308 STORAGE OF VEGETABLES FOR WINTER USE 



STORAGE IN SMALL QUANTITIES FOR HOME USE 



Root Crops and Cabbage. — For home use the root crops and 

 cabbage can best be stored in outdoor pits for late winter use, 

 and in the cellar for use early in the season. The chief objection 

 usually urged against storing root crops in the cellar is that they 

 are likely to wilt. This difficulty can be obviated by packing the 

 roots in boxes with alternate layers of earth or sand, and placing 

 the boxes in the coolest part of the cellar. The earth will absorb 

 any odors in case the vegetable should start to decay, and thus 



avoid endangering the health 

 of the family. Cabbage can 

 be stored in the same way if 

 the roots and outer leaves are 

 removed and merely the heads 

 are packed in boxes or barrels 

 of earth. 



Fig. 185.— Arrangement of cabbage for Cabbage intended for latC 



winter storage. ^ ^ 



winter use, however, will keep 

 better in an outdoor pit than in a cellar. The same is true of par- 

 snips, salsify, horse-radish, and some of the other root crops. 

 Except where the ground is especially well drained, the pits are 

 usually made entirely above ground. For storing cabbage in this 

 manner, the plants are pulled with the roots and leaves on, and 

 placed upside-down in regular order on a level piece of ground. 

 Usually three plants are placed side by side, with two above, and 

 this arrangement repeated so that the final result is a long, low 

 pile of cabbage showing five plants in a cross-section (Fig. 185). 

 Earth is piled against and over this array of cabbage until the 

 plants, including the roots, are entirely covered. In a severe 

 climate, a layer of manure may be added when cold weather arrives. 

 For storing parsnips, salsify, and horse-radish, which are 

 uninjured by freezing, the roots may be placed in a pile on the 

 ground and covered with about six inches of earth. The advantage 

 of storing in this manner, instead of allowing the roots to remain 

 where they grew, is the saving in time of digging, when a few roots 

 are wanted during the winter. It is much easier to open the pit 

 when the ground is frozen than to dig the roots from the garden 

 wdth a pick. In fact, the difficulty of digging almost precludes 

 the use of these crops in midwinter unless they are more acces- 

 sible than in the place where they grew. 



