Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1917-06-17
LISTS MANY VEGETABLES
THAT MAY Be STORED
Expert Conolly Says Conserving
Such Surplus Is an Important Fea-
ture of Food Problem.

THE storage Of surplus vegetables. such
as beets. turnips, satisfy, parsnips. winter
radish, carrots, cabbages and potatoes Is
an important feature of food conserva-
tion." says H. NJ Connolly of the Depart
ment of Agriculture. in advice given to
home gardeners in the District
"All the vegetables mentioned may pc
stored. in pits in the ground. outdoor Gel.
lars or in cool rooms in the basement OF
the house." Mr.. Connolly said
trict," he SAID there Is plenty Of garden
space where pits, or outdoor cellars may
be constructed, but in the thickly settled
sections of the city this means OF storage
city houses small room may be pari-
toned off and kept cool. where vegetables
may be stored. but in apartment houses.
etc, there Is usually no place available
for the storage Of root crops
Small Room in Cellar.
Most houses are heated by furnace,
thus warming the cellar to some extent.
For this reason it is best to partition on
small room in one corner OF the cellar
to serve as storage room for potatoes,
beets. carrots. parsnips, satisfy and tur-
nips. If possible this room should have
at>least one window for the purpose of
regulating the temperature. The floor
should not be concerted. as the natural
earth makes better conditions for the keep
ing of vegetables Bins may be con-
structed for the various products. or they
may be stored in boxes. baskets or barrels.
This room will also serve as a storage
place for fresh fruits and canned goods.
The vegetables to be stored should be
harvested when the ground Is dry. al
lowed to lie on the surface long enough
for the moisture to dry of before placing
them in storage. The tops should be re-
moved from beets. turnips. carrots and
satisfy before placing them In storage.
Outdoor pits or banks should be located
in well drained place. A shallow .ex-
cavation, some six or eight inches deep,
and of suitable size. should be made.
This Is lined with straw, leaves or SIM
liar material, and the vegetables placed
in conical pile on the material. The
vegetables are then covered with straw
or similar material. and finally with earth,
to depth Of several inches.
Pits Should Be Covered.
1t is well to cover the pits with straw,
corn fodder or manure during severe
weather. Such pits keep the above vege-
tables very well. but have the objection
that it is hard to get the material out in
opened it is desirable to remove the en-
tire contents. For this reason several
small pits rather than one large one
should be constructed so that the entire
contents may be removed at one time.
Instead of storing each crop in pit by
itself, 1t is better to place several vege-
tables in the same pit, so that it will only
be necessary to open one pit to get a
supply Of all Of them. In storing several
crops in the same pit 1t ia a good plan
to separate them with straw. leaves or
other material The vegetables from the
small pit may be placed in the basement
storage room. where they can be easily
secured as needed for tho table.
Cabbage may be stored in a special
kind Of bank or pit. The excavation is
made long and narrow and about the
same depth as for the other vegetables
The cabbages are pulled and placed in
rows in the pit with the heads down
and roots up. The whole Is covered with
dirt, no straw or litter need be used.