Peat moss is the excellent information for long-term root vegetable storage.
Many at ease gardeners practise root vegetables in excess of their prompt needs. They're facile to store in peat moss, though, allowing you to funk them throughout the crude winter months. Scrimping folks who don't dilate their own veggies buy commodious batches of root vegetables on sale for long-term storage. Many humans prefer to applicability a cellar to store their root vegetables for the winter, nevertheless whether you don't posses one, you get other options. Practice scissors to chop 1/4-inch holes in a plastic rubbish bag. Amplitude them approximately 4 to 6 inches apart. This will allow for good circulation. Line a sturdy cardboard box with the plastic bag.
1. Pluck your root vegetables on a sunny generation when the earth is dry. Dust earth off them off with a dry towel, whether you longing.
2. Choose single mature, healthy vegetables for storage. Pick absent any that are damaged on the contrary salvageable and benefit them at once. Discard rotting or moulding pieces. Incision the foliage off approximately 1/2 inch below the Coronet. Don't wash the vegetables until you're ready to applicability them.
3. Any protected earth such as a spare space, garage or back porch Testament employment good good as faraway as it's unheated. The ace age to store your root crops is in dilatory fall, when your storage universe has cooled down for the season.
Instructions
Use a foam cooler instead of a cardboard box if your storage area is subject to freezing.4. Cover the bottom of the box with about 4 or 5 inches of moist peat moss. The material shouldn't be soggy or wet, but just barely and evenly moist. This helps ensure a humid environment for your stored root vegetables, which require moisture to remain crisp and delicious.
5. Place the veggies on top of the peat moss in a single layer. Leave 4 or 5 inches between the produce and the sides of the box, and try To admit a little space in between each piece. While it's all right if they touch each other here and there, don't crowd them.
6. Cover with a layer of the moist peat moss. Use about 1/2-inch layers between small veggies such as carrots and radishes. Provide 1- to 2-inch layers between larger crops like potatoes. Spread an inch or two of peat moss over the top layer of vegetables. Don't cover the box.
7. Store your root vegetables in a dark, very cool and humid location. The ideal temperature range is between 32 and 40 degrees Fahrenheit. Don't allow them to freeze, but don't expose them to temperatures above 45 degrees. Humidity should be high -- about 95 percent is best.
8. Dig through the peat moss and pull up one or two sample pieces of your produce for inspection once every two or three weeks. If everything looks good, replace it. If you see signs of softening, rot or mold, you'll need to check the entire box for deterioration. Discard any veggies that just don't look good to you.
