Fall Food Storage

How to Store Your Fall Fruit and Veggies

Whether you grew your own produce in the garden or bought it at the grocery store, no one wants there food to spoil prematurely. Here are a few tips to help keep your fall fruits and veggies longer.

Apples
Store in a dark, cool location. Isolate them, because the ethylene gas they give off makes many vegetables sprout and rot.

Asian pears
Place the pears in a sealed bag in the refrigerator to keep them from dehydrating.

Beets
Cut off the tops and store in a cool, dark place in a single layer on dry sand or cat litter.

Cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, and Brussels sprouts
Harvest mature heads, including roots, and hang upside down in a humid basement, garage, or out-building where it doesn’t go below freezing.

Carrots
Leave carrots in the garden. Cut off the green foliage and cover with a foot or more of shredded leaves or straw. Top with a tarp to keep soil from freezing. Harvest as needed.

Onions
Store onions in mesh bags or open baskets in an isolated cool, dry place.

Potatoes
Store in a cool, dark place in paper bags with holes poked in them for ventilation. Don’t store near onions, which give off ethylene gas, causing potatoes to sprout. Do not expose to light, which also triggers sprouting. Do not store in the refrigerator; the cold will destroy the flavor.

Winter squash and pumpkins
Clean the squash with bleach and water to kill any fungi or bacteria on its rind. Store in any cool spot up to six months.