All posts by Jordan Charbonneau

Garden Advice

Fall Harvest: Storing & Preserving Root Crops

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Whether you’re on a mission to grow as much of your own food as possible or just love cooking with homegrown vegetables, putting up root crops for winter can be an easy way to keep the winter pantry full. Beets, carrots, fall radishes, rutabagas, and turnips can last several months if stored properly. 

In some cases, root crops can be stored right in the ground. In areas where the ground doesn’t freeze, crops that are maturing just as the growing season ends can be mulched in and harvested throughout the winter. However, this isn’t always possible, and there are other ways to store and keep your root vegetables fresh. To begin:

  1. Harvest carefully.

    It’s best to harvest root crops during a dry period and before any hard frosts. To avoid damaging root crops, you may need to use a garden fork to help loosen the soil.

  2. Brush them off.

    You don’t want to scrub the skin off but you should try to gently rub off as much soil as possible. It’s best not to wash them.

    Any damaged or bruised roots that you find should be set aside to be eaten immediately.

  3. Trim the tops.

    Rotting tops can quickly spread rot to your root vegetables so it’s best to trim them. Using a sharp knife or shears to trim leafy tops to 1/4 to 1/2 inch about the root. Don’t trim root ends or hairs, this invites rot!

  4. Find a place to store them.

    Root vegetables should ideally be stored somewhere cold and moist. Temperatures between 33° and 40°F are preferred. If you’re fortunate enough to have one, a root cellar is ideal, but other options exist. 

    If you don’t have too many roots, you can use the crisper drawer of your refrigerator. Alternatively, a cool corner of a basement or garage will work. You can also use an outbuilding or storage shed in parts of the Southeast as long as you can keep out rodents and you don’t have temperatures below freezing. 

    If you need to store many vegetables and are interested in a DIY project, you can create a root clamp. 

  5. Place them in appropriate containers.

    If you’re storing roots in your refrigerator, it’s best to use perforated plastic bags. Try to set the bags in so that the roots in each bag are in a single layer.

     Roots being stored in a root cellar or other cold room can be stored in various containers, including plastic totes, waxed cardboard boxes, 5-gallon buckets, and or even an old cooler. It’s best if there’s some airflow, so avoid putting the lid on tight, and you may even want to drill some additional holes in the container. 

    In these containers you want to keep your roots from touching the container or each other. To do this you can layer them in damp sand, sawdust, or even old leaves.

  6. Check on and eat your roots!

    You should check all the root crops you have in storage every week or two and remove any that are beginning to soften or rot. The smallest roots generally don’t store as well and should be eaten first. 
Amber Globe (Yellow Globe) Turnips

Other Preservation Methods

If you don’t want to store your root vegetables fresh or are short on space, there are many other ways to preserve them. These include fermentation, pickling, canning, and freezing. These generally take more time and effort upfront but are great for having vegetables that are quick to prepare or even ready to snack on throughout the winter. 

Fermentation

Lacto-fermentation is a simple, safe, and ancient method of food preservation. All you need is clean, sliced vegetables, a mason jar and lid, a clean rock or weight, salt, and water. You simply ferment your vegetables and any desired spices in saltwater brine. You can substitute sliced root vegetables for the cucumbers in this recipe.

You can also grate them up and add them to other ferments like kimchi. The book Wild Fermentation by Sandor Katz is an excellent resource for those looking to get started or expand their fermentation techniques. 

Pickling

Pickling is a bit more involved than fermenting, but it’s still a safe, easy to preserve root vegetables, even for beginners. Pickled vegetables are canned in highly acidic vinegar, so they can be safely processed in a simple water bath canner. 

There are many recipes available online if you’d like to browse others. Note that any labeled as “quick pickles” are designed to be refrigerated not canned.

Pressure Canning

Without the addition of vinegar, root vegetables are not acidic enough to be safely water bath canned. This means if you’d like to can plain root vegetables you’ll need to use a pressure canner. It’s not as scary as many people think!

PennState Extension has instructions for pressure canning vegetables here. Always follow the instructions that came with your canner.

Freezing

If you have room in your freezer, this can be a great way to keep root vegetables. They generally freeze well and maintain good texture and flavor. 

Like other vegetables, you must blanch root veggies before freezing; otherwise, they will get mushy. You can find directions for freezing all kinds of vegetables over at the Pick Your Own website. 

Garden Advice

Garden Checklist: August

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It’ll be August in just a few days! Late summer is such an exciting time in the garden. Harvests are pouring in, flowers are blooming, and fall planting has begun. Here’s a checklist to help you stay on track during this busy time of year.

Buy perennial onions, garlic, shallots, and bulbs.

Perennial onions, garlic, shallots, and many flower bulbs are all planted in the fall. Exact planting dates may vary depending on your hardiness zone, but here in Virginia, it’s best to plant them between September 15th and November 15th.

If you’re hoping to choose varieties from a wide selection, it’s best to get your order in early.

Keep up with harvesting.

It can be tough to keep up with the harvest, especially if you’re a new gardener, but it’s essential if you want fresh food for as long as possible. Many plants like beans, cucumbers, and summer squash will stop producing when you stop harvesting.

If you can, it’s best to harvest in the morning while it’s still cool. You’ll be more comfortable, and your produce will be crisper and stay fresh longer. Greens should be immediately dunked in ice water when harvesting during warm weather.

If you’re struggling to keep up, offer to share some veggies with friends or neighbors. Host a picking and preserving party to make the most of surplus produce. Find more tips for using produce:

Plant fall crops.

Exactly when you plant will depend on your hardiness zone, but August is crucial for planting fall crops here in Virginia and much of the Southeast. Finish transplanting cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, and collards seedlings for fall. Sow radishes, kohlrabi, turnips, carrots, beets, herbs, kale, collards, and Swiss chard. Pam Dawling’s guest post from last year is an excellent resource for those looking to grow fall root crops.

Water consistently.

August in the Southeast is hot! It’s no time to slack off on watering. This is especially true for young fall crops like carrots, beets, and cabbages, which you’ve just got started in the garden. Crops like sweet potatoes, watermelons, tomatoes, and winter squash will produce best when watered thoroughly.

It’s also important to remember to water perennials like fruit trees and flowering shrubs, giving them the occasional healthy soaking, especially if you just planted them this spring.

Watch for pests and diseases.

Keep an eye on tomatoes, eggplants, and squash, watching for hornworms, flea beetles, and squash bugs. Treat with handpicking and diatomaceous earth.

Fungal diseases thrive in the heat and humidity of late summer and the south. Keep an eye on plants for diseases like Downey Mildew, rust, and Fusarium wilt. Remove and burn any diseased plants.

Weed and apply more mulch.

August is an important month to keep up with weeding. You’ll see better production from plants if they’re not competing with weeds for moisture and nutrients during this period.

If the mulch around your plants is starting to break down, it’s a good idea to add another layer. It will help conserve moisture and block weeds.

Take notes.

August is an excellent time of year to take some notes in your garden journal. Jot down what varieties performed well and what didn’t. If you haven’t done so already, sketch out your garden layout so that you can plan crop rotations and cover crops. 

Put up storage crops.

Many folks are beginning to harvest storage crops in August. It’s important to harvest, cure, and store them properly so that they keep well. Check out:

Plant fall cover crops.

As summer crops finish up, it’s important to protect and improve your garden soil for the next season. Sowing red clover, oats, Austrian winter peas, and rye as fall cover crops can help protect your soil from erosion, create habitat for beneficial insects and fungi, and add organic matter and nutrients to the soil. Read more about why you should consider fall cover crops here.

Garden Advice

7 Steps to Saving Cucumber Seed

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Cucumbers are one of the most iconic veggies of summer! There’s nothing like a cool, crisp cucumber that you’ve grown yourself. If you love cucumbers as much as we do, you might want to consider saving some seed from your favorite variety. Cucumbers are an excellent plant to start with if you’re new to seed saving.

  1. Make sure you’ve isolated your varieties.

    If you planted multiple cucumbers and want pure seed, they need to be isolated. You can use time to isolate them by growing one variety early and another late. You can also use distance, keeping varieties separated by 1/8 mile for home use and a minimum of 1/4 to 1 mile for pure seed.

    However, if your varieties aren’t isolated perfectly, you can save seed anyway. You may end up with a cross you love.

  2. Make sure you have enough plants.

    You can save viable seed from a single cucumber plant. However, to maintain a variety over time, it’s best to grow at least five plants. If you’re saving seeds to preserve a rare variety, we recommend you grow and save seed from at least 25 plants.

  3. Select your best plants.

    You should try to save seed from plants that have performed the best through the season. Select those that are healthy, vigorous, and disease free with good-tasting fruit. You can find a list of other traits you may want to consider when saving seed here.



  4. Let your cucumbers ripen fully.

    Don’t pick seed cucumbers at the same time you pick them for eating. For seed saving, you want cucumbers to be fully ripe. They should be large, rounded, and yellow to orange.

    It’s best to leave them on the vine for a few weeks after the color change. They’ll begin to soften and should pull easily from the vine. If that isn’t possible, you can let them continue to ripen and soften in a basket out of direct sunlight. When you cut the cucumber open, the seeds should appear large and full.

  5. Harvest your seeds.

    To harvest the seeds, it’s easiest to cut the cucumbers lengthwise and scoop the seeds out with a spoon. Place all of the pulp and seeds into glass jars. Mason jars are ideal for this.

  6. Ferment and clean your seeds.

    In order to remove all the pulp from the seeds, you need to let them ferment a bit. Add a little water to your jars of seeds and pulp. The containers need airflow into them, so don’t put a lid on. However, you can cover them with a bit of cloth or coffee filter and a rubber band to keep out fruit flies.

    Let this mixture ferment for three days, stirring it once a day. It’s okay if you notice some mold growing on top. After three days, add a more water and stir the mixture again. The viable seeds will sink while the pulp and bad seeds will float, and you can pour them off the top. Drain your viable seeds.

  7. Dry your seeds.

    Lay your seeds on a single layer on paper towels, coffee filters, old window screens, or dehydrator screens (don’t dehydrate them, though). Let your seeds air dry naturally until they can be snapped in half.

  8. Store your seeds.

    Store seeds in an airtight container in a cool dark place. Cucumber seeds will remain viable for five years or more under the right conditions.

    Learn how to do a germination test here.

Are you saving seeds this year? Tag us on Facebook or use the hashtag #southernexposureseed on Instagram to show us your projects