For a gardener, nothing stings more than spending all season growing your own food only to have it rot in the refrigerator. It happens all the time. That’s why it’s best to clean or prep veggies right when you bring them in from the garden. Some of these preparations go against what you might typically read about food storage, but they work.
Fill Up the Sink
Lettuces and other leafy greens will store for weeks if you soak them for twenty minutes in a sink or bowl full of water. Give them room to fl oat around and stir them every once in a while. Soil and grime will sink to the bottom, and plant cells will plump with water. Use a salad spinner to remove most of the water. Place a paper towel or small dishcloth at the bottom of a produce or plastic bag (hate to say it, but plastic bags work better than anything for this task), put your greens inside, and tie the bag closed. Store in the vegetable drawer of the refrigerator until ready to use.
After this, salads are as easy as tearing individual leaves into a bowl. You can also go a step further and tear leaves into a large plastic or glass storage container, so all you have to do is put dressing on your greens when you’re ready, but they don’t last as long this way.
Keep Certain Fruits and Veggies on the Counter or in the Pantry
Tomatoes, squash, avocados, melons, onions, and potatoes should not be refrigerated. Stone fruits such as nectarines, peaches, and plums should be stored on the counter until ripe, then placed in the refrigerator drawer. Wash them just before eating.
Don’t Wash Until Ready to Use
Some produce begins to decay quickly if you wash and store it: basil, beans, cucumbers, and peppers. For these guys, brush off any soil and store in the fridge. Then wash them right before you plan to use them.
Take Off the Tops
Carrots, radishes, and parsnips stay crisp longer if you take the greens off before putting them in the fridge.
Put It in a Vase
Herbs such as cilantro, parsley, and even basil can be stored like flowers in a vase. If you put a plastic bag over the entire thing and store it on the top shelf in the refrigerator, replacing the water every few days, these herbs will last a long time. Some say asparagus can be stored this way, though others prefer to store it in the fridge unwashed, wrapped in a paper towel in a plastic bag.
Magic Foil
When you wrap celery in a paper towel, then in aluminum foil, it lasts for a miraculously long time. Just don’t forget about it. If possible, store veggies in clear containers. It is confusing to be greeted by unmarked bags of mystery produce when you open the vegetable drawer. Your food is more likely to be consumed when it’s fresh if you can clearly identify it. Many garden geeks label their produce with sticky notes. There’s no shame in that.
Geeky Garden Tip – A Salad Spinner Is Your Friend
If you don’t have a salad spinner, get one. It’s a gardener’s best friend when it comes to preparing produce for storage. The power of centrifugal force spins water off leafy greens, leaving them practically dry for storage. If you don’t want to get a salad spinner, you can become one by wrapping your greens in a dishtowel (gather up the corners), walking outside, and whirling your arm around like you’re serving a softball game. Just make sure you stand away from anyone who doesn’t like to get wet!
Christy is founder of the ultimate resource for garden nerds, where she publishes information-packed monthly newsletters, weekly blog posts, and podcasts. She also specializes in small-space, organic vegetable garden design and consulting. She holds regular organic gardening classes in California, and has co-taught organic gardening at the Esalen Institute in Big Sur, CA. Christy has been a board member of Ocean View Farms Organic Community Garden in Mar Vista, California since 1999, and gardens almost entirely with heirloom vegetables.
Between 70-80 percent of her family’s produce comes from her garden of less than 200 square feet. Her writing has appeared in Edible Los Angeles magazine, Edible Westside magazine, The Good Food Blog, and LowImpactLiving.com and the Mar Vista Farmers’ Market Wrap-Up for Patch.com.
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