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THE HOUSEHOLD AM G-ABDEN CALEIIDAa

A radio discussion "by Miss Rutli Yaii Deraazi, Bureau of Home Economics, and
Mr, ¥, R, Beattie, Bureau of Plant Industry, delivered in the Department 'of
Agriculture period of the National Earm and'Home Hour, "broadcast hy a network
of 48 associate KBC radio stations, Tuesday, September 20, 1932,

AMOUUCER :

Today Hiss Ruth Van Demazi and Mr, W, R. Beattie have comhined the Household
and the Garden calendar periods and we are to have a discussion of an all- im-
portant topic for this season — how to store fruits and vegetables so as to
have a suroply for winter use. In several Household Calendar periods Miss Tan
Deman and her guest eicperts have discussed the canning of fruits and vegetables*
Today we are to hear about the best methods of storing them in the fresh state*

• Miss Van Deman will you lead the discussion?

VAJT DEMAJT r

G-ladly, Mr, Salisbury, As you say, we've had canning days and pickling
days and jelly malcing days, on the Hous'e?iold Calendar, Now we come to storage
of the fruits and vegetables themselves. Generally this is more of a man's
job than a woman's. Every year Mr, Beattie stores all kinds of products from
his garden, so he's going to have to do most of the talking today! Mr. Beattie,
do you think it pays to store home-grown fruits and vegetables?

• SEATTIE;

I certainly do. Especially this year when so many dependent people need
food. I've been in this gardening ggme ever since my boyhood days. Further-
more, I am of Scotch descent and I don't believe in letting anything go to waste.
Yes, Miss Van Deman, I think it will pay to store the home-grown products wher- •
ever conditions malte it possible.

VAN DBIA3T :

Well, just what do you mean by conditions?
BEATTIE:

Mainly temperature. Success in storage of fruits and vegetables depends
largely on providing the proper storage temperatures. Success in the warmer
parts of the country depends mainly on keeping the products cold; in the colder
sections on keeping them from freezing during cold snaps. In some sections
people use what we term "natural storage," keeping the products reasonably near
the proper temperature by ventilating the storage room or cellar. People h-ave
to depend upon "cold storage" in sections where they can't control the tempera-
ture by ventilation.

(over)

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7M DEI/IAlNr :

Can you really keep tlie ordinary cellar colcl enough to store fzniits and
vegetaliles in it ,?.-... ■• . - - . -

BTT.iST'PT'ff : ^ . ,.

In the. colder part's of the country, yes-. Especially, if you partition off
the cooler part, of' the. cellar and mais;©. at least two openings to admit cold air
and let' out the warm air,

YM DMAI'T ;

But suppose you loave a furnace or a heater of some kind in your cellar,
What -then?, ^.^.y

BEATTIE: ' ,"",', . . . „'

.In that case cover. the furnace pipes with asliestos paper or some other fire-
. pr-pof insulating' r.ia.terial and then partition off a portion of the cellar for
s%ora<ge purposes. I h-ave a storeroom in the northeast corner of m^r house cellar.
This room is separated from the main portion of the cellar "by a douhle "board
partition with waterproof "building paper "between the layers of "boards.

... M ^ , ...... . . :

..... .. -Do you have shelves , or liins . for storing your fruits and vegetables?

BMTTIE: . ■ " , '

■9 — ; ' — '

B oth . I have shelves on the side and end where the wooden partitions are
located, also high ta'bles a'bout 30 inches wide' along the other side and end
against the concrete outer walls of the cellar. I use the shelving for the
storage of caniaed goods, ,, the tahles for "bottles or Iregs of cider and vinegar
and for ha.sicets of apples and "other fruits. .. Under the ta'bles are the "barrels
and the'hins for storing potatoes* carrots, and "beets, I store also dahlia and
canna roots in this cellar, - - ■ ■ ■ ,

VM DEMM :

Inhere do you store your ca'b"bage, turnips, and celery?
BEATTIE:

In trenches or pits in the garden. It is diffic-ult to keep the storage
cellar cool enough for ca'b'bage, turnips, and celery. Besides, ca'b"bage a:id
turnips are lia'ble to 'become too smelly for keeping in the house cellar. In
case you have a cel'lar under an oufbuilding or in .the ham you night store the
ca"b"bage and ..t-ornips there,

'Celery ^is.,"b est stored in a trench outside and well covered "by "boards and
earth, ', , .

At wliat Vemperatiire do you aim to keep your, storage cellar, Mr* laattio?
BEA.TTIE : . ."^'"V- . ■ .

As close to 38 or 40 degrees as possil)le. Of course, it is difficult to
get the teroperat-ure tliat low early in the fall hut as cooler weather cones, we
gradually lower the temperature in the storage cellar "by ventilating freely at.
night and then closing the openings during the warm part of the day.

VAIOMM: '

How do you heep the temperature of your storage cellar from going too low
in extremely cold weather?.-

BEATTIE :^ '

That's easy, Hiss Vfin.Der.ian, le siroply close the out sid'e ventilators
tightly and open the door into the main portion, of the cellar,

VAJT DEI.IAIT :

I suppose .you keep. a. thermometer •asi.ngi^ig .in your stoi-age cellar and glance
at it ever^^ da;'' or two ? . • ■■. •

EEATTIE :

' As a r-ole, ^^es. If we don't happen to have a thermometer handy we siiirply
set a pan of. \7ater on the tahle in the. coldest . corner of the storage cellar.
Water will hegiii.,. to flake over and .freeze "before any of the fruits or vegetahles
will freeze. Host fruits and vegetables do not begin to freeze until after the
temperature . falls two or three degrees "below the freezing point of water,

VMDEMAN: . . ■ ^ .; ..

You mentioned storing potatoes, , carrots, "beets and certain f rults ,i^ your .
cool storage cellar; where do you store sweet potatoes, s9.uashes ,3A^ punpkins? .

BEATTIE ;

Oh, I store those on shelves near the furnace in the main part of -Atiy " Cellajr,
Sweet potatoes, squashes and pumpkins reCLuire a storage temperature of a"bout 55
degrees with a. fairly dry .atmosphere, I've stored sweet, potatoes very success-
f"uJ.ly in a vacant room over the kitcheji which had a ventilator in the kitdaen . '
ceiling, \

VAJT DEHAII:

Eow a'bout onions? Is there anything in the idea that the odor of onions
will injure the flavor pf other vj^etahles? , • ,

4

BEATTIE:

T7ell, onions store test at a tenrperature near freezing with. Bnaxigli ventila-
tion to keep t!iem perfectly dry, I don't Tselieve tliere is nrucli to tlie report
that onio>is mil iinpair the' flavor of other vegetalDles "unless they come in direct
contact or the onions decay. Onions will injirre the flavor of apples and other
fruits if jou don't keep them well separated. Turnips and cathage are more
liahle to inj-uxe the flavor of stored products than onions.

VM DEI;IA3T ;

Is tliat why you recommend storing turniiDs and cahhage in outdoor pits?
BEATTIS ;

Yes, that's one' reason, Another reason is that they keep "better when "bur-
ied in pits or "banlrs. The only objection to storing them 'in pits is that thej
are hard to get at in the winter when the ground is frozen. Our southern folks
don't have tliat trouble, in fact they can often leave their vegeta'bles right in
the garden until they want them for' use, or they can store them in very simple
outdoor cellars or in storm cellars.

YAH DEIvLAIT :

Spealcing of outdoor cellars, Hr, Seattle, do you think it would pay the
average home gardener who has a rather large q.uantity of fruits and vegeta'bles
to store, to build ail outside storage cellar for them^

BEATTIE;

Yes, Miss Van Deman, I do. If an outdoor storage cellar is properly con-
structed of stone., cement, bricks or cement blocks laid in cement mortar it
will last for generations. Quite often- these cellars can be built into the
side of a banli or a hill with the door on the lower side and a ventilator flue
in the 'top. If a driveway passes the door it is easier to talie the fruits and
vegetables from the garden or orchard to the cellar. It is usually easier to
control the temperature of an outside cellar tiian of a storage room underneath
the house. In the northeastern States there are thousands of these oxitside
storage cellars. In the Western States sod houses are used for storage p^orposes.
Storm cellars built of stone and earth and about two-third.s under ground, aake
excellent storage places for canned goods also for fresh fruits and vegetables.

VAH mim :

Now, llr. Seattle, you've been talking mainly about' rooms partitioned off
in the house cellar, outdoor cellars, and storm cellars. Suppose yo^^ don't
have a cellar and can't afford to build one just now for storing fruits and vege-
tables? T?hat Would you s"uggest? :

BEATTIE:

That's an easy one to answer, Hiss Van jDeman, ' You can store apples and most
kinds of vegetables in outdoor banks or pits. I lived on one place where I
didn't have a cellar so I dug a sq.uare hole in a well drained spot in ni;^ garden

- 5 -

and get a large store "box into it, then I divified the store"bo:i into sections and
filled each section with one kind of vegetalsle. The "box was ahout three- fourths
■undergro-und and I ta:ik:ed the soil aronnd it and placed a cover on top. Until the
weather hecame too cold I kept the cover raised a trifle to give the vegetables
air, TriThen cold weather set in, I spread straw over the cover' then I added a
layer of soil and over this a roof of ooai'ds to shed the rain, I also d-ug a
ditch all aroTxad my storage pit to carry off the water, A piece of 4r- inch tile
was placed in one corner of the "box and extended above grcand for ventilation,

VM DEI/IAU :

Did you put all kinds of vegetables in this storage "box?
BSATTIE:

Yes, all except onions and tomatoes. We stored our onions in the garage
and the green tomatoes in a cool upstairs room that we were not using.

How long did you leave the vegetables in the outdoor pit?
BEAJTIE ;

Until Jejiuarj/, then we opened the pit about once every week or ten days and
took out a supply of vegetables as we needed them.

You mentioned storing green tomatoes; is that practicable?
BEATTIE ;

Yes indeed. The proper way is to gather the full grown but green tomatoes
just before the first killing frost. Sometimes I gather my green tomatoes late
at night ^len I see that the frost is going to get them. Then I spread them out
to ripen on a table in the warmer part of my cellar where the temperature is
about 60 degrees. We often have ripe tomatoes until after Christmas,

VM DEM ;

Well, Ilr, Beattie, I see Mr, Salisbury signaling that time's up. If any-
body wants more information about storing fruits and vegetables, I know you'll
be glad to answer letters,

How next week lirs. Carpenter will be here at the Household Calendar hour to
talk about food for children, for school boys and girls especially.

Goodbye for this time.

II