Pit storage | Ana's Garden Karma

Several months ago, I had the opportunity to attend an awesome 2-day workshop entitled “Garden Troubleshooting” at the Denver Urban Gardens headquarters. We learned about good bugs, bad bugs and a variety of plant diseases and disorders and how to address them. Many of those lessons have come in handy for me this summer. But now that its harvest time, I find myself referring to the section on when and how to harvest and how to store my produce. Thanks to Carol O’Meara of the Colorado State University Extension in Boulder County, I have a better handle on how to harvest and store my produce. Here is some of what she shared with us in the her workshop, “Between Harvest and Kitchen”.

Three Golden Rules:

Keep it cool
Keep it wet
Handle with care

Too Much Cooling is a Bad Thing and can cause high respiration, uneven ripening, off flavor, pitting, premature rotting, discoloration or woody tissue, fungal disease

Chilling Injury Thresholds

45 F: beans, cucumbers, peppers, eggplant
45-50 F: melons
50 F: tomatoes/winter squash
55 F: sweet potato (put in frig for 2 weeks to make sweeter)

Curing: a short time in a warm, dry place which toughens the skins, dries surface, improves flavor and texture and heals cuts.

potatoes, pumpkins, winter squash (is sweeter later); except for acorn squash which gets stringy
onions need 5-7 dayss at a dry 70-80 F
sweet potatoes need 5-7 days at 80-85 F and humid

Harvesting

Snap Beans

pod diameter, not length determines quality
harvest after dew evaporates
avoid tearing or damaging pods; don’t squeeze them
keep harvested pods out of the sun
cool within 2 hours of harvest
store in refrigerator with humidy pad (damp paper towel)

Broccoli

water consistently
heads should have dark or bright green closed (no yellow) florets
Broccoli is ready to harvest.
compact, firm to hand pressure
steams bright green with no discoloration
rapidly cool and store cool

Brussel Sprouts

spouts found at base of leaf
harvest at 1-2 inches diameter
sprouts mature form bottom of stalk up
harvest individually
front sweetens flavor, but avoid letting them freeze
cool

Corn

green husk, dry brown silk
loses sugar rapidly in heat
pick in early morning, cool immediately
eat soon
store at 32 F in humidity for up to 5 days

Eggplant

before seed matures
look for firm, glossy pods
when pressed with fingernail, indentation remains
fresh, green calyx

Garlic

cut water when leaves brown
harvest when leaves are 2/3 brown
I waited for the stems to dry after clipping off the garlic scapes several weeks ago. Ready to dig up the garlic cloves.
don’t wash bulbs with water — will ruin
cure garlic in dry, warm location for 7-10 days
cut stems to one inch
can freeze in glass, leave papery outer skin

Melons

Count the days. roughly one month after the plant flowers, melons begin ripening.
should be full -boidied and heavy for their size; some changes in fruit color yellow to tan
muskmelons slip from the steam easily when ripe
watermelon belly turns cream or yellow and the tendrils closet to fruit wither
cantelope: neeting, count days from flowering, fruit behind bloom female once flower closed — 40 days
muskmelons slip: smell it, stem will have crack 2/3 around (slip stage); time to sling if trellised.

Onions

harvest young 1/4 inch to 1 inch for fresh use; 1- 1/2 for pickling or when tops have fallen over and necks are shriveled for storage
air dry in single layers in shade for 3-4 weeks; remove tops
don’t wet, wait a day to cure
storing — onions vary in storage capability, more pungent types with high soluble solids contents store longer, mild onions with low soluble solids contents are rarly stored for more than a month,
store at 32-50 F or RH 60-70%

Peppers

clip from plant
more susceptible to sunscald, water loss and heat damage after harvest
store at 40-45 F, high humidity
paprika is a dry blend of peppers, remove seeds

Potatoes

stop irrigation 2-3 weeks prior to harvest
remove vines before digging tubers
cure for 2 weeks in 45-60 F dark room – this will set skins
prevent sun exposure which will green skins and is toxic
can store up to 10 months in proper conditions
store at 39-45 F, 95-98 percent RH, air circulation

Root Crops

Carrots

clip tops for storage at 33 F in high humidity
mulch carrots for fresh pulling into winter, hill a foot of straw over shoulders after ground cools in fall
dig and store before ground freezes
parsnips like to get cold
can use carrot tops in salad

Beets

harvest at 1.5-2 inchues, pull fall planted beets before first freeze
clip tops to 1 inch before refrigerating up to two weeks
do not store in frozen ground

Parsnips, horseradish, turnips

improve in flavor with light freezing
at temps 28-34 F starch converts to sugar
mulch with straw and leave in ground into winter
pull and use before Spring

Tomatoes

Harvesting Tomatoes

harvest when fruits are uniformly red, but before end softens
ripe fruit sinks in water (useful when gauging ripeness of green tomatoes)
when to let the season end — frost protection works best on tomatoes already coloring up, green ones are harmed by chill
if there is a run of cold nights, pick off green tomatoes and leave the blushed ones on the plant
Tomatoe ready to pick.

Speed Up Ripening

thinning — immature fruit won’t size up or ripen by season’s end, so snip off blossoms and young fruit to leave the plant’s energy to full-grown tomatoes
new shoots and overloads of mature tomatoes also slow ripening prune off suckers and young stems, then pluck a few green tomatoes for ripening on the counter
on run of cool nights, pick off green ones to let blush ones ripen
cut back water to the plants to hasten vine ripening
pull the plant from the ground and hang it upside down in a dry, sheltered area. Fruit should be harvested before completely ripe and allowed to finish on the counter or it may fll from the vine and create a mess

When Frost Hits

once hit by frost, tomatoes break down quickly and are not suitable for canning
cut off the bad spots, then use immediately in your favorite recipes or chop and freeze them for winter dishes

Green Tomatoes for Storage

pick green tomatoes for strage from healthy vines or pink ones to ripen on the counter
prevent problesm from rot: harvest when plants are dry, avoiding fruit that is diseased or has insect damage
clip tomoatoes from the wine, many heirlloms have “knuckled” stems that tear
mature green tomatoes stores best — those that are full-sized, glossy light green to white with a whitish star on the blossom end
tip: dark green tomatoes are immature and should be used right away as fried green tomatoes, in relish or stewed
The final tomatoe harvest before the hard frost.

Harvest

breakers: should your tomatoes begin to color at the blossom end, know as a “breaker”, it will continue to ripen quickly for you on your counter and taste close to vine ripened
pinks: colored up but not fully ripe will ripen on the counter
sort tomatoes into groups that will ripen at the same speed — mature green, breakers, pinks and red

Countertop Holding/Ripening

at room temperature, red tomatoes are ready within a day or two
pinks (3-=60 % colored) will be ready in 7-10 days
mature greens and breakers, up to 14 days

Storing Green Tomatoes

clip stems short, wash gently and pat dry. Store in a box with good ventilation at 55-68 degrees (frig too cold)
check tomatoes frequently for spoiling
to store longer, wrap tomatoes in newspaper and place 1-2 layers deep in a box. Keep in a cool, 55-60 degree room, out of sunlight.

Winter Squash

speed ripening by cutting back water to the plant slowly over a few weeks so you don’t interrupt growth of young squash
pluck blossoms from the plant to allow the plant to pump energy into the fruit
watch for signs of maturity, such as stem drying out or the rind turning a deep color
harvest when the skin toughens and isn’t dented by pressure from a fingernail; stem turns tan
cut stem from vine with sharp knife, leaving stem attached to squash (w/o stem, squash decays around stem scar)
cure 10 days in dry room, 75-85 F

In Garden Storage

beets, cabbage, Chinese cabbage, cauliflower, celery, endive, cos or romaine lettuce, kale, leeks, and onions can withstand the early light frosts store for several weesk under a heavy (1 ft. mulch)
Pits/Mounds: dig a 6-10 inch deep trench, layer 3-4 inches of straw, place cabbage, carrots, beets, celeriac, kohlrobi, rutabagas, turnips, and winter radishes on top of much, cover with 12 inches straw, then 3 inches soil; once you open mound, ALL produce must be removed and used within 2 weeks

Root Cellars