Storage Tips: How to get the most out of your Still Life Farm Winter CSA
We offer monthly CSA deliveries during the winter because many of the items you receive in your winter box have come out of our long term storage facility. These can just as successfully be stored at your house for the month!
In order to fully utilize your share, it is very important to take time to properly prep and store the veggies and fruits that you receive. The majority of vegetables that we are providing have been picked in the summer and early fall and stored carefully up to this point. Removing them from storage speeds their respiration processes. This means winter storage produce must be handled carefully to get the most life out of it. Produce does not last forever. Farmers who store produce throughout the winter expect to throw out at least 1/3 of their crop. I cannot impress this enough; your produce will not last forever. Check all your vegetables from time to time. If anything looks like it might be going south, plan a meal around it asap!
We store produce under three separate conditions:
1.) Refrigeration (high humidity, low temp of around 35-40oF)
Most things hold up well in the refrigerator wrapped in a plastic bag or stored in an airtight container.
Greens (kale, bok choi, spinach, arugula, beet and carrot tops, etc.)
Root vegetables with the tops removed (carrots, parsnips, beets, turnips, radishes, celeriac, kohlrabi)
Fruit (apples and pears)
Brussel sprouts removed from the stalk
Leeks
2.) Cool, dry, and dark (low humidity, low temp of around 35-40oF, hallway/closet/porch, paper bag/box)
Irish potatoes
Sweet potatoes
Garlic
Onions, shallots
3.) Warm, dry, and dark (low humidity, warm temp around 50oF, dark area)
Sweet potatoes
All types of winter squash
If you have any questions about how to store anything that you receive, please get in touch with us!
If you have any problems identifying any veggies that you receive, please get in touch with us!
StillLifeFarm@aol.com
stilllifefarm 