EATING FRESH ALL YEAR ROUND

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There are invariably some thick-neck onions. These are set aside for early use. I can taste onion soup as I write this.

The ideal temperature for storing onions is just above freezing. In our house the closest space for that temperature is the front hall. It is unheated. Cold outside air comes in around the door and warmer air rises to the second floor to keep it a cold but above-freezing place. But don't fret about finding the perfect place. We sometimes braid onions and hang them from the rafters in the kitchen. I don't think there is a warmer place in our house. These onions sprout earlier than onions in a basket on the floor but they still last through March. It's a good idea to check through a bag or basket once a month or so just in case a poor-quality onion got stored by mistake. However, if your nose is working you can probably rely on it to tip you off to a potential problem.

SQUASH & PUMPKINS

Winter squash and pumpkins are even easier. When the first frost hits,

the leaves of these vine crops die, leaving them exposed and easy to find. Cut or twist them off the vine leaving the stem attached to the fruit. I have read various things about curing these vegetables on the sun porch or next to the wood stove. I've even followed those directions once or twice. It may make a difference but none that I've ever seen.

They can be stored just about anywhere in your living space. The optimum temperature is right around 60°F.We have stored them on the kitchen floor, on shelves, and under the bed. We have been notified of squash rotting by fruit flies. Larger pumpkins and larger squash will last up to six months, but you might want to keep a close eye on the smaller ones after three months. They can go from a soft spot to mush pretty fast.

ROOT CROPS

Root crops need a humid atmosphere. They also like to be as cold as possible without freezing. Our cellar with a dirt floor and water running through it was ideal until we put in a furnace. I've been trying to bring it back to the good old days ever since. This year I walled off a section, but if it is still too warm, I may try fooling around with fans and thermostats.

The ideal storage place for root crops is right where they grew. The is fine for parsnips which can freeze without bursting their cell walls. I don't know if parsnips belong in this grouping or if they should be classified as one of the vegetables we eat straight from the garden. They can be eaten in the fall but we never do. They are the first garden vegetable eaten from the garden in the spring. I have bent spading forks trying to get them out of the ground before the frost freed them.

Carrots, beets, potatoes, daikon radish, and rutabaga will rot if frozen. They can be protected from freezing by insulating them from the winter cold, and this can be done by covering them with enough hay to keep the ground from freezing. That takes a lot of hay, however. In our climate I need to use a whole bale thickness and the cover has to extend about eight inches from crops to keep the frost from coming in under the bales. I usually use this method for carrots, as I like them best and appreciate solid carrots especially in late winter. I try to get a couple of rows of carrots growing close together and reaching peak maturity in September. If I put the bales on too soon, rodents may move in. Too late, and the carrots freeze and are lost.

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