Max Chan, Author at Certified Naturally Grown

Below is a transcript from the video “How to Store Carrots Long Term” from CNG member Kat the Farmer. For the full instructional experience, check out her video here and make sure to sign up for Kat’s newsletter on her website!

I’m Kat the Farmer, and I’m going to tell you how to store carrots for long term use. We’re going to dive into all those little details that make a really big difference when it comes to shelf life– whether its harvesting, washing, packing, temperature, humidity– all the gritty details that go into that.

These principles transfer to all sorts of root crops– beets, turnips, rutabaga, daikon– you can use these principles for those crops, too.

There are a few considerations you can make before its time to harvest to ensure the best storage quality. You’re gonna be looking in your seed catalog for varieties marked for good storage quality. In my case for carrots, it’s Bolero. It’s the king of storage carrot selections.

That goes for other storage crops, too. Certain radishes are designed for storage while others are not.

As far as planting-timing goes with carrots, I try to get my big fall planting of carrots planted so that at maturity, they are at risk of getting frosted. I’m looking at that first frost date in my area and trying to plan my planting date just so that when they are mature, they have the opportunity to get frosted a couple of times and put some sugar down into those roots.

Chances are if you’re watching this video, you’ve probably had a mixed history of storing carrots successfully. So let’s dive into the considerations during the actual harvest time that you’ll need to keep in mind.

When I’m out in the field pulling the carrots, I like to top them in the field (cutting the greens off in the field). And when I’m doing that, I’m taking extra consideration to cut the greens off at just the right point so that its sprouting ability is inhibited but I’m not cutting so far down that it looks mutilated. I’m also sorting for quality as I go, so I’m setting aside the ones that are worm eaten or are shaped like dancing people. I can do a further grading for size when I get back to the pack house.

As you’re going through your harvest, you may accidentally break some of your carrots either because they won’t pull out or you stab them with your spade. Those carrots will store just fine. That won’t compromise the storage ability of the carrot but you might want to cull them out anyway just cause they’re less marketable. Sell them to someone who wants juice or just make pickles for your own pantry (or something like that).

During harvest you’re not just cutting off the tops, you’re also trimming the root hairs. This is only an important step for long term storage. If you’re gonna use or sell your carrots within the month, this step makes no sense. But those little root hairs that extend down into the soil of the tap root are gonna be the first thing that rot in your storage bin or bag. They turn to jelly or mush – then they can mush up the whole bag – and then you have to wash your carrots one more time before you have to use them in the springtime. Trimming the root hairs is that extra step for the really extended shelf life.

After harvest, sorting and trimming, you’re going to wash your carrots. You’re going to get them super clean and the easiest way to do that is to clean them right away. Carrots that get harvested dirty and stored for a little bit – you might stain the carrots with the soil and the soil kind of crusts on there and it’s harder to get off. You can get them really clean by washing them the same day that you harvest. And you’re not only washing them but you’re also going to need to dry them. All of this should take place in a shady area.

You’re gonna want to see the roots go from shiny and wet to sort of a matte color or a matte texture on about 80% of that carrot surface. Then you know it’s safe to put that carrot into a bag and get it into storage.

If you are patient and you go through that drying step– whether that step happens out in the open air in the shade or in your breezy walk-in cooler, that eliminates the need to have ventilation in your storage bin or perforation on your storage bag. You can use a solid tote or a solid bag for that long term storage.

My favorite bag size for storing root crops holds 12 pounds of carrots. It’s 14×20 inches and once I get them all packed, I’ll put them in the walk-in cooler at 35 degrees to 40 degrees or so, and they live in there for long term storage throughout the winter… and well into springtime.

Here on my farm, I’m using a CoolBot in an insulated trailer as my walk-in cooler. As the carrots are stored over winter, I get a little nervous about the outside temperatures coming in and penetrating the cooler… so what I do is set up a heater and a Inkbird controller to stop the cold from coming in. Anytime it’s less than 30 degrees outside I want to have that set up and I just have that set up till springtime to prevent the carrots from freezing in storage because that would ruin the quality. Cracking on the carrots is a result of that – so that’s one extra step you can take to avoid freezing your carrots.

The end result of taking all these steps to store your carrots is beautiful sweet carrots that stay good until springtime.

Actually, it’s mid-June when we’re filming this video and I’ve been using these carrots in my prepared salad kits all spring long! It’s been so great to have that as an addition. I really think that if farmers and gardeners can learn how to store food, they can really provide more year round access to local food for their community of eaters so thank you for watching and happy growing!

This text was written by Mandy + Steve O’ Shea of 3 Porch Farms. It is an excerpt from their June 12th blog post: “Verdant Sweepstakes.” Head over to 3 Porch Farms for flower growing tips and tricks from this Georgia flower farm!

We are busy planting thousands of dahlias right now. We’ll be planting them all through June. We stagger the planting so we can have a succession at harvest. It’s important for farmers to succession plant a lot of crops so that they don’t get a huge harvest at one time. That used to be the mistake of a lot of beginning farmers (maybe that’s different now with greater access to information). You’d see them at market one week with a full booth overflowing with beautiful produce or flowers. Then the next 3 weeks, they’d have almost nothing. The result is that customers think you’re unreliable and start shopping elsewhere, and on the week you had a large bounty, you weren’t able to sell all of it, so you either gave a bunch away or lost it to compost. You ended up working your tail off, only to spend more in expenses than you made by selling your bumper crop. A painful lesson to learn. Succession planting becomes a valuable technique to help you have a more steady and reliable harvest that both you and your customers can depend on from one week to the next.

For folks in cooler climates wondering why we plant dahlias so late, it’s an approach we developed after years of failed crops due to intensely hot and humid summers that devastated our dahlia fields. The late planting sidesteps the exhaustive stress that our southern summers exert onto dahlia plants and allow us to have a healthy and bountiful fall harvest. It’s incredibly effective. You can find more info on our dahlia care page

______________________

From 3 Porch Farm’s June 2023 blog:

[June] is the ideal time for southern growers to plant. I know it’s not what the textbooks say, but textbooks weren’t written about growing dahlias in the south. Overwintered, or early spring planted dahlias become huge and exciting for a month or two, give you some very early blooms, and then turn into a jumanji sized, heat stressed, insect hatchery. If you want to propagate thrips and Japanese beetles, then plant early in the south. In our experience, around 90% of your blooms will be ruined for the rest of the summer and all through Fall. The 10% that aren’t destroyed will be subpar.

Also of note if you grow southern dahlias (or any flowers really) and are near a hay field…plant a hedgerow. Thrips love dahlias, but they love grasses even more. When hayfields are cut, millions of thrips are displaced. Those displaced thrips catch a breeze and float on over to whatever gardens and farms are nearby and settle in on the flowers. We have a 100 acres of hay on 3 sides of us. We do have a 15 foot wall of a mix of evergreens, flowering shrubs and vines on 3 sides of us as well. It makes a big difference. Thrips are lazy flyers. They aren’t rising like a phoenix from the ashes, but more like dog paddling until the breeze carries them somewhere. If you stop the breeze, you stop the incursion. If you intend to spray them with your organic or even not so organic insecticides, you’ll still be disappointed. They breed like crazy and have different stages of development that live in the soil, or in the green tissue of the plant. Even the adults that live in the flowers hide deep in the petals to where sprays can’t hurt them. But assuming you nuked them all, the next generation would just turn up the following week. Your only recourse is timing of planting.

Read more about all phases of Dahlia growing – from spring through fall- at 3 Porch Farm’s collection of blogs on Dahlias

This post was written by Emma Reigel and edited by CNG from selections of Gowin Valley Farms monthly Newsletter.

For centuries, morels have been utilized in traditional medicine and valued for their health benefits. Many studies have confirmed their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory qualities, along with their ability to boost the immune system. Despite their growing financial impact and high demand, morels are mainly obtained through wild harvesting and are known as a superfood and flavor enhancer. These mushrooms are some of the most prized foragable fungi. The cream of the crop, per se.

Various species of morels are also very common in the United States, particularly in Virginia, Kentucky and Michigan. You may find them under names such as “Dry Land Fish” or “Hickory Chickens,” which originate from the way they look and the way they are prepared.

The Benefits of Morel Mushrooms:

Nutrient Dense:

Morels are rich in protein + fiber and low in fat. They contain Vitamin D + B and high levels of iron, phosphorous, and potassium.

Immune Boost:

Morels enhance immune function and can reduce inflammation, thanks to their polysaccharide content.

High Anti-Oxidents:

Morels contain abundant antioxidants which aid in combating oxidative stress, potentially reducing the risk of chronic ailments like heart disease and cancer.

Source of Vitamin D:

Morels are among the few foods that provide a significant amount of Vitamin D which is beneficial for bone health.

Liver Health:

The potent antioxidant properties of novel mushrooms can contribute to liver health and aid in protecting liver cells from damage caused by oxidative stress.

Morel Morphology & ID:

The Morchellaceae family uncludes true morels (members of the genus Morchella), the verpas (in the genus Verpa) and the cup fungi in the genus Disciotis. There are undoubtedly more North American morels to be discovered, but unfortunately, the species can’t always be identified by looking at their physical features. Young M. Diminutiva are yellowish with bald flat ridges and dark grey pits. As they age, the ridges and pits equalize in color, becoming yellow to brownish yellow. The equal, hollow stipe can be up to 7cm and is attached to the cap directly with little to no overhang. The stem is generally longer and skinnier than other Marcella species. M. Americana is a commonly harvested spring mushroom & ranges in color from grey to whitish to yellow. The fruiting body can range from 5-22 cm tall. The spongelike head is egg-shaped, oval to conical, or pine cone shaped with pits and ridges that are primarily vertically arranged. On all forms, the ridges are paler than the pits. The hollow whitish stipe can be enlarged toward the base, attached to the cap without a notable overhang or rim. Morchella Angusticeps has a fruiting body up to 18 cm tall. The sponge-like head can differ in shape but is usually elongated and pointed. The head has elongated and irregular pits with ridges that darken with age. The young black morel may appear almost white when covered by leaf debris, but the aged black morel will have brownish pits and dark ridges. The hollow, whitish stipe is attached to the head with a slight overhang or rim. More DNA Sequencing is needed to learn more about morel varieties.

Morel Lookalikes:

Verpa bohemica, known for their wrinkled thimble cap, share similarities with morels. However, they can be easily distinguished. Verpas have folds on the cap. Additionally, the star of the half-free morel attaches halfway up the cap. This leaves half of the cap hanging free like a skirt. To differentiate, compare the sectioned Verpa bohemica with the stalk attached to the bottom of the top of the cap to the sectioned Morchella punctipes with the stalk attached halfway up the cap. It’s important to note that Verpas are slightly poisonous and are not permitted for collection and sale in certain states.

Harvesting Tips:

When harvesting, morels should be cut with a knife near the surface of the soil. When the mushrooms are cleaned as they are harvested, it helps keep the dirt out of the pits of the morels previously gathered. As with most fungi, morels should be stored in paper bags or waxed paper and put in a cool dry place soon after harvesting. Do not store in an airtight plastic bag or container; they will last longer if kept from drying out, and allowed to breathe. Be mindful or morel lookalikes who can be toxic and deathly and dangerous to ingest. When cooking morels, you must THOROUGHLY cook them. We pre-cook our morels, then cook again in our food recipes to ensure they’re WELL cooked.

Emma Reigel co-founded her female-owned mushroom farm, Gowin Valley Farms, at age 26. Receiving a BA from Emory University and her MSC in Marketing from Clemson University, Emma learned how to create strategic partnerships with universities to harness her farm as a means to aid in institutional universities conducting on-farm studies and creating research based-internships. Emma guest lectures at local universities for mycology lab classes and speaks at mycological conferences across the Southeast. Sign up for her monthly newsletter for loads of seasonal mushroom knowledge and recipes!