find some way to make the temps more stable.

As far as other people doing root cellars, I live in one of those areas where grocery stores are popular and veggie gardeing (except for tomatoes) isn't. I do know that the pioneers in this area had them. Don't know if they were practical or if it was a habit brought west, though.

I do envy those of you who live in places where the extension folks are a good resource. Ours are great IF you are into cattle, 4H sheep and major ag. Otherwise, you get a handout that is really great if you live south of Dallas. I've even tried talking to the folks in NE New Mexico and NW Oklahoma, but they really don't tend to do a lot of gardening other than trees, apparently. Oops, sorry. Didn't meant to rant like that, just one of my pet peeves about an otherwise pretty decent place to live!

 

[wifezilla]

Well, you could convert some of that great fresh produce in to money by setting up a booth at a farmer's market. I hear money can store well

 

[journey11]

Onions do better in the house...warm and dry. I put mine in the closet or under the stairs, hang in mesh bags because they need the ventilation. Garlic, I'd just stick in the fridge, because it's pretty small.

I lived in Killeen, TX for awhile and everybody there thought a 40 degree day was cold (hehe). Amarillo gets colder though doesn't it? I think you'll be better off storing your carrots right in the row. Throw some mulch over top of them, about 4" or so to stablize the soil temps and cover that with a wire mesh, held down with a rock or two to keep the mice out.

For your potatoes, I think maybe your best bet will be to dig a small pit (just big enough for the potatoes), maybe 2-3' deep and wide enough that the potatoes are about 8"-10" deep. Line with some sand, put the potatoes in, cover with sawdust or straw, then cover with a big piece of plywood to keep the rain out, toss on a rock or two to hold it down. Kinda primitive, I know, but it will keep cool and moist. You could also keep them in a very dark place in the garage in a wooden crate/milk crate, but the temps will probably not be very consistent. If it does get down to a chance of freezing, I bring mine in until it passes, then take them back out (or they'll sprout if they get too warm).

A book I always recommend for it's many clever suggestions on winter storage is Root Cellaring, by Mike and Nancy Bubel. It goes very in depth on the storage requirements of fruit/vegetables, when and how to plant and harvest for best keeping in storage and many methods of storage (not just the traditional root cellar).