Storage Structures and Home Storage of Vegetables and fruits

B-111

Storage Structuresand

Home Storage of Vegetables and fruits

1940

issued byThe Extension Service

Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas andThe United States Department of Agriculture

H. H. Williamson, Director, College Station, Texas

Storage Structuresand

Home Storage of Vegetables and FruitsBy

Grace I. Neely, Extension Specialist in Food PreservationM. R. Bentley, Extension Agricultural Engineer

Storage of vegetables andfruits will prove an economy

for farm families producingtheir food at home. Not only isit possible to reduce the costof the menu by using home-grown and home-stored vege-tables and fruits, but the sat-isfaction of having a supplyof fresh vegetables and fruitsat all times means much to thehomemaker, for she knowsthat the health and happinessof the family depend to a greatdegree upon it.

Experiments today showthat some stored vegetablessuch as sweet potatoes, whitepotatoes, rutabagas, turnipsand carrots, are higher in vi-tamins after about six monthsin storage.Carrots, beets, potatoes and

parsnips are considered goodsources of the vitamin B com-plex and of vitamin C. Thecolored roots such as carrotsand sweet potatoes are goodsources of vitamin A, whilewhite potatoes and white par-snips are deficient in this.Storage of all these vegeta-bles is desirable for variety

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and for the special vitaminsthey contain.The successful storage of

some vegetables is not at alldifficult. In fact good storagefacilities such as outdoor cel-lars and ventilated pantries inthe home already exist onmany farms, while materialsfor constructing outdoor banksor pits are accessible to anyone. And with plenty of goodclean sand and the will to try,the storage of vegetables andfruits at home in Texas candevelop rapidly.Cool temperature, correct

moisture, and proper ventila-tion are factors that must beconsidered in the storage ofall sorts of products.Temperature: When too

high, favors decomposition;when too low, causes freezingand breaking down or changein tissues.lVIoisture: When the storage

room is too dry the vegetablesaDd fruits dry out and shrivel;when there is too much mois-ture the growth of spoilageorganisms is likely to occur.

Ventilation: Is not only ameans of regulating tempera-ture and humidity, but is alsoimportant in removing gas-eous products that are injur-ious.In planning storage the fol-

lowing points must be takeninto account if the fruits andvegetables are expected tokeep their fine flavor and foodvalue.Sanitary conditions are nec-

essary for the retention ofquality. Disinfect the room" tokill rot spores. Use a spraymade with 1 pint of formalde-hyde in fifteen gallons ofwater; let dry well after dis-infecting before storing pro-ducts.Only good quality products

should be stored, those thatare firm, well matured, of agood .shape and free fromspots and bruises.The stage of maturity of

each product needs to be con-sidered for storage.Late maturing vegetables

are generally best for storage.In the plan for production

provide varieties of vegetablessuitable for storage.Check all stored products

every 4 to 6 weeks for spoil-age.Each vegetable is a special

problem in storage, but certaingroups of vegetables can begrouped together under thelarger headings, such as moist,slightly moist storage, or drystorage.

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Moist StorageTo store root vegetables

such as beets, carrots, pars-nips, winter radishes, rutabag-as, and turnips in sand, so~emoisture may be needed toprevent shriveling. But avoidadding moisture unless need-ed, because it will increase therisk of spoilage. Storing in lay-ers of clean sand has giventhe best quality product. Ifsand is not clean it may pro-duce an earthy flavor in theproduct.Pack the vegetables in lay-

ers of sand in jars or boxes ofabout one bushel capacity andstore in a cool, well ventilatedplace. In the Gulf Coast sect-ion use dry saI}d, but in thedryer sections of Texas a littlemoisture may be needed.In packing in dryer climates

slightly moisten the sand andplace 2 to 3 inches in the bot-tom of the receptacle. Thenput in a single layer of veg-etables not touching each oth-er. Then cover with one inchof sand. Then another layerof vegetables, and continueuntil receptacle is filled.Select Vegetables To Store In

The Sand That Are Of AGood Flavor And TextureBeets, about 2 inches in

diameter in perfect conditionand of good color.Carrots, 1 to 2 inches in

diameter, roots of good color.Parsnips, rutabagas and

turnips, medium size" and wellmatured.

Cut off the tops of beets, Banks and Pits: Select acarrots, parsnips, rutabagas, well-drained location for theand turnips, leaving one inch. bank or pit. In preparing forof stem. Dry one hour in the a bank or mound, dig a trenchshade and store in sand.Cabbage and celery-immq-

ture heads of cabbage and cel-ery are best stored by liftingthe roots and placing in banksor pits with the roots down,in damp sand, as close togeth-

Fig. 1. Bothed pit used for the storageof celery on a small scale.

er as they will stand. Bankedin this way the heads of cab-bage will continue growth andbecome solid, and the celerywill improve in texture andflavor.

OirtCo.,er/'!jSt-Alk.s

Fig. 2. Cabbage storage pen madeof stakes and poles and covered withstraw.

about 3 inches deep and 5 or6 inches wide, to a lengthsomewhat greater than thewidth of the bank or the diam-eter of a round mound. Coverthe trench with corn stalks,sorghum stalks, or straw. Thiswill furnish a fresh air inlet.After the vegetables are piledon this bed, further ventila-tion may be furnished by lean-ing stalks against the pile of

Turl1ipsCarrtJt5BeetsCa.bblA!1 ePota.toe~

il'Je

Fig. 3. Small outdoor mound for storing vegetables. A week's supply of variousvegetables may be stored in each mound.

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Fig. 4. Outdoor mound over a barrellaid on its side.

vegetables. Dirt is thrownagainst these stalks. A topflue, made of lumber, metal,or even a little bundle ofstalks, should be provided forventilation. Some kind of acap should be provided overthe top vent to keep the rainout. See th~t the trench underthe vegetables is sloped sligl1t-Iy to a little drainage ditch sothat rainfall will not run underthe vegetable pile.In figures 1 and 2 it is in-

tended that the covering ofstalks or straw will shed offmost of the rainfall and yetwill furnish some top ventila-tion for the vegetables.Some vegetables need a little

dryer storage, but still enoughmoisture to keep from shrivel-.ing. The white potato is illthis group.

toes in crates of one bushelcapacity. The crates should be .raised from the floor 2 to 4inches, so there will be a cir-culation of air under andaround the potatoes. Store ina dark room or cover with bur-lap bags. Darkness is essentialif potatoes are to retain theirnatural flavor. It takes C011-siderable light exposure toturn potatoes green, but evena little light makes them tastestrong. Irish potatoes greenedby light have been found to beharmful.Some have successfully stor-

ed potatoes in sand just as theroot vegetables are stored.This necessitates close watch-ing. The .cellar temperaturefound in most parts of Texasmakes it necessary to keep thesprouts rubbed off during thestorage months. If kept at atemperature too cool forsprouts to grow, the eookingquality will not be so good as\vhen stored at cellar tempera-ture. On the whole, cellars pro-vide a good storage place forIrish potatoes. Some store po-tatoes successfully under thehouse when it is 21/2 or 3 ft.off of the ground.

PotatoesIrish potatoes should be ma- Dry Storage

ture ¥lhen stored, sound andfree from bruises and blemish- Sweet Potatoeses. After they are dug they Be sure svveet potatoes areshould dry for a day or two well matured. Test maturityin the shade before they are by breaking a potato and ex-stored. Dig when the soil is posing it to the air. If the sapdry enough so that it will not hardens quickly and the sur-adhere to potatoes. Sort, grade face remains bright in colorand carefully place the pota- the potatoes are ready to dig.

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If the sap remains sticky andthe surface takes on a darkcolor the potato is green.Dig when the ground is dry

enough not to stick to the po-tatoes.Handle carefully to prevent

.bruising or breaking the skins.Do not throw or drop them.Grade and place at once in

bushel crates and baskets.Use or dispose of all broken

or bruised potatoes immediate-ly.

Preparation for Curing:Clean the room.Disinfect the room to kill

rot spores. Use a spray madewith 1 pint of formaldehydein 15 gallons of water.Provide a heater with which

to regulate temperature in thecuring room.Dry the room out well be-

fore putting the potatoes in it.To Cure: In a dry fall heat

is not needed in the curingroom. But in a moist seasonheat the curing room to 80 de-grees F. before bringing thepotatoes in.Raise the crates off the

floor so that air may circulateall around them in the placeselected for curing, whichshould have walls that willkeep in sufficient heat forcuring, top ventilation for re-lease of warm moisture-ladenair, and inlets at the base forcooler air to control humidity.

Maintain an even tempera..ture in the curing room-be-·tween 80 degrees to 85 degrees·F.Check the curing room daily

for surplus moisture collectingon the outside of the crates oron the walls of the room. Ex-cess moisture calls for regula-tion of the heat and ventila-tion.To Store: If the potatoes

were cured in a well insulatedand ventilated curing house aUthat is needed is to cut off theheat and regulate the tempera-ture, keeping it from 50 de-grees to 60 degrees F. The po..tatoes may be stored in earth-en banks or hills or pits. A wellventilated and dry cellar is thebest storage place of all, be-cause it keeps a cool even tem-perature.

OnionsOnions must be well ripen-

ed and thoroughly cured tokeep in storage. Select thosewhere the tops have ripeneddown or shriveled and be surethat the outer skin of the bulbis dry before they are pulled.Use immediately any "thicknecks," or those that are im-mature or soft. At harvest theonion tops are clipped to 1/2'inch length. They may.be plac-ed in crates or open meshsacks in the shade or under ashed until they have dried.This will usually require 5 to7 days. Storage may be doneon a small scale by swingingthe crates down from the roof.Globe type onions keep betterthan the flat Bermuda type.

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'as they come fresh from thetree keep better and will havea better flavor.Select clean, firm, well ma-

tured fruit as nearly perfectas possible. The fruit shouldbe free from bruises. .

The essential points for thesuccessful storage of onionsare: having well matured on-ions, dried until they rattlewhen handled; storing in opencrates of not over one bushelcapacity; having plenty ofventilation, a comparativelylow temperature, dryness; andinsuring safety from actualfreezing.

Pumpkin and SquashLate maturing varieties of

pumpkin and squash as a rulekeep better. Another pointthat will add to the keepingquality is to leave about 2inches of stem when stored.Select those that are well ri-pened and matured and freefrom bruises. Cure in theshade for about two weeks ata temperature of about 80 de-grees F. in a well ventilatedplace to dry the skins.Store in a dry place at a

temperature of about 60 de-grees F., placed so that theydo not touch each other onslatted shelves or on deck incellar.or -cave.

Different Methods Used ForStoring Citrus Fruits

Paper wrapped. (1) Make amixture of 2 ounces or 4 leveltablespoons of borax with onegallon of water. Heat the mix-ture to 117 degrees F. or luke-warm, when it will have amilky appearance. Be carefulnot to get the water too hot.Use it just as cool as the boraxwill mix with it, or make thewater appear milky.Place the fruit in the mix-

ture. Let it stay in the mix-ture one minute. Take thefrui t from the mixture andlet it dry, taking care not towipe off the borax.When dry wrap the fruit in

paper. Newspapers may be us-ed; wax paper will keep thefruit better. When wrapped,

FRUITS AND TOMATOES place in crates or baskets, pre-ferably not more than three

Fruits absorb odors easily layers deep, and store in a welland should not be stored near ventilated, cool, dry place.turnips, cabbage or onions. Stored in sand. (2) Pack the

Citrus ' fruit in boxes. Cover the bot-Oranges will keep from five tom of the box with clean, dry,

to eight months in storage, (best "wind blown") sandwhile grapefruit keep from about two inches. The orangesonly two to three months. Va- are placed so that they do notlencia oranges and Duncan touch each other. Another lay-grapefruit are varieties that er of sand to cover the fruit,seem to keep better in storage. then another layer of fruit. ItOranges left on the tree to is best not to have more than

full maturity and then packed three layers of fruit to a box.8

Cover well with sand and storein a well ventilated, cool, dryplace.

P,earsPears have a better flavor

and texture if gathered afterthey are mature, but stillgreen, and wrapped and storedto finish ripening in a cooldark storage, either for can-ning or for eating fresh.

This stage of ripening isknown as the "mature green"stage. If selected just at thisstage and stored two to threeweeks at a temperature be-tween '60 to 65 degrees F. theywill ripen in storage.· A lowerstorage temperature· will in-crease time in storage a fewweeks.

ApplesStorage for apples is similar

to Irish potatoes. Select wellmatured late variety appleswith good flavor and color butnot too ripe. Store in basketsor crates of one bushel capa-city. Store in a c.ool, well ven-tilated room just as for whitepotatoes.

Green TomatoesGreen tomatoes can be har-

vested and stored for a monthor two to ripen.Different Methods Used:(1) Pull vines before the

freeze and hang tops down inwell ventilated room wherethey will keep cool but will notfreeze. There should be justenough moisture in the roomto prevent shriveling.

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(2) Pull vines, place topsin bank or pit on a welldrained mound.

(3) Pick well matured greentomatoes and paint stem andscar with wax made by melt-ing together 1 part paraffin, 1part beeswax and two partsmineral oil. Store in cool, wellventilated place to ripen. Placethem so that they do not touchon a slatted shelf, or deck ina cellar or cave.

MeatsIt will be economical to keep

meat stored in oil in a clean,cool, well ventilated room, sothe oil will not become rancidduring the season. For direct-ions on packing meat in oil seebulletin B-94 Killing and Cur-ing Pork.Cellars, caves or ventilated

pantries provide the best stor-age room for meat in oil.

Peas and BeansTo store, shell dry well ma-

turedpeas and beans as soonas possible after reaching ma-turity. A good methoq. of pro-tecting them from weevils isto store the clean, dry, shelledbeans in dry sterilized one-haligallon glass jars. Adjust rub-ber and just before screwingdown lid add ;4 tsp. of carbondisulphide or "high life," insmall paper holder in each jar.Let stand 36 hours, open andremove rubber, and paperholder, replace lid loosely, in-vert jar, let stand one week.Set right side up and screwdown lid. Store in a cool, dry,

to the floor of the room or cel-lar. Some suggestions on ven-tilating storage structures areshown on Extension Service·Blueprint N·o. 224. The venti-lation of many of the cellars.in use can be improved by anarrangement to admit the in-·coming air at the floor line.If the cellar has a solid doorat the bottom of the hatchwaya hole some 12 by 20 inches atthe bottom of it will accomp-lish this, or if the door at thebottom of the hatchway is ascreen door, covering the up-per portion of it with canvasor pasteboard will also accom-plish the purpose. The outerdoor, or' storm door will bekept open or closed accordingto weather conditions.All vents in any structure

should be provided with doorsor some means of closingthem. Sometimes a desirable·temperature can be maintain-ed in a storage room by open-ing the vents at night and'keeping them closed duringthe heat of the day, or by re-versing the operation.If a storage place to which

rats and mice have access isused, decks or crates may besuspended by wires to protect.products that are not protect-·ed by the containers.

GETTING A DRY CELLARConsidering the various us-

es which may be made of acellar, it is very desirable thatit be made dry. In some loca-tions it is very difficult to con-struct a dry cellar, particularly

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well ventilated room as thisaids in keeping the cookingquality of peas and beans.Watch carefully the first fewdays for any signs of moistureon inside of the glass. To re-move any noted moisture re-move lid, tie cloth on top andplace in direct sun until evap-orated. Screw on cap andstore.

Cellars and OtherStorage BuildingsUnderground rooms furnish

the best protection against ex-treme temperatures, but maybe more difficult to ventilateand to protect against exces-sive moisture. They usuallyare the more expensive, ifmade of durable materials.An inexpensive above-

ground storage s t r u c t u r emade of logs is shown in Ex-tension Service MS 133, andan above-ground storage housemade of lumber is shown onBlueprint No. 202.For the ventilation of stor-

age rooms, air inlets should beplaced in the floor, or at ornear the floor line in the walls,and the atr outlets in the ceil-ing or at the top of the walls,in order to get a natural move-ment of the air and not re-quire fans. The total crosssectional areas of the inletsand outlets should each ap-proximate 1 square inch persquare foot of floor space. Un-derground storageroornsshould have air inlet flueswhich lead the incoming air

SELECTING A SITE FORTHE CELLAR

A hillside is to be preferredas a site for the cellar if suchis available within a reason-able distance from the house,.because excavation costs aresomewhat less and drainage·may be obtained. If a hillsideis not available a spot wheresurface drainage may be ob-tained should be selected. Al-so, a location where the run-off from the house roof willnot have to be contended withis desirable.

are shown on Blueprint No..224. Surface drainage aroundthe cellar mound of dirt should.be provided. Where grass,such as bermuda or buffalo,.can be made to grow over acellar mound it will aid in dis-posing of rainfall water thatmight otherwise seep into the·cellar. A sandy clay, or clayloam that does not crack indry weather, is a better cellar. covering than either a sandysoil or clay. The sandy soil ab-sorbs water too rapidly and'clay will crack open in dryweather.

where the ground water tableis within a few feet of theground surface. To investigatethe height of the water tableit is only necessary to puncha hole some 7 feet deep andprotect it against the entranceof surface water. This can bedone by inserting a piece of1~", or larger pipe, in the holeand packing soil around it atthe ground surface. Theheight of water table is meas-ured by inserting a very smallstick, about 1/t" in diameter,in the pipe. The test should bemade in a wet season to getthe maximum height to whichthe water table may rise.Where a high water table

must be contended with as insome of the Gulf Coast coun-try it may be more practicableto build a cellar mostly or en-tirely above the ground, atleast high enough so that thecellar floor is above the watertable when it is at its highestelevation. With such a job itis necessary to mound dirtover the cellar to get desirableinsulation.A cellar, as shown in Figure

5, can hardly be expected to bedry, if the water table rises CONCRETE CELLARabove its floor. While it is Concrete is the best mater-possible to build a dry cellar ial for use in building a cel-.below the water table, it is lar, because it is permanent.more practical to build it above and also because vermin andthe water table. rodents can be kept out. byIf the lay of the ground will it. A concrete cellar may be

permit, it is well to put drain built with a greater portion oftile around the outside of a it above the ground than isconcrete cellar below the floor shown in Figure 5 and such islevel and also to put a drain in recommended if by so doingthe floor. Suggestions on this the floor may be placed above

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the water table. l\. cellar maybe built entirely above theground as is shown in Figure6 however, building a cellar ina hillside, if available, will us-ually make the constructionless expensive.A concrete mixture of 1 part

of Portland cement, 2 parts ofsand, and 4 parts of gravel isgenerally recommended for-cellar construction. If a prop-·erly proportioned mixture ofsand and gravel is used do notmake the mistake of using 6parts of the sand and gravelmixture to 1 part of cementwith the expectation of get-ting the same results as withthe above 1 :2 :4 mixture,since what you would be get-

ting would be about a 1:3:6mixture, which is too lean forcellar construction.

CELLAR WITH CONCRETEROOF AND PLASTERED

WALLSIn some localities where the

soil is underlaid with calic11eor a substratum of similarcharacter a roof and rooffoundation may "be made ofconcrete and the cellar wallsplastered.One method of construction

is to dig a trench about 8 inch-es wide where the cellar walland hatchway are to be, downto the caliche, and then pourconcrete in this trench. Rein-

Fig. 5. Section through concrete cellar showing standard shelving. Plans for con-struction are shown on Blueprint No. 62.

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forcing rods should be placednear the bottom of the trenchto prevent the concrete from.cracking. If the walls are to beextended above the groundsurface, lumber forms may bep,ut in place before the trenchis poured so as to pour thefull height of the wall as au:nit, or the trench may. bepoured first and then formsplaced and the above-ground

of temporary materials fre-quently has the advantages oflower first cost and a savingin time on construction. Blue-print No. 227 shows one typeof cellar made with low cost.materials such as poles andlumber. It is shown built in ahillside where natural drain-age may be obtained. This typeof construction is frequentlyused on comparatively level

Fig. 6. Fresh air is admitted through the cellar floor by means of a concrete or claytile duct. If the cellar floor is below the ground line the inlet or outside end of theduct must be turned up so it will be above the goround line.

portion poured later. After theconcrete has cured about 10days in the trench, the dirt isdug' out to make the cellar ex-·cavation. The wall below theconcrete may be left unfinish-ed or plastered with cementmortar to a thickness of aninch or more.E.Iueprint No. 228 sho,vs

this type of cellar.

CELLARS WALLED "VITHTEMPORARY MATERIALSWhile a cellar constructed

of durable materials has itsadvantages, one constructed

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ground, in locations where thewater table is never high andwhere the soil is not seepy, es-pecially in regions of the statehaving a light to moderateannual rainfall.A covering of composition

roofing is suggested. Thisroofing \vould likely add to thelife of the lumber under it andwould also prevent the drip-ping of water through theroof in case the. dirt above itbecomes saturated. It wouldnot, hovvever, insure a dry cel-lar in all locations.There is a comparatively in-

expensive method of treating

poles with zinc chloride, which-does not have the undesirable<>dor of creo"sote, which willgreatly increase the life ofthe poles. Information on thistreatment may be obtained:from the Extension Service.

ROCK WALLS FORCELLARS

Where rock is available itmakes a very desirable cellarwall. However, it can hardlybe considered practicable tomake a water proof wall ofrock if water stands outsidethe wall. Rock may be usedfor the walls, the hatchway,and the steps, but reinforced-concrete is recommended forthe roof of a rock cellar. Rock-or brick roofs should not be.attempted by anyone notthoroughly familiar with theirproper construction. Specifica-tions for building a concreteroof may be found in Farm-ers' Bulletin No. 1772.Other materials from which

cellar walls may be made arebrick, hollow clay tile, and hol-low concrete tile. Brick or tilewalls should be 8 inches ormore in thickness, and rockwalls should be as much astwelve inches·in thickness.

VENTILATED PANTRYFigure 7 is intended to il-

lustrate the movement of cool.air from under the house upthrough the pantry and intothe house attic. One of the re-quirements for the successful

operation of the pantry is awell ventilated attic. The airoutlets from the attic may beopenings in the gables as highup as practicable or in case ofa hip roof a vent flue in theroof ridge. An air duct direct-ly from the pantry to the out-side air is not considered aseffective as the ventilatingmethod suggested above.

The tighter and better in-sulated the walls of the pantryare, the better the results willbe, however, one thickness of.tongue and groove lumbersuch as flooring makes satis-factory walls. Double walls aresome better. Pantry walls hav-ing cracks in them may be im-proved by covering them withbeaver board, pasteboard, orseveral thicknesses of paper.The door should be tight fit-ting without cracks around it..Slatted shelves are consideredessential to aid in a free cir-culation of the air.In order that cool air may

be drawn from under thehouse, the pantry should belocated away from outsidehouse walls as near the mid-dle of the house as practi-cable.If the house has a solid

foundation, some openingsmust be provided in it to per-mit the entrance of freshair under the house. Lack ofunderpinning and shrubberyaround the house may causetoo rapid an exchange of airunder the house.

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"TT\C-

<'I.ILlNC7

Fig. 7. Ventilated pantry. Plans for con-struction shown on blueprint No. 208.

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