The garden harvest’s lifespan can be extended through canning, fermenting, and dehydrating. But that’s a lot of work and potentially overwhelming, particularly if the harvest is abundant—which, of course, is the goal of a well-nurtured garden. The harvest can also be frozen to extend its viability for a few weeks, but chances are freezer space is at a premium.
The solution is to take a page out of our ancestor’s gardens and grow some vegetables that are naturally inclined towards long-term storage.
Easy Peasy
A large bag of dried beans at the grocery store is relatively inexpensive, which is why many gardeners don’t think of growing them at home. Lima, kidney, black (turtle), northern, and pinto beans, as well as black-eyed peas and chickpeas, are hearty garden annuals that thrive in warm weather in every zone. They sprout easily, grow quickly, produce abundantly, and can be succession planted for an even larger crop.For a quick, cheap start, grab a few beans from a grocery store bag and plant them. If all that wasn’t enough, they are nitrogen fixers, adding this important fertilizer back into the soil. This is also a chance to add some exotic beans to the diet, such as succotash beans, calico lima beans, red beans, purple hull pink beans, and many more. Simply let them dry on the plant, remove the bean pod, and store them in a cool, dry location. They’ll last for years.
Enduring Gourds
Pumpkins and winter squash require 130 to 160 days to mature before the first frost, so it’s best to start them indoors. The exception being gardens in a frost-free zone, such as Zone 10b, where seeds can also be planted outdoors in the fall for an early spring harvest.To get the longest storage life out of pumpkins and winter squash, they need to be cured until the skin is hard enough that it cannot be dented by a fingernail. This can be as simple as leaving it on the vine until the stem gets “corky” (dry cracks and brown lines) or the vine dries out. If there’s any concern, sun-cure it in the garden for five to seven days.
When harvesting, it is critical to leave three to four inches of stem to help keep out the bacteria and fungi that lead to rot. The exception is Hubbard squash, which lasts longest with the stem completely removed. Harvest before the last frost, as produce harvested after frost may be sweeter, but it will not last as long.
Taters and Not-Exactly-Taters
White potatoes and sweet potatoes (which are technically not in the potato family but are actually a cousin of the morning glory) will feed the family through winter and into spring, when they will naturally again begin sprouting, providing more plants. Plan the volume of the harvest accordingly. For white potatoes in most of the country, this is April to May, with the exception of Zones 7–10, which are planted in January and February.Sweet potatoes are a more southern crop and can be planted at any time after the last frost as long as there are 90 to 120 days for them to mature before fall’s first frost. Make sure the soil is loose and rock-free for both types.
Some researchers believe that storing towards the lower end of the recommended 45 to 55 degrees F helps delay sprouting, but never store them under 42 degrees, or the starches turn to sugar, which affects taste and cooking performance.
Root Crops
Carrots, parsnips, turnips, rutabagas, and beets are cold-hardy crops that can overwinter in the ground in temperate climates. They’re easily grown from seed and are excellent choices for those with limited storage space.The soil simply needs to stay in the 32- to 40-degree-F range. To achieve this, it may be necessary to insulate them with 12–24 inches of straw or one’s preferred mulch. Harvest in the spring before they flower and become inedible.
To keep indoors, remove the greens and store them at 32 to 35 degrees in a high humidity environment; over 40 degrees and they’ll start to sprout/rot. Beets will last one to three months; rutabagas, two to four months; turnips and parsnips, four to five months; and carrots, four to over six months.
