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Fall vegetable harvest and storage ideas

Fall is a bittersweet time for vegetable gardeners. All the hard work of the growing season is finally paying off with a delicious harvest of all types of vegetables. But the chill in the air reminds us cold weather and snow is imminent.
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Freshly dug beets and carrots ready for storage. Photo by Jackie Bantle

Fall is a bittersweet time for vegetable gardeners. All the hard work of the growing season is finally paying off with a delicious harvest of all types of vegetables. But the chill in the air reminds us cold weather and snow is imminent. Luckily, frost does not have to bring a sudden halt to enjoying the fruits of your labour.

Frost sensitive crops like cucumber, bean, eggplant, lettuce, watermelon, pea, pepper, zucchini, tomato and cantaloupe must be harvested prior to 0 C. Corn should be harvested as soon as possible after a light frost (-1 C). If left on the plant, toxic nitrates supplied by still functioning roots may accumulate in the cobs.

Green tomatoes and peppers will ripen to red if they are physiologically mature when harvested. Mature green tomatoes are usually slightly dull green with some hint of color change. Store them at 15 C in a well-ventilated area. Green peppers are ready to harvest when their walls are firm to the touch. Store at room temperature in a paper bag to ripen to red. Store red peppers in the fridge.

Onions are ready to harvest when their tops have fallen over. Stubborn onion tops can be “encouraged” to fall over by lightly stepping on them. Harvest onions when frost is predicted and cure them in a warm location (20 C) with good air movement for one week. After curing, remove tops and store in a cool location (ideally 1 to 2 C and 70 per cent relative humidity). Spanish onions do not typically store well as they seldom reach full maturity in our short Saskatchewan season.

Leeks have a slightly sweeter flavour if exposed to a few degrees of frost. Trim the upper loose leaves off prior to storage. Store them in a clear, perforated (tiny holes) plastic bag in the fridge. Leeks, unlike onions, are not destined for long-term storage.

Cabbage can withstand up to -3 C. Brussels sprouts can withstand several hard frosts of -4 to 5 C (and encourages sweeter flavours to develop) as long as daytime temperatures allow plants to thaw. Ideal storage conditions for cabbage and Brussels sprouts are 1 C and 80 per cent RH.

Root and tuber crops like beet, carrot, rutabaga and potato can be left in the ground for at least one killing frost to improve sweetness. As long as night temperatures do not dip below -4 C and are above 8 C during the day, the soil provides enough insulation to prevent the roots and tubers from freezing. To encourage potato skin-set, tops should either be dead or physically removed for at least one week prior to harvest.

Prepare roots and tubers by gently removing loose soil and soil clods. Avoid damaging them with spades, forks, etc. I don’t wash my roots and tubes prior to storage as excess moisture also encourages rot – especially on any new harvest wounds. Do not dry root and tuber vegetables in the sun. This only warms them up and compromises storage.

Winter squash and pumpkin vines freeze at 0 C. However, mature fruit can survive -4 C. Cure squash in a warm (20 C) dry location for 10 days. For long-term storage, keep them in a slightly cooler, dry area (e.g. basement). The best place to ripen green pumpkins to orange is in a warm, sunny, dry location.

Most refrigerators have limited space for bulky cabbage, potato and many root crops. Some gardeners build simple wooden vegetable storage boxes in garages kept just above 0 C during the winter months. Keep boxes closed to increase humidity. Root cellars also provide good root crop storage areas provided temperatures are kept cool and humidity is kept slightly elevated.

After all the hard work put in during the growing season, it’s a wonderful reward to be able to enjoy those home grown vegetables into the fall and winter months.

— Bantle is a horticulturist living in Saskatoon. This column is provided courtesy of the Saskatchewan Perennial Society (www.saskperennial.ca; hortscene@yahoo.com; www.facebook.com/saskperennial). Check out our Bulletin Board or Calendar for upcoming garden information sessions, workshops, tours and other events: Sept. 18, 1-4 p.m.: At Touch of Autumn at Honeywood Nursery (www.honeywood-lilies.ca).