Different locations that may work in your house include the basement (especially if on the cooler side), the bulkhead stairs to the basement, an unheated garage, or in the ground/in an actual root cellar.

Keys to successful cold storage:

• Aim to keep the produce between 32 and 50^oF. Don’t let it freeze!
• Store the different vegetables and fruit in separate containers and with enough space between the containers to allow air circulation.
• Only store produce that is not bruised or has other defects.
• Reuse a wooden pallet to keep the containers off of the ground, especially if storing on a dirt or gravel surface.
• Check the produce often and remove pieces that show spoilage.

If you don’t have separate locations with varied humidity, you can do what I do and create mini environments in covered plastic bins. For example, my garage is typically between 35 and 50 degrees Fahrenheit during the winter. I keep all of my produce in one location, using shelving and plastic bins to keep the different vegetables separate.

The winter squash and pumpkins sit on the open shelves; next to them I keep garlic and onions in wooden baskets. My root veggies, like carrots, rutabega and beets, each have their own bin in which they are layered with slightly moistened sand. Potatoes sit in plastic baskets within a larger covered plastic bin. The baskets sit atop a layer of very moist sand so that the potatoes are not in the sand.

Here is a short list of produce that are easy to store around the house, arranged by moisture/humidity requirements:

Above all, don’t worry if you cannot find the ideal conditions around your house. Finding an area with conditions close to the ideal will still provide some shelf life for the produce and allow you to enjoy the local, fresh produce into the winter.

Note – you can click the menu to open it in a PDF format, which you can then save to your computer or print off for easy shopping!