Reaping the Benefits of the Season

By Jos Van Hage

This is the time of year when gardeners reap the benefits of all their hard labors if they planted a vegetable garden. Most areas in the Prince George area have received a killing frost so vegetables are ready to be harvested. Many of the hardier vegetables can withstand a couple of degrees of frost while other vegetables have their flavours enhanced by a few degrees of frost. Vegetables such as kale, brussel sprouts, leeks,  and parsnips all need a frost to make their flavours stand out.

If you have potatoes in the garden they are dug up after the foliage has died back and the skin of the potato is thick enough so that it is not easily rubbed off. This shows that the potato is mature and will store well. When you dig your potatoes only store the healthy disease free potatoes. Throw out any potatoes that have green on them which shows that the potato was exposed to too much sunlight and is not good to eat. Also throw out any potatoes that show signs of rot as these will only cause the surrounding potatoes to rot when they are placed in storage. If your potatoes have scab, they can still be eaten and stored but never used as  seed potatoes for next year. What you should do next year is plant your 
certified seed potatoes in a different area of the garden and sprinkle some 'Tiger 90' in the soil before planting your potatoes. Never put wood ashes in the garden where you want to plant potatoes as this can create scab on the potatoes. Before storing potatoes you should let them air dry for a few hours before placing them in a cool (5-10 Celsius) dark area. A 
cold room or a root cellar is ideal.

Carrots are able to handle a few degrees of frost if they are properly covered. They should be dug up before the frost sets into the ground so they can be dug up within the next few days. Carrots are stored by breaking off the green top and storing them in sand or vermiculite, and placed in a room where there is good humidity where the temperature is a few degrees above freezing. Or, they can be washed and placed in a plastic bag and put in the fridge.

Onions are another fall vegetable that stores well over the winter. They should have been pulled out in late August when the tops fall over naturally which is a sign that they have matured. Onions need to be dry in order to store properly so should be allowed to air dry until the neck of the onion is dry and the outer peel is dry. Onions are best stored in a cool dry area where there is good ventilation.

Leeks are able to handle a lot of frost and can be left in the ground until the ground begins to freeze. Just before the frost sets in leeks should be dug up and stored upright in sand or placed in a cold room or cellar.

Store winter cabbage in a cold room or root cellar where temperatures are near 0 Celsius and there is good humidity. If your soil is well drained you can keep parsnips in the garden until next spring and then dig them up before they start to re-grow. They are very sweet and are a tasty treat from the spring garden.

 Jos

Jos Van Hage owns and operates two Art Knapp Garden Centres in the Prince George area:

Highway 97 North at Aberdeen

Highway 16 West
   

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