1. Never wash a vegetable for storage. Washing shortens storage life, sometimes by months.
2. When storing in a plastic bag in the refrigerator make sure that you remove as much air from the bag as possible before storing.

Refrigerator

Vegetable	Storage in Refrigerator
Beets	Cut the tops off. If the tops are in good shape wash them and cook them. Yum. Don’t wash the beets. Store them in a plastic bag in the back of the refrigerator. The tops where you cut off the greens might be a little rotty. Not to worry. When you peel them the insides will be great. Inside that plastic bag beets in the back of the fridge will keep for months.
Brussels Sprouts	Cut the little sprouts off the stem and store them in a plastic bag in the back of the fridge like the carrots. They will keep for at least a couple of months. They will usually keep for up to six weeks.
Carrots, Celeriac, Turnip	Store in a plastic bag in the back of the refrigerator. Carrots will keep for months this way. After being stored a long time there may be a white root substance on the carrot. Not to worry. Just peal it off. As long as the carrots are bright orange underneath they will taste wonderful. Organic carrots actually gain sweetness when stored.
Cabbage	Store cabbage in a plastic bag. When you take it out some of the outside leaves may look mildewed but not to worry. Simply strip off the outside leaves and the inside is as good as new. Cabbage will keep this way in the back of the fridge often for three months.
Celeriac	Tops will probably be off. Store like carrots. If any part is a bit rotty when you take it out merely cut it off. Chances are the rest is just fine.
Collard Greens, Kale	These are not long keepers. Best to eat them within two or three weeks of the delivery. Immerse in cold water, wrap in a cloth dish towel, and place in your fridge.
Turnips, Rutabaga	Store like carrots

Unheated Entrance, Attic Space or Unheated Spare Room

1. Make sure that this area doesn't freeze. For example, a bulkhead might freeze.
2. Store items one level deep on trays, preferably open at the bottom for air circulation. I often use the black trays that you get at garden centers when you buy plants. Great recycled item.
3. Make sure squash don't touch each other
4. Make sure that some ventilation is feasible. For example store trays on a rack with some circulation
5. Keep area dark. This is particularly important for garlic and onions that will begin to sprout if exposed to light
6. Inspect all items when taking something from storage. If there are signs of spoilage, noted below, use the item as soon as possible
7. Always store the best specimens the longest. Use broken stem squash first.

Storing Squash

• Butternut Squash has the longest storage life of any squash. It will sometimes last the whole winter if the storage location is cold and dry enough. If you see any spots developing use as soon as possible. Spots develop into rotty areas and eventually the whole core will rot, and the squash will be unusable. If you need to fix too much squash because it is spoiling simply cut up a whole bunch, steam it, and freeze the pieces for consumption later in the winter.
• Delicata Squash does not store well. Use this squash within six weeks of the delivery. If delicata is starting to go it will probably be too late to salvage anything. It is too small a squash to recover rot.

Recommended optimum storage conditions for pumpkins and winter squashes

Type Squash	Humidity	Temperature	Time	Remarks
Pumpkins	50 to 75%	50 to 55oF	2 to 3 months	Fruit should be mature. Don't store with apples.
Hubbards	70 to 75%	50 to 55oF	5 to 6 months	Stores well.
Acorn	50 to 75%	50oF	5 to 8 weeks	At temperatures >55oF, surface becomes yellow and flesh becomes stringy.
Butternut or Buttercups	50 to 75%	50oF	2 to 3 months	Degree of maturity not as important as for other types.

When winter squash are removed from storage, they should be marketed or consumed immediately, as rot can develop quickly. Black rot, dry rot, and bacterial soft rot are the principal causes of spoilage in stored winter squash.

North Carolina University Storing Winter Squash and Pumpkins http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/hil/hil-24-c.html

Storing Onions

The length of time that onions will store is highly dependent on the variety – the onions in the multi-farm winter share are storage onions and should last several months, especially if stored in a dark, cool area. When onions start to sprout they gradually become unusable. If you see an onion sprouting use it as soon as possible. If onions become soft they are rotten and should be removed from storage.

Cellar in a cool damp corner

1. The rules of thumb for the cellar storage are:
2. Store items one level deep on trays as above.
3. Some ventilation is helpful.
4. Keep the area dark. This is particularly important for potatoes that will begin to sprout if exposed to light
5. Inspect all items when taking something from storage. If there are signs of spoilage, noted below, use the item as soon as possible
6. Always store the best specimens the longest.

Storing Potatoes

• Potatoes usually store 2-3 months. Potatoes specifically noted as a storage variety will often do better. If possible store on flat trays. The benefit is the avoidance of the "bad apple" syndrome, and one can inspect all the potatoes as you use them up permitting you to take ones that are beginning to sprout. A soft potato usually means that it is rotten, but cut it up to make sure.
• Sweet Potatoes store like regular potatoes. They will probably not keep as long so plan to use them in 1-2 months.

Source: excerpted and adapted from Skippy's Vegetable Garden http://carletongarden.blogspot.com/
Comment posted 1/8/08 by Gretta Anderson
Storage Tips for Winter Vegetables adapted from How to Store Vegetables in a Typical Suburban Home by Richard Harrison
http://belmontcsa.blogspot.com/2008/01/storage-tips-for-winter-vegetables.html