How do you store winter veg?

funkymonkey849

This year we had a good crop of potatoes (60+) and a not so good crop of pumpkins (1)

We're not big potato eaters so 60 will last us a long time! I am storing them in a box with each layer divided by scrunched up newspaper and keeping it in the spare room, they seem to be keeping well

We live in a small terraced house with no outbuildings so it's difficult to store things in a 'cool dark place' as is reccomended because obviously we like to keep the house light and warm over the winter!

What vegetables do ypu store over the winter and how do you keep these in good condition? I would like to grow more winter veg next year for storing but I'm worried it'll won't keep

lostinrates

funkymonkey849 wrote: »

This year we had a good crop of potatoes (60+) and a not so good crop of pumpkins (1)

We're not big potato eaters so 60 will last us a long time! I am storing them in a box with each layer divided by scrunched up newspaper and keeping it in the spare room, they seem to be keeping well

We live in a small terraced house with no outbuildings so it's difficult to store things in a 'cool dark place' as is reccomended because obviously we like to keep the house light and warm over the winter!

What vegetables do ypu store over the winter and how do you keep these in good condition? I would like to grow more winter veg next year for storing but I'm worried it'll won't keep

We're about to try the Bob Flowerdew storage method: a defunct freezer.

Linda32

We store our spuds in a hessian sack, (eBay) and in our entry.
Potatoes just like the dark so yours seems to be okay.

We have garlic stored in tights and onions in the entry as well.

Everything else we freeze.

funkymonkey849

Linda32 wrote: »

We store our spuds in a hessian sack, (eBay) and in our entry.
Potatoes just like the dark so yours seems to be okay.

We have garlic stored in tights and onions in the entry as well.

Everything else we freeze.

One question...

What is an entry??

Our house really is quite compact - front door opens straight into the living room so no porch or hallway, then we have a kitchen and a bathroom downstairs, and two bedrooms upstairs.

I would love to store garlic in tights, but where!!!

Lotus-eater

An entry, that takes me back, it's what my Gran used to call the passageway that went between her terraced house and next door.
You need somewhere cool to store the spuds and squash. Squash will keep for a while in a normal house, so will spuds, but for longer storage you will need somewhere cooler.
You can clamp them http://www.google.co.uk/#hl=en&source=hp&biw=1280&bih=568&q=clamping+potatoes&aq=0&aqi=g1&aql=&oq=clamping+pota&gs_rfai=&fp=c5d0e06a7a205ce7 but I've never done it myself and I understand it can be a bit dodgy and vermin can get in it.

If you ever get alot of stuff to keep, LIR's freezer idea in a sheltered spot would be a good idea.

RAS

Ok

Which is the coldest part of your house?

And what is in the loft?

funkymonkey849

RAS wrote: »

Ok

Which is the coldest part of your house?

And what is in the loft?

None of the house is cold really :rotfl: The spare room is the coolest I guess because we have the window open a lot and no-one sleeps in there. It is quite a cosy house lol

Loft is an option but it's a mission to get up there. It's nice and dark though

Linda32

funkymonkey849 wrote: »

One question...

What is an entry??

Our house really is quite compact - front door opens straight into the living room so no porch or hallway, then we have a kitchen and a bathroom downstairs, and two bedrooms upstairs.

I would love to store garlic in tights, but where!!!

Thanks to Lotus-eater for clearing that up. I can just imagine what was going through your mind, or is that just my mind

The spare room might be the best bet, you could hang the tights up there.

philips9071

We store carrots over the winter by putting them under a layer of dry soil which acts as a good moisture barrier - got the idea from this website: http://www.gardenshedadviser.co.uk/articles/storing-your-winter-vegetables/storing-your-winter-vegetables.html

mi_jardin

I have my garlic tied into a bunch with a raffia ribbon making a loop, and hanging on a hook down the side of the kitchen cupboard, at the end of the top units.

Spuds are in the fridge in a paper sack that I got when I buy them from the local farm shop.

My pumpkins are sitting in a wooden fruit bowl in the lounge in a "autumnal" display! They are fine in the house, they won't go off for months, or at least mine never have.

I don't bother growing carrots, I have very heavy clay "soil" and it just doesn't work! But I do buy a 10kg sack from the farm shop, and that goes in the fridge as well.
However, I do have a big american style fridge/freezer so I have the space that some people do not.

Sally_A

Keep an eye on your garlic, some varieties tend to go a bit shrivelly around Mid December, the best option is to stick them in a food processor, grate them, and freeze the pur!e in a small tub, ready to scoop a bit of, as and when needed.

Pumpkins should be fine, so long as you picked them with as long a stem as possible, they tend to go from the stem end, but it's worth checking them over, as any frost damaged, or ones with damaged skin will go off first, and once they start going iffy it happens quite quickly.