How to Store Fresh Vegetables

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Our most exciting discovery has been achieving long-term storage of the more fragile winter vegetables, especially radicchio and Chinese cabbages. Any solid-heading type of Napa cabbage will do the trick, but hybrid varieties such as ‘Blues’ or ‘Komatsuna’ developed specifically for fall production work the best. I also choose fall-heading varieties of radicchio like ‘Augusto,’ ‘Chioggia Preco No. 1’ or ‘Rossana.’ In northern Iowa, these varieties must be planted right around the Fourth of July so they are fully headed by the advent of cold weather. Then they must be harvested before temperatures fall much below the mid-20s.

The best storage containers I have found for these crops are plastic kitty litter trays available in any supermarket or pet store. As I dig these fragile winter vegetables in the garden, I remove outer leaves from any heads that seem full and hard enough to endure storage, saving others for more immediate use. I pack the winter keepers in the trays, filling around their roots with garden soil, until the trays are full. Water them lightly (because there are no drain holes in these trays, do not overwater!) and that’s it. They are ready for storage. I treat kohlrabis, another great winter storage vegetable that keeps perfectly until spring, exactly the same way.

All of these replanted crops, especially heads of cabbage, Chinese cabbage and radicchio, will gradually slime black with decay on the outside as winter progresses. Do not be alarmed — you will be amazed how the removal of only a single layer of leaves reveals a perfect, fresh head beneath the surface. Radicchio is the hardest to store, and some heads will rot faster than you can use them, so just grow extra.

For seed-saving purposes, kale and collard plants can be dug in the fall, stripped of all leaves down to the tiny apical few, and replaced just like cabbage, then set out again in the spring. In fact, all cabbage stems from which the heads have been cut in winter can be planted out; they will branch profusely and produce ample seed the following season.

Less well known is that kale, collards and parsley can be grown to maturity in large pots, placed in the root cellar in full leaf, and all those green leaves will stay green and perfectly fresh all winter, available for harvest whenever you desire! At 33 degrees, no further growth occurs; white leaves will begin to grow in the dark only toward spring as the cellar begins to warm up. By then, the plants can be replanted outside and left to bloom for seed-saving. I have had longer harvests of these leafy greens from the root cellar than from a sunny window in the house because, at room temperature, biennials continue to grow and soon begin to bolt to premature flower.

All containerized plants in the root cellar must have their water needs checked from time to time. Since too much humidity is usually the prevailing condition, pots seldom dry out, but if any do, just add a little water. I’ve found that one or two spot waterings throughout the winter usually keeps things alive until warmer temperatures arrive.

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