How To Choose Storage Vegetables For Your Garden

What does a self-sufficient vegetable gardener eat throughout the winter?

Don’t worry, they eat more than carrots and potatoes! (Not that there's anything wrong with those  two vegetables.)

I’ve got 3 tips for you to make judicious use of your storage crops. And then I will walk you through different types of storage vegetables you can grow.

By carefully choosing and planning your garden, you'll be able to eat your garden harvest all winter long!

I wish you many wonderful discoveries and long-storing vegetables,

🌼Sophie

Three tips for making the most of storage crops

1- Carefully choose what you want to eat

It can be really tempting to grow everything on the list below. But you know yourself better than I do! You know what you like to eat and cook. It’s fun to try new crops in your garden and kitchen, but don't fall into the trap of growing a crop just to add diversity and simply toss it in the compost because you just don’t feel like cooking it. You can always try a new crop first from the farmers market or our weekly vegetable baskets and then grow it if you love it!

2- Eat vegetables in order of how long they store.

The vegetables I've listed are all storage champs. However, some can be stored all winter long, while others can only be kept for a shorter time.To reduce losses and waste all that hard work you've put into growing them, keep in mind the shelf life of each crop and eat short storing crops first.

3- Keep tabs on your veggies through the winter

Every couple of weeks, you should check how your vegetables are doing.If they show signs of rot or premature aging, cut off the damaged part and eat them quickly.

Some vegetables may not keep as long as expected. Keeping a regular eye on them will give you the chance to quickly use crops that might otherwise have gone to waste. For example, you can turn a squash that won’t make it thorugh the winter into a soup or purée, giving you the chance to use it later in a recipe.

Finally, taking the time to choose the right varieties and plan your harvests carefully is essential to meeting your winter needs. 

What's more, finding or even inventing recipes to make the most of our preserved vegetables is both fun and rewarding. Isn't that just an extension of that same pleasure we get from gardening?

Here are some storage crops you can grow

Root Vegetables

Carrots: Some varieties have been bred specifically for storage such as Red Cored Chantenay, Kuroda Chantenay, Danvers 126, and Dolciva. They can be kept all winter long.

Winter radish:Winter radishes can be eaten raw or cooked. Choose from watermelon radish, daikon radish, or the colorful radishes we developed at Tourne-Sol ( know, I know - I’m biased but the vibrant colors of these radishes really jazz up a plate!) 

Rutabaga:The storage champion. Rutabaga is excellent as a purée or soup. We love their sweetness. They store for 4 to 5 months.

Celeriac:Celeriac can replace celery in many recipes. It also makes delicious purées and soups.They store until April.

Beet: Once the leaves have been removed, beet can be stored for several months. Detroit Dark Red stores very well.

Tubers and Bulks

Garlic: Rocambole garlic stores until April-June, while porcelain garlic stores until July. 

Potatoes: Potatoes store throughout the winter, especially Dakota Pearl. 

Onions: Onions can be stored all winter until it’s time for green onions in the spring. New York Early is particularly well suited to storage.

Squash and Pumpkins

Squash: From shortest to longest storage life: spaghetti, delicata, acorn and butternut squash.

Pumpkin: Pumpkins also have a long shelf life, but you should eat them before the holidays.

Pulses

Dried beans: It's easy to grow your own dried beans and produce your own vegetable protein. And, dried beans are beautiful!

Soup peas: St-Hubert soup peas are easy to grow. Let them dry on the plant until the end of August then harvest the dried pods and shell the peas. Then you cook up a nice pea soup...just like in the old days!

Soybeans: Like beans and chickpeas, soybeans can be left to dry on the plant and harvested at the end of the season. Why not embark on a tofu making adventure?

Other winter treasures

Kohlrabi: Kohlrabi keeps for a very long time. I used them last winter until March. Their sweet, crunchy taste makes them an excellent snack. Here is another crudité to put on the table to appease small appetites waiting for supper.

Leeks: Leeks keep well for the first portion of winter. They add a sweet touch to whatever you’re cooking.

Cabbage: Cabbage deserves to be better known. It stores all winter long. Just remove any damaged outer leaves. They can easily be transformed or used to replace other greens.

Chinese cabbage: Stored in bins, Chinese cabbage can be kept until after the holidays.Just keep a close eye and remove any rotting outer leaves. Chinese cabbage has become my winter lettuce! It can be eaten raw in a salad or cooked and added to a dish.