It’s that time of year when the excess vegetables from the garden need to be stored before frost destroys them. The good news is, many of these vegetables can successfully be stored for months in the right storage conditions. Even without a garden, buying quantities of these vegetables while they’re fresh and “in season” and storing them for later winter use can make sense. Both of these approaches provide fresh vegetables more economically than buying from the supermarket in the middle of winter when it’s most expensive. In addition, vegetables stored at their peak maturity usually have better flavor and higher nutritional value.
Appropriate Vegetables & Storage Conditions
Vegetables that are good candidates for winter storage can be classified into four groups depending on the temperature and humidity conditions that are ideal for their storage. Vegetables not included in the table below can usually only be kept in short term storage (a few weeks) and are better processed by canning, freezing, or drying for winter use. The four groups and the long term storage conditions are:
Vegetables are usually packed in some type of material for winter storage to provide insulation or moisture retention while reducing disease transmission.
Sawdust, clean straw, dry leaves, hay, corn stalks or peat moss are often used as insulating materials for vegetables that need dry storage. Because they can become contaminated with mold and bacteria; these materials should be used for only one season and then they can be recycled into compost or mulch for the garden.
Vegetables that need moist storage shouldn’t be directly exposed to air and moistened sand, sawdust, or peat moss are commonly used as storage materials. Plastic bags or liners can also be used to help retain moisture but should be perforated at regular intervals to maintain air circulation and prevent condensation.
Alternating layers of produce with packing materials and wrapping items individually helps reduce disease transmission. Old newspapers have commonly been used for this purpose.
When harvesting or buying vegetables for winter storage, there are several guidelines to follow to ensure successful extended storage times:
1) Choose late-maturing varieties that are suited for long term storage
2) Harvest or buy vegetables that are at peak maturity
3) Store only vegetables that are completely free of any visible blemishes or damage
4) Handle vegetables carefully to prevent bruising or damage
5) Leave an inch of stem on the vegetable (if possible) to minimize water loss and prevent infection
In addition to using the right temperature, humidity, and guidelines above; vegetables should be stored in dark, aerated, pest free conditions. Standing water, freezing, and storage with fruits (which give off ethylene that hastens ripening) should all be avoided. Vegetables shouldn’t be stored until temperature in the storage area has dropped to the appropriate level. Often, getting the vegetables into an adequately cold storage location at peak maturity is the biggest storage challenge; however, it’s essential to achieving long term storage success.
We’ve had great success with potatoes, squash, and many of the root vegetables; even though our storage conditions still aren’t quite ideal for long term storage. We’re using a basement root cellar that generally isn’t as cold or moist as it should be, yet we’re still able to store a great deal to last through the winter months – there’s something so satisfying about gathering the ingredients for winter meals from what you’ve grown and stored rather than running to the supermarket!
After traveling this holiday weekend and buying several delicious (Panera and Starbucks) but expensive cups of Chai Tea, I was thrilled to find this homemade mix in my step-mother’s pantry. I thought it was also delicious and comparable to the name brand versions we’d just enjoyed on the road, so had to get the recipe.
It sure does taste good and warm you up on a cold, blustery day. Jars of this would make nice holiday gifts too.
Spiced Chai Tea 2013-12-01 09:55:14 A delicious homemade mix for making Chai Tea. Write a review Save Recipe Print Ingredients 1 cup nonfat dry milk powder 1 cup powdered non-dairy creamer 1 cup French vanilla flavored non-dairy creamer 2 1/2 cups white sugar 1 1/2 cups unsweetened instant tea 2 teaspoons ground ginger 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 1 teaspoon ground cloves 1 teaspoon ground cardamom 1 teaspoon allspice 1 teaspoon nutmeg 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
Instructions Mix ingredients together, then blend in a blender until the consistency is a fine powder.
Notes Add 2 heaping tablespoons to a mug of hot water. Stir to mix, and enjoy.
Better Hens and Gardens http://www.betterhensandgardens.com/
Thank you for joining us today. I’m honored to join this group of bloggers as a guest host for From the Farm Blog Hop this holiday weekend.
One of the best parts of being a blogger is all the wonderful fellow bloggers I’ve met along the way, and each of these hosts generously provides support and unconditional friendship to their fellow bloggers. This holiday, I’m especially thankful for their helping hands, problem solving, and most importantly, encouragement to others.
So whether you are here to link a post or read some amazing content, please take time this holiday [...]
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Thanksgiving is a time to slow down, and remember all the things in our lives that we’re thankful for. This year, some of the things I’m thankful for are my husband, family, friends, and all the critters that make up Bramblestone farm. We’re blessed to be celebrating the holiday with both family and friends, and much of the food that we’ll enjoy will contain ingredients produced right here on the farm.
Perhaps it’s not so different from what the original pilgrims were thankful for - the food that they’d been able to produce, plus family and friends to celebrate it [...]
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Essential Oil Giveaway Just in time for the holidays! Sponsored by: Jenni Hulburt of the Nature Fed Wellness Movement
You can find more information about Jenni’s doTerra Essential oils here! And please take a moment to visit Jenni’s website here!
Jenni Hulburt is a health and fitness expert, creator of the Inspire Workouts, and author of the Dirt Detox. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Exercise Science and a Master’s degree in Kinesiology (Sports Psychology). As a certified American College of Sports Medicine – Health and Fitness Specialist, Jenni creates fitness, nutrition, and wellness plans for people who want results in [...]
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I can never remember which cheeses are supposed to be paired with what wines, and as the holidays get near I always end up “googling” it a few times. So, to save myself some trouble, here’s a basic listing of what’s supposed to go with what! Of course, these are just general guidelines and we should always eat and drink whatever tastes good to us, regardless of the “right” pairings.
Champagne – Camembert, Cheddar, Colby, Edam, Brie Chardonnay – Muenster, Goat Cheese, Blue Cheese Chenin Blanc – Camembert, Goat Cheese Chianti – Fontina, Mozzarella, Parmesan, Provolone Dessert Wines – Crème Fraiche, Mascarpone, [...]
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It’s turning cold and wintery in our region now so, it’s important to focus energy on cleaning up the vegetable garden. I wish that all my cleanup chores were done; but I’m still working on it – and working hard because I know a few hours of work now will make a huge difference in next year’s garden.
It’s important to remove and destroy (not compost) all the remains from this year’s vegetable plants because many vegetable pests survive from year to year on old plant debris. Being careful about this helps prevent insect and disease problems from starting next spring and summer.
After getting all the [...]
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It’s that time of year again, the heat and cold are making skin dry out, and I’m searching everywhere for chapstick. This year, rather than buying more from the store, I decided to make it instead. Those little tubes of chapstick are ridiculously high in price, and all it takes to make your own are beeswax, coconut oil, and honey (plus some essential oil if you’d like to flavor it). Since we keep bees, honey and beeswax are abundant here, and I’ve got the coconut oil and essential oils for soap making anyway, so why not?
The proportions for this recipe [...]
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The planned kidding schedule for the Bramblestone Farm Nigerian Dwarf does has been executed, and the girls are hopefully all “in a family way” as my father-in-law likes to put it. The table below shows who was bred to whom, when the doe is due, and if you use the slider at the bottom of the table, you can scroll to the right and see additional comments on each pairing. We don’t take reservations until after the kids arrive (late next March), but if you’re interested in any kids from one of the pairings we can put you on the [...]
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There are many dried green beans hanging on vines in our garden now (I need to finish cleaning up the garden before winter), and it reminds me that beans are one of the easiest seeds for a gardener to save. And, saving them really does have benefits over buying seeds each year. In order to save bean seeds (or any garden seed for that matter), you do have to grow an open-pollinated (often described as heirloom) rather than hybrid variety, but there are many good open-pollinated varieties of beans to choose from. Benefits of saving bean seed include:
Open pollinated varieties cost less initially than hybrid varieties [...]
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This year, we entered our four mature Nigerian Dwarf goats into the USDA milk production testing Dairy Herd Improvement Registry (DHIR). DHIR testing is the nationally recognized system for evaluating the milk production of dairy animals. It’s a method of statistically measuring a 305 day lactation for an animal by obtaining monthly milk weights and sampling the milk for components (see Milk Production Testing for Goats for more information on how the program works).
And, all four girls have now met the requirements for both ADGA and AGS milking stars! By producing the required amount of milk, butterfat, or protein, a goat can earn her Advanced [...]
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Each year in the spring, it seems that we buy a few new herbs and annuals (or what are considered annuals) because we love the taste of fresh herbs, and the way the annuals dress up our flower pots and beds. And each year I wonder why I didn’t just bring last years tender herbs and annuals in, and at least attempt to overwinter them indoors. Many tender herbs and annuals (such as rosemary, basil, sweet potato vines, ferns, etc.) that you’ve grown in pots or in the herb garden, can be repotted (or simply brought in if they’re already in a suitable pot), [...]
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In American Italian restaurants, we often see red pepper flakes on the table and of course we use it to spice up our pizza, spaghetti, or whatever Italian dish we’re having. But in Italy, we noticed that many restaurants had Hot Pepper Oil on the tables instead, and we found ourselves liking it better than red pepper flakes. It spreads the flavor out a bit, and you don’t get the sudden spiciness of biting into a red pepper flake. Leave it to the Italians to find another great way to use extra virgin olive oil in their meals. Since we enjoyed it so much, I decided to make [...]
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1*M Wildwind Farm Bit ‘O’ Honey
Ultimately, the reason most folks have dairy goats is because they want the milk; and for this the does need to be bred and have kids. Standard size does can generally be bred after they reach 80 lbs. or seven months of age; but breeders often wait until does are older for miniature breeds like Nigerian Dwarves. In our case, we’ve been waiting until the does are 1 ½ years old; both because we wanted springtime kids and want the does to be nearly mature before they kid. This year, we’re planning to breed [...]
Continue reading Goat Kids – Preparing Does for Breeding