PETER HENDERSON & CO.. NEW YORK— VEGETABLE SEEDS. 



HOW TO STORE VEGETABLES FOR WINTER USE. 



The old saying that "the way to have is to keep," applies to 

 vegetables and fruit as well as to money, and there is no doubt that 

 good economy requires that everything grown beyond what is wanted 

 for immediate use should be kept for consumption in winter time. 



The best and easiest method of keeping vegetables is by storing 

 in cool cellars or in pits and trenches in the open ground. 



A low temperature, evenly maintained a little above freezing, and 

 a ventilated, slightly moist atmosphere is the best for keeping most 

 vegetables through the winter. There are, however, exceptions 

 which are detailed below. When one has a ventilated cold cellar 

 in the house, the cold-storage problem is simplified, but in many 

 homes the heat from the furnaces renders it impossible to keep 

 vegetables for any length of time, so that outside storage must be 

 resorted to. The simplest outdoor storage is "pitting" the suitable 

 vegetables. An excavation is made in the garden a foot or more 

 in depth and size proportionate to the quantity of products to 

 be stored. These are piled heaping full, forming a mound or cone 

 over which straw or hay should be placed to a depth of 6 or 8 inches 

 to protect from early frost. Just before freezing nights begin to 

 throw an inch or two of soil over the straw and add a few more 

 inches of soil before winter sets in hard. Vegetables keep splendidly 

 when properly pitted, the only objection being they are difficult to 

 get at in severe weather, and for this reason an outdoor cellar is 

 preferable. This is made by digging an excavation about 2 feet 

 in depth and of dimensions suited to the requirements and loca- 

 tion. The sides of the excavation are kept in place by boards 

 on edge, held in place by stakes; the upper edge of the boards 

 should be a little higher than the level of the ground to permit the 

 laying of boars to form a gable roof, the center resting on a ridged 

 pole, held by posts 4 to 5 feet high, or the boards may be placed 

 directly across without a ridge pole, making the roof fiat" The 

 board roof is sufficient protection until severe freezing weather, 

 when hay, straw or leaves are thrown over the roof and a few 

 inches of soil added. A door should be provided at one end. for 

 convenience. On account of the amount of air contained in a 

 cellar of this kind very uniform conditions are obtained. Not 

 only may the hardy roots be stored in it, but also Celery, Cab- 

 bage, Brussels Sprouts, and Leek plants may be placed upright, 

 roots on the ground, and will keep in prime condition. 



CABBAGE OR CELERY MAY BE STORED IX TRENCHES 



"ROOT CROPS," including Beets, Turnips, Carrots. 

 Rutabagas, Parsnips, Salsify and Winter Radish. These 

 are all easy to keep in either cellar or pit and require more 

 moisture than Potatoes. So they are best packed in sand, 

 light soil or spaghnum moss moistened. They should be 

 dug before severe frost. Cut off the tops to within an inch 

 of the root, but leave the roots on. Parsnips and Salsify 

 may also be left out where they grew and dug for use when 

 the ground thaws out. 



BRUSSELS SPROUTS. Pull the plants after frost, 

 leaving roots on. Stand upright on soil in the outdoor 

 cellar. 



CABBAGE requires to be kept in moist cold. Pull the 

 plants, leaving all leaves, stems and dirt on. Place close 

 together, heads down in a trench 1 foot deep. Cover with 6 

 inches of straw and before freezing weather add 3 or 4 inches 

 of soil, and before winter sets in increase the soil, covering to 

 a foot in thickness. Cabbage may also be stored in the out- 

 door cellar, standing them upright, the roots on soil. 



CELERY requires to be kept as cool as possible without 

 freezing. For early winter use, it should be partially 

 blanched in the garden; but for later winter use. it should be 

 put away green. Store as late as possible, but before freezing. 

 One method is to dig a trench as deep as the Celery is high 

 and as narrow as possible to pack the Celery snugly in an 

 upright position, roots on the soil. Cover with straw, hay 

 or leaves, then add 6 to 8 inches of soil In the outdoor 

 cellar it is stood up with roots on moist soil. In the house 

 cellar store the Celery innarrow boxes or barrels not quite 

 the height of the plants. A few inches of damp soil or sand is 

 placed in the bottom; pack the celery in upright with roots 

 in contact with the sand; pack moderately tight to exclude 

 the air so the Celery will not wilt. The moist sand nRAIN AT 

 at the roots will sustain it. The soil should be _ --.m.„„^EACH ^^DE 

 watered as often as needed to keep it from dry- ' ^^*\_ 

 ing out — but water through holes about 8 inches >„--/ 



apart bored through the boxes just above the soil 

 or sand — do not wet the foliage or stalks. Thus 

 packed and the boxes placed in a cool cellar. Celery will 

 blanch and be fit to use in four to seven weeks, according 

 to the variety. 



CUCUMBER, EGG PLANT and PEPPER. Treat in 

 manner as Tomato. 



ONION. Cool, dry air is best. When cured remove tops 

 and store on slatted shelves or in trays in a cold airy, frost- 

 proof loft or room. Damp air causes Onions to sprout. 



POTATOES, if dug in mild weather, are best left on the 

 ground in a heap and covered with straw or hay to keep the 

 sun off. Before freezing weather store in dry, cold cellar or pit 



PUMPKIN, SQUASH and SWEET POTATOES keep 

 best in the dry atmosphere of a loft or room at about 45 

 degrees. If warmer they lose weight; if moist they rot. 

 Gather before frost and leave the stems on. 



SPINACH, WINTER, remaining in the garden should be 

 covered, after the ground has lightly frozen, with straw or hay 

 to a depth of about 6 inches to check successive freezing and 

 thawing. CORN SALAD may be treated in the same way. 



TOMATO. Large, unripened fruits are laid without 

 touching each other on excelsior, hay or straw, to permit 

 circulation of air about them. Place in the shade in room 

 of moderate temperature and they will continue to ripen and 

 color up, sometimes lasting until Christmas. 



A well-known tomato grower, says that the best way of 

 preserving Tomatoes for winter use is to place ripe and 

 sound fruits in a stone crock and pour over them cold very 

 strong brine. Cover the crock with a cotton cloth held in 

 place by an inverted plate. They will keep from four to 

 six months if they 

 are treated in the 

 manner above 

 described. 





KALE. Stands right out in the garden. Pull leaves as required. 

 Frost improves the flavor. 



LEEK. Store green; leave roots and leaves on; place close together, stand 

 ing with roots on soil or sand in the outdoor cellar or trench, like Celery 



same 



THE MAKING OF AN OUTPOOR PIT 



Hpnrlerson**; C^tkxAcw C^\\\Af an<^ ^^t^rrxA revised, rewritten and brought up to date, price 25c. Sent 

 enaerson S ^^araen ^^Ulae ana rveCOra with every order for $2.00 and upwards, if asked for when orde 



free 

 rdering. 



