The assortment of vegetables which can be made available for winter
use is much larger than is ordinarily supposed. No less than thirty
distinct kinds of vegetables can be preserved for winter use by proper
methods of storing, canning, and pickling. Of these, at least twenty
may be kept in the fresh state, without canning or pickling. Besides
the staple crop, potatoes, the list includes the root crops (beets,
carrots, horse-radish, parsnips, winter radish, ruta-baga, salsify,
turnips), kohl-rabi, cabbage, celery, leeks, chicory, parsley, onions,
dry beans, pumpkins, squashes and sweet potatoes. The vegetables most
commonly canned are rhubarb, tomatoes, corn, peas and string beans;
those commonly preserved by pickling are cauliflower, cucumbers (both
green and ripe), citron, green peppers and green tomatoes.
When vegetables are to be canned or pickled, it is not usually
necessary to grow them especially for that purpose, except to make sure
that a suitable variety is planted in sufficient quantity. When the
vegetables have reached the right stage of maturity and the supply is
abundant, part of the crop is simply canned or pickled without special
regard to the particular time in the season it may be done. However,
with vegetables to be preserved in the fresh state for winter use it is
essential that they be planted at such a time that they will reach the
right stage of development at the proper season for storing. This means
that in the case of some of the crops they will be planted considerably
later than if designed for summer use, since the product is of better
quality if not allowed to continue growth after reaching the desired
stage of development, and this stage should not be reached before the
arrival of the storage season. Since most vegetables usually keep best
if put into storage comparatively late, it should be the aim of the
gardener to mature the vegetables for winter use as late in the season
as he can, and yet have them harvested before they are injured by cold.
Of the vegetables stored for winter, some require entirely different
conditions in storage than do others, so that attempts to store all
vegetables under the same conditions would result only in failure. In
order that the root crops may be stored without wilting, rotting or
starting into growth, they must be kept cool, fairly moist, and away
from contact with circulating air. Cabbage may be successfully stored
under the same conditions. Onions must be kept at a low temperature,
but differ from the root crops in that they must be in a dry atmosphere
and have free circulation of air. In a moist atmosphere, under high
temperature, they would either rot or sprout. Vegetables that are
expected to continue growth while in storage, such as celery, leeks,
Brussels sprouts, chicory and parsley, must be planted in dirt and the
roots kept moist. Air should circulate freely about the tops, and the
temperature must be low. On the other hand, sweet potatoes, pumpkins
and squashes demand a high temperature and dry atmosphere, with free
circulation of air.
The conditions of storage favorable to the different crops are secured
in various ways. Market gardeners use outdoor pits or specially
constructed cellars for their root crops, cabbage and celery. Onions
are commercially stored in slatted crates piled in tiers in frost-proof
houses provided with means for ventilation so that the temperature
can be maintained at slightly above freezing. Sweet potatoes and
squashes are also stored in specially constructed houses, in which the
temperature can be controlled; but since a high temperature is demanded
for these crops, artificial heat is usually employed. Circulation
of air about these products in storage is facilitated by the use of
slatted bins, and allowing ample space between the bins and the side
walls of the building.
For home use the root crops and cabbage can best be stored in outdoor
pits for late winter use, and in the cellar for use early in the
season. The chief objection usually urged against storing root crops
in the cellar is that they are likely to wilt. This difficulty can be
obviated by packing the roots in boxes with alternate layers of earth
or sand, and placing the boxes in the coolest part of the cellar. The
earth will absorb any odors in case the vegetables should start to
decay, and thus avoid endangering the health of the family. Cabbage can
be stored in the same way if the roots and outer leaves are removed and
merely the heads are packed in boxes or barrels of earth.
Cabbage intended for late winter use, however, will keep better in an
outdoor pit than in a cellar. The same is true of parsnips, salsify,
horse-radish and some of the other root crops. Except where the ground
is especially well drained, the pits are usually made entirely above
ground. For storing cabbage in this manner, the plants are pulled with
the roots and leaves on, and placed upside-down in regular order on a
level piece of ground. Usually three plants are placed side by side,
with two above, and this arrangement repeated so that the final result
is a long, low pile of cabbage showing five plants in a cross section.
Earth is piled against and over this array of cabbage until the plants,
including the roots, are entirely covered. In a severe climate, a layer
of manure may be added when cold weather arrives.
For storing parsnips, salsify and horse-radish, which are uninjured by
freezing, the roots may be placed in a pile on the ground and covered
with about six inches of earth. The advantage of storing in this
manner, instead of allowing the roots to remain where they grew, is
the saving in time of digging, when a few roots are wanted during the
winter. It is much easier to open the pit when the ground is frozen
than to dig roots from the garden with a pick. In fact, the difficulty
of digging almost precludes the use of these crops in midwinter unless
they are more accessible than in the place where they grew.
Beets, carrots, turnips, ruta-bagas, kohl-rabi and Irish potatoes can
also be stored in outdoor pits, but they must be covered sufficiently
to prevent freezing. One of the best ways of handling these crops is to
place them in a conical pile and cover first with six or eight inches
of hay or straw, then with earth to a similar depth. If extremely cold
weather is expected, a layer of manure should be placed outside of the
earth. In getting vegetables from pits of this kind in midwinter, the
manure is removed slightly from one side of the pit near the bottom
and a hole about a foot square chopped through the frozen earth with
an old ax. Sufficient hay is then pulled out by means of an iron hook,
to enable a person to thrust his arm into the opening and reach the
vegetables.--(U. Ill. 154.)