STORING VEGETABLES AND FRUITS in basements, cellars, outbuildings, and pits /// V /Ill HOME AND GARDEN BULLETIN NO. ) 19 NT OF AGRICULTURE CONTENTS Page Page Storage facilities i Endive n House basement l Onions 11 Cellar under house without cen- Parsnips, salsify, and horse- tral heat 1 radish 12 Outdoor storage cellars 2 Peppers 12 Outbuildings 3 Potatoes 12 Pits 4 Pumpkins and squashes 13 Keeping the storage space clean .... 5 Root crops (miscellaneous) 14 Regulating the temperature 6 Sweetpotatoes 15 Maintaining proper moisture 6 Tomatoes 15 Handling vegetables and fruits 8 Storing fruits 16 Storing vegetables 8 Apples 16 Dry beans and peas 8 Citrus fruits 17 Late cabbage 9 Grapes 17 Late celery 10 Pears 17 Prepared by Market Quality Research Division Agricultural Research Service Washington, D.C. Issued December 1966 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Washington, D.C. 20402 Price 15 cents 11 STORING VEGETABLES AND FRUITS in basements/cellars, outbuHdmgs, and pits You can store vegetables and and pits, but you need cool out- fruits without refrigeration in door air to cool the stored prod- basements, cellars, outbuildings, ucts. STORAGE FACILITIES The kind of storage facility that windows in a way that will pre- you will need depends largely on vent light from entering the room. the climate in your area. Storage Equip the room with shelves and facilities described in this publi- removable slatted flooring. These cation are not practical unless you keep vegetable and fruit contain- live in an area where outdoor tem- ers oif the floor and help circula- peratures during winter average tion of air. The flooring also lets 30'' F. or lower. you use water or wet materials (such as dampened sawdust) on House Basement the floor to raise the humidity in A well-ventilated basement un- the room. der a house with central heating Store vegetables and fruits in may be used for ripening tomatoes wood crates or boxes rather than and for short-term storage of po- in bins. tatoes, sweetpotatoes, and onions. But to store vegetables and Cellar Under House Without fruits over winter (long-term stor- Central Heat age) in a basement that has a fur- Cellars under houses without nace, you will need to partition off central heat have long been used a room and insulate it. successfully for winter storage of Build the room on the north or fruits and vegetables in colder east side of the basement, if prac- parts of the United States. ticable, and do not have heating These cellars usually have an ducts or pipes running through it. outside entrance and a dirt floor. You need at least one window The door is a means of ventilating for cooling and ventilating the the cellar and regulating the tem- room. Two or more windows are perature. Some cellars have no desirable, particularly if the room windows. If there is a window, it is divided for separate storage of aids in ventilating and in tempera- fruits and vegetables. Shade the ture control. You need at least one window, Underground Cellars if the cellar has separate compart- The walls and roof of an under- ments for veg*etables and fruits. ground cellar must be strong to Shade the windows in a way that support the weight of earth over will prevent light from entering the roof. Stone and masonry block the cellar. Insulate the ceiling so in combination with concrete can cold air will not chill the house. be used, but a cellar made of rein- forced concrete is better. Outdoor Storage Cellars Figure 1 shows an underground Outdoor storage cellars can be cellar. The whole structure, ex- constructed partly or entirely be- cept the door, is covered with soil. low ground. Cellars constructed Wire screen over the outside ends below ground are better because of air intakes and ventilators they maintain a desirable temper- keeps out birds and small animals. ature longer and more uniformly This structure can also serve as than cellars that are above a storm cellar or a protective shel- ground. ter against radioactive fallout. Outdoor storage cellars may be (For further information, see attached to your house or located your local civil defense organizar in your yard or under an outbuild- tion.) ing. They should be convenient to The cellar plan shown in figure your kitchen. 1 is identified as "Plan 5948." r^fer^ Plan 5948 FIGURE 1.—Underground cellar that can also serve as a storm and fallout shelter. 24532 FIGURE 2.—Soil is banked around three walls; the exposed wall has an insulated double door. Working drawings of this plan Partly Underground Cellars may be obtained through your One type of cellar that can be county agricultural agent or from used in colder parts of the country your State Extension Service at has walls of masonry that are your State agricultural college. partly under ground. Soil is banked Give the -plan number when you around three walls, and one wall order. There is usually a small is left exposed for an insulated charge. double door (fig. 2). If you have If working drawings of this more than one storage compart- plan are not available in your ment, an air inlet and a ventilator State, write to the Agricultural are needed for each one. Ventila- Engineering Research Division, tors are indicated in figure 1. Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Oufbuildings Plant Industry Station, Beltsville, Storing vegetables and fruits in Md. 20705. Include your ZIP Code aboveground storage buildings is in your return address. The U.S. practical only where the climate Department of Agriculture does is consistently cold, but only if the not distribute drawings, but will average temperature is not below direct you to a State that does dis- freezing. Even in these climates tribute them. temperatures may drop to zero or below, and supplemental heat may- 2- by 4-inch studding and rafters. be needed on very cold nights. Make walls tight by sheathing the Thermostatically controlled heat inside and outside of the frame may be used if electricity is avail- with matched lumber. Insulate able. Only a small amount of heat the space between the walls with is necessary to prevent subfreez- loose fill or mineral wool blanket. ing temperature in a building. Put laminated kraft paper (with Storage temperature should be asphalt between layers), alumi- watched closely when low temper- num foil, or polyethylene between atures are predicted. the insulation and inside walls as Aboveground storage buildings a moisture barrier. Put building can be built of masonry or lum- paper over the outside sheathing ber, but they must be well insu- before you lay shingles or siding lated. Hollow-block walls, regard- to make the building tight. Paint less of thickness, have little insu- the inside of the building with lating value. Put vermiculite, or aluminum paint or whitewash. some other dry granular material, To ventilate aboveground stor- in the channels of hollow blocks as age buildings, you need intake and each layer of block is laid. If you exhaust vents. use cinder blocks, scrub them on both sides with cement grout to Pits make them less porous. Then paint Cone-shaped outdoor pits (fig. them on the inside with aluminum 3) are often used for storing po- paint ; the paint serves as a mois- tatoes, carrots, beets, turnips, sal- ture barrier. Lay tar paper be- sify, parsnips, and cabbage. They tween the ceiling and joists as a are sometimes used for storing moisture barrier, and spread at winter apples and pears. The pit least 12 inches of dry sawdust or may be built on the ground, or in other granular material in the at- a hole 6 to 8 inches deep in a well- tic above the ceiling. drained location. Build the pit as A frame building can be built of follows: i?^ stone 50367 FIGURE 3.—Cone-shaped pit showing details of construction. • Spread a layer of straw, leaves, or other bedding material on the ground. • Stack the vegetables or fruits on the bedding in a cone-shaped pile. Do not store vegetables and fruits in the same pit. • Cover the vegetables or fruits with more bedding. • Cover the entire pile with 3 46276 or 4 inches of soil. FIGURE 4.—A straw- and soil-covered • Firm the soil with the back barrel is adequate for keeping a of a shovel to make the pit water- small quantity of vegetables or fruits. proof. • Dig a shallow drainage ditch pits in cold weather. And once a around the pit. pit is opened its entire contents Small pits containing only a few should be removed. For these rea- bushels of vegetables or fruits sons it is better to construct sev- will get sufficient ventilation if eral small pits rather than one you let the bedding material over large one. Put a small quantity of the vegetables extend through the different vegetables in each pit. soil at the top of the pile (fig. 3). This makes it necessary to open Cover the top of the pile with a only one pit to get a variety of board or piece of sheet metal to vegetables. When several vege- protect the stored products from tables are stored in the same pit, rain; a stone will hold the cover separate them with straw or in place. leaves. Do not store apples and To ventilate large pits, place pears in vegetable pits. two or three boards or stakes up Another type of pit is made through the center of the pile of simply of a barrel covered with vegetables or fruits to form a flue.