Missouri Botanical 
Garden Bulletin 
Vol. V St. Louis, Mo., May, 1917 No. 5 
STORAGE OF VEGETABLES 
One of the problems confronting the amateur gardener in 
the fall will be the storage of vegetables for winter use. To 
be stored successfully vegetable crops should be planted at 
such a time as to be properly developed at the time of stor- 
age. Most of the crops usually keep best if stored compar- 
atively late, so that it should be the aim of the gardener to 
mature the Sache as late as possible and yet not to have 
them injured by cold. If planted too early root crops are 
likely to become tough and undesirable, while cabbages are 
liable to split. Onions, parsnips, salsify, horse-radish, ete. 
may be planted as soon as the ground is ready in the spring, 
potatoes, beets, and carrots about May 15, and cabbage, 
celery, and turnips about July 1. 
Three important factors should be taken into account 
when providing storage facilities—moisture, temperature, 
and fresh air. No general rule can be formulated to apply to 
all classes of vegetables, as different crops require various 
combinations of conditions. Root crops, for instance, should 
be kept quite moist in order to preserve their plumpness and 
succulence, while onions, squashes, and sweet potatoes should 
be kept dry to avoid decay. With a few exceptions 2-5 
above freezing is the most favorable temperature for safe 
storage. Air circulation is absolutely essential for onions, 
but root crops do better when not in contact with fresh air. 
Be pee which are expected to continue growth in storage, 
such as celery, leeks, Brussels sprouts, ete., should be planted 
in soil and the roots kept moist, while free circulation and 
low temperature are required. On the other hand, squashes 
demand a high temperature and dry atmosphere. 
The cellar of a residence is often used to preserve vegeta- 
bles, but as a rule it provides unsatisfactory conditions, espe- 
cially if it contains a furnace which makes the air warm 
and dry. This difficulty may be overcome by partitioning 
off part of the space with any material which will keep out 
the heat and by providing ample ventilation by means of 
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