Storage in Outdoor Pits 
Winter apples, pears, root vege- 
tables, cabbage, potatoes, etc. can 
be kept successfully by burying them 
in a pit and providing enough earth 
cover to prevent freezing. (For the 
Kentucky latitude 12 inches of earth 
is usually sufficient cover; 18-24 
inches may be necessary farther 
north). (See diagram on page 13). 
The pit should preferably be on a 
slope where there is good surface 
drainage away from it. It should 
be dug 12-18 inches deep and a layer 
of straw placed on the bottom, some- 
times boards are used at sides. The 
fruit and vegetables are then placed 
in the pit as illustrated in figure. © 
Then a layer of straw is placed over 
them and the dirt mounded up over 
this 12 to 24 inches deep, depending 
on climate. 
One method is to pack fruit or 
vegetables in a barrel and bury it in 
a well drained place. 
Much of the success in storing de- 
vends on the condition of the vege- 
tables or apples. They should be 
mature, for under-ripe vegetables 
may wilt, no matter how good the 
storage conditions are. They should 
be free from wounds, disease, bruises 
and cuts. In short, prime quality, 
careful handling, good ventilation 
and the right temperature conduce 
to successful storage. 
Marketing Home Grown Fruit 
There are numerous ways of mar- 
keting that portion of your home 
orchard fruit that you do not need 
for home consumption. When your 
neighbors or local stores learn that 
you have high quality varieties of 
tree-ripened fruit for sale, they will 
be pleased to have the opportunity 
to purchase it from you. The road- 
side stand is a very profitable and 
popular way to sell your fruit. This 
saves a lot of packing and handling 
costs which is‘’a benefit to both you 
and your customers. With the good 
paved roads everywhere, fruit grow- 
ers can depend on many people 
coming to their sales stands for their 
fruit supplies during the summer 
and fall months. When you furnish 
your customers with superior varie- 
ties of high quality tree-ripened fruit 
you get repeat customers and build 
up a group of regular buyers. An- 
other good sales channel for your 
fruit will be your local stores which 
handle fruits and vegetables. They 
will welcome the chance to buy or 
exchange your fruit so they can 
handle this higher quality, fresher, 
home grown fruit, because it means 
repeat business for them. The stores 
can save a considerable amount on 
handling and shipping costs when 
they buy from local growers. 
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@ Home Grown — Tree Ripened 
: Fruits — Vegetables 

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