130 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



November, 1914 



treatment. Potatoes for storing should not 

 be dug until they are thoroughly matured 

 as indicated by both the firmness of the 

 skin and the cooking qualities. Dead vines 

 are not a sure guide, as they may dry up 

 prematurely from drouth, blight or frost. 

 In cases where it is due to blight the tubers 

 in the soil will begin to rot, and should be 

 left until all that are going to spoil have 

 done so. Otherwise they will rot after 

 digging. The tubers should be left in the 

 sun long enough to get thoroughly dried 

 off, but not to sun-burn, as this spoils the 

 table quality. 



Onions. Success in keeping onions will 

 depend very largely upon the care given 

 in harvesting. After the tops dry down 

 they should be pulled and laid in rows, and 

 turned every day until they are thoroughly 

 dried. Then they should be brought 

 under cover — cutting off the tops or not, as 

 conditions permit — where the air may cir- 

 culate freely about them in all directions. 

 Spread them out thin on the floor or pack 

 them in slatted bushel crates. The white 

 varieties must be cured under cover or they 

 will turn green, and if they get a ghost of a 

 chance begin to sprout again immediately. 

 No onions, after the tops die, should be 

 left in the ground. Before hard freezing 

 weather they should be sorted over again 

 and the soundest and driest stored for long 

 keeping, the others being 

 put aside for more im- 

 mediate use. 



Celery. Such celery as 

 is wanted for early use is 

 blanched in the field by 

 drawing the earth up to 

 the stalks in two or three 

 successive hoeings or by 

 the use of boards. The 

 stalks should be blanched 

 clear up to the foliage. 

 Drain tile may be used 

 for blanching small quan- 

 tities for the home table. 

 That part of the crop 

 wanted for winter and 

 spring use should have the 

 soil worked in about the 

 stalks sufficiently to hold 

 them in an upright posi- 

 tion. Upon the approach 

 of hardTrosts, about No- 

 vember first, part of it 

 may be "trenched," or 

 blanched in a long narrow ditch, dug in 

 some well drained convenient position. It 

 should be about a foot wide and deep 

 enough to take the celery plants, standing 

 on end as they grew, with the tips of the 

 foliage about level with the soil surface. 

 It should be taken up, roots and all, and 

 packed in close in the trench. As hard 

 freezing weather approaches the tops should 

 be covered with meadow hay and boards 

 to prevent freezing. This will keep in 

 good condition until the advent of real 

 winter weather. That wanted for winter 

 and early spring use should be taken up, 

 before hard frosts, and stored in long narrow 

 boxes about a foot wide and deep enough 



to take the plants upright, packed in 

 snugly together. As in trenching, the roots 

 should be left on, and a couple of inches 

 of moist sand should be put in the bottom of 

 each box. These boxes may then be packed 

 in a cold dark cellar, and the stalks will 

 blanch out by the time they are needed. 

 Boxes of the required shape and size may be 

 readily made from plain pine boards, with 

 a row of small holes bored in the ends of 

 each to serve as handles. Celery should 

 be handled or stored only when it is per- 

 fectly dry. 



Beets, carrots, and turnips and radishes 

 will not be injured by the first light frosts. 

 Parsnips and salsify (or oyster plant) 

 may be left in the ground all winter, with- 

 out injury, but of course the bulk of these 

 crops should be taken up, as once the ground 

 freezes, it is next to impossible to get the 

 roots out until spring. All these root crops 

 should be gathered and "topped," being 

 careful not to cut too close, causing the roots 

 to bleed, and stored temporarily in piles so 

 that they may be covered at night if there 

 is danger of freezing. To keep well for a 

 long period they should not only be stored 

 in a dark cold place, where the temperature 

 may be kept well down toward the freezing 

 point, but should be packed in sand or moss. 

 The only objection to the former material 

 is its great weight. Sphagnum or swamp 



Pack root crops in boxes between layers of sphagnum or swamp moss, which retains moisture and is also 



light in weight 



moss may be gathered free in most places, 

 or a few bushels bought from a local florist. 

 It is clean, and light, and stays moist with- 

 out being wet, for a long time, making an 

 ideal packing for the root crops. 



Cabbage. A small quantity may be kept 

 in a storeroom if it is cool and dark. A 

 good way is to tie several heads together, 

 first removing the outside leaves, by the 

 roots and suspend from a nail. Where 

 any amount is to be saved, however, it is 

 usually "pitted." A common method is 

 to simply dig a trench wide enough to take 

 two heads side by side, and deep enough so 

 that when another head is placed on top, 

 the roots will come about level with the 



surface of the soil. Cabbages should not 

 be trenched or pitted until cold weather, 

 and as hard freezing weather sets in should 

 be gradually covered up with meadow hay, 

 corn stalks or other mulching sufficiently 

 deep to prevent their freezing hard. Those 

 to be kept over winter, through very hard 

 freezing, should have a layer of earth over 

 the mulch, and a second layer of mulch over 

 this. The trench may be lined with hay, 

 straw, or boards to make more certain of 

 keeping the contents dry and clean. Brus- 

 sels sprouts and kale may be left where they 

 grow, as they are perfectly hardy. 



Lettuce will stand more or less cold 

 weather, and may be had for several weeks 

 later than usual by simply covering it with 

 meadow hay to protect it from the first 

 frosts, after which we frequently have two 

 or three weeks of good growing weather. 

 Small plants, which were started in August 

 or September, may be transplanted to the 

 coldframes in October, where by the use of 

 double sash, they may be had through most 

 of the winter, even in quite severe climates. 



Parsley should be cut back severely, a 

 few roots taken up and put in pots or a 

 small box, with drainage holes in the bot- 

 tom, and after being allowed to root for a 

 week or so in a cool shaded place, may be 

 kept throughout the winter in any light 

 place where the temperature does not go 

 below forty at night. 



SUBSTITUTES FOR CELLARS 



If a furnace is used, a 

 double partition should 

 separate it from the part 

 of the cellar used for 

 storing the vegetables. 

 Where the cellar is only 

 one large room such a 

 partition may be cheaply 

 and quickly put up with 

 "wallboard," which comes 

 in large sheets and is very 

 easy to use. Where no 

 cellar is available a room 

 on the north side of the 

 house, which may be kept 

 dark and cool but safe 

 from freezing on cold 

 nights, may be utilized to 

 advantage. Root crops 

 may be stored in a pit, 

 like cabbage. 



All fruits and vege- 

 tables should be clean, dry and sound 

 when stored, and the storage room and 

 boxes and barrels kept perfectly clean. 

 Cellars should be whitewashed every fall. 

 Ventilation is also very important. Until 

 freezing weather ventilation should be 

 given on cold nights, and shut off during 

 warm days, the aim being to keep the tem- 

 perature as constant as possible — about 

 35 degrees F. being right for most vege- 

 tables. Where any amount of things are 

 to be stored it will pay well to get a few 

 each of the following: sugar or flour barrels; 

 clean cracker boxes; slatted crates; slat 

 vegetable barrels ; and peach baskets, which 

 are handy, for small amounts. 



