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Post by diane on Jan 8, 2012 2:30:01 GMT -5
I did a search but couldn't find this topic already in use.
I have three vegetables that last a long time after picking. I keep them in the house, in the same room as the computer.
Sibley squash - the best tasting squash I have grown. It is still great after two years, but after three years, the seeds were starting to sprout inside, so now I plant it every other year.
Tomatillos last until the next summer.
Sweet Orange II cherry tomato. ( I still have lots of seeds from Peters Seed and Research - the packet says this is the one the "deer zero in on for eating.) I pick the ripe ones at the end of October and bring them in. Last year I had eaten them all by Christmas, so this year I'm not eating the last of them - I want to see how long they will stay good.
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Post by rowan on Jan 8, 2012 4:03:11 GMT -5
I generally throw out the rest of my spaghetti squash when the new lot comes in each year but they are still good. I have kept them for 14 months but they look like they would keep much longer.
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Post by Walk on Jan 8, 2012 10:52:37 GMT -5
We're still using shallots grown in 2010 and just finished up the elephant garlic from that year. The shallots were originally from a friend many years ago and could possibly be a Dutch brown type or perhaps a potato onion.
Sucrine du Berry moschata squash keeps for a year. Georgia Jet sweet potatoes keep until at least June (maybe longer if we hadn't eaten them up). Lutz beets keep at least until July 4th which is the latest we've eaten them.
Black walnuts and hickory nuts are best kept until their second year for ease of shelling.
Lots of other foods keep until spring in the root cellar, but the ones I listed are particularly stellar in their performance. Sometimes we keep something just to see how long it would be edible, but usually toss it in the compost when the new harvest comes in.
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Post by ottawagardener on Jan 8, 2012 11:08:48 GMT -5
Lots and lots of stuff:
Roots in cellar, nuts, husk tomato things like ground cherries and tomatillos, citron, many kinds of winter and summer squash (I just let them ripen and then use then in cooking as I would a summer squash. Variety that has worked well for me is a white scallop type), cabbage even without the roots keep for awhile in a cool, damp (but not too damp) place, leeks, celery and swiss chard - potted, peppers dried - lots of kinds, tight necked onion, hard neck garlic. Of course, all sorts of things that are dried from peanuts to apples.
Favourites:
Squash: Waltham's butternut, White scallop are exceptional in my opinion Melons: Citron but what do you do with all that citron! Tomatillos: Most and ground cherries, including clammy ground cherry - in husks Roots: Parsnips keep well in even poor cellar conditions in my experience Tomatoes: Winterkeeper from Mapple Farms but I didn't like the taste Sweet Potatoes: Most that I've tried, Georgia Jet is very good, must be cured then stored warm Beets - Lutz, I agree
Can't think of any more specific varieties but certainly lots to choice from.
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Post by Joseph Lofthouse on Jan 8, 2012 13:46:23 GMT -5
I'd add sunroots to the list... In my garden, they store in the ground all winter without any special care other than cutting the stalks off in the fall.
I think of walking onions as a long keeping vegetable, because when the garden is not snow-covered, they are always ready to harvest. Swiss chard and kale also provide a very long opportunity for harvest in my garden. It's not like the plant will spoil if I don't harvest it today. It will still be ready for harvest in a month, or in two months. Carrots are another crop with a long harvest. My usual strategy is to count the rows, and divide by the number of weeks left in the season to see how much to pick each week.
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Post by littleminnie on Jan 9, 2012 19:27:52 GMT -5
I didn't know that about tomatillos.
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Post by gray on Jan 9, 2012 21:17:33 GMT -5
Joesph where did you get your walking onions? Would like to try.
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Post by Joseph Lofthouse on Jan 9, 2012 21:58:52 GMT -5
Joesph where did you get your walking onions? Would like to try. They are a family heirloom. The earliest I know of them is that they were growing in the yard of my great-grandfather. He died before I was born and his house abandoned. My aunt retrieved a start of them, she gave a start to my brother who gave them to me. I've queued some for shipping to you. They are currently under snow-cover in frozen ground. Might not thaw until the last week of March. Remind me if they don't show up by then.
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