Stuff they never tell you

Unfortunately

plantings and

renovating.

The green parts are mildly toxic, and can cause gastric distress. Eating a few won't hurt you -- but who wants to? The green parts are bitter.

Turnip greens and beet greens are rather tasty. When it was time to thin the beets, we would wash the culled plants (with the small root still attached) and cook them like spinach.

potatoes are

Remember that root crops are supposed to survive the winter while in the ground. The original purpose for storing all that energy in the root was to give the plants a good start next year. Some, like carrots, survive freezing temperatures just fine. Others need to be kept above freezing temperatures.

Ray Drouillard

thinking...so

I have read/heard that carrots keep longer in the fridge if you cut off the top half inch or so of the carrots because that part is alive and it will take nutrients from the rest of the carrot.

Potatoes will get sweet if you put them in the fridge.

I once tried to store garlic by putting the peeled cloves in undiluted white vinegar in the fridge. Every one of them promptly sprouted.

I found this file somewhere:

Refrigerator

Apples, Apricots, Artichokes, Asparagus, Beans (Lima, Snap, Green, Beets, Blackberries, Broccoli (remove from plastic bag), Brussel Sprouts (remove from plastic bag), Cabbage, Cantaloupe, Carambola, Carrots, Cauliflower, Celery, Cherries, Coconut, Corn, Cranberries, Cucumbers, Dates, Eggplant, Endive, Escarole, Grapes, Greens (Collard, Kale), Herbs (most types), Leeks, Lettuce, Melons (fresh cut), Mushrooms (most varieties), Nectarines (ripe), Nuts, Okra, Onions (Green, remove from plastic bag), Peaches (ripe), Peas (green, snow), Peppers (bell, chili), Pineapple, Potatoes (red,white), Radishes, Raspberries, Romaine Lettuce, Rutabagas, Salad Mixes, Spinach

Room Temperature

Avocadoes (cold intolerent), Bananas (to ripen and store), Dried Fruits, Garlic, Grapefruit, Honeydew, Kiwi (unripe), Lemons, Limes, Mandarins, Mangoes, Melons (whole), Onions, Oranges, Papayas, Peaches (unripe), Pears (unripe), Peppers (chili dried), Pineapple (whole), Plums (unripe), Prunes (unripe), Potatoes, Pumpkins, Squash, Sweet Potatoes, Tomatoes, Watermelon

I have a 1976 U.K. version of 'Putting Food By', it's still really useful if you want serious information.

Another good book that I bought many years ago and still use is '12 Months Harvest' a guide to canning, freezing, smoking and drying; making cheese, cider, soap and grinding grain; getting the most from your garden. It was published by Ortho Books in 1975 and describes the lives of the Dewey family through their year, from one harvest to the next, and tells you how to freeze things and also how to preserve them the old-fashioned way: fruit, veg, herbs, meats, fish.. Also, sprouting seeds and how to make sourdough, etc. etc.

I see this is available at abebooks for $4.00, which is 2 cents more than I paid for it at the time.