Happy Thanksgiving!

I won't be cooking anything I grew because I eaten the tomatoes already and the herbs are long since gone.

But I will be roasting root veggies all day in preparation of driving to my aunt's house for the day.

Cheryl

I do still have tomatoes from my garden, which we did not eat today - but everyone who wanted one got one little piece of parsnip harvested today and roasted in the pan with the duck.....yum

The US Thanksgiving comes far too late in the harvest season -- Sukkot is much more intelligently placed in the calendar, IMO.

The only vegetables I grew that appeared on the menu were potatoes. We also had the very last of the season's chanterelles that we picked.

"Claire Petersky" expounded:

Potatoes, brussel sprouts and carrots from the garden were on my Thanksgiving menu this year. Pretty cool, picking brussel sprouts three hours before they were to be cooked! The carrots were so sweet from the frost, everything went well. Next year I'll have squash, too (they didn't do well this year, although the cukes were awesome).

We didn't have anything from the garden except potatoes, but we had a wonderful turkey I shot Tuesday.

?? Hadn't heard that one. Is it actually GOOD to leave carrots in the ground to be exposed to frost?

Basically an intellectual question, as we do not have frost, but I am very curious.

Also, does this apply to other root crops?

Thanks

Persephone

A mild frost won't hurt, but I would harvest the carrots immediately. If you want to keep root crops (and tubers) a cood, dark, not too dry place is best. Such places used to be called "root cellars", and were standard equipment on houses and farms built up into the early 20th century. My grandmother kept carrots in a bucket filled with sand down in the cellar. They lasted at least half the winter IIRC.

I don't know about carrots but it is true for parsnips.

We have one outside made of concrete and bricks. 3 feet deep. Baskets of roots placed in and topped with hay. Wooden top provided not perfect. Sort of like a cool/cold humidified storage area.

Sometimes potatoes in February.

Bill

Wolf Kirchmeir expounded:

I pile leaves on top of the beds and harvest the carrots (and beets) well into deep winter. Sometimes things get too frozen, but usually I can still dig in January.

"Travis" expounded:

Next year I'll have parsnips for Thanksgiving, too!

I've tried the bucket of sand routine and found that the carrots got wimpy fairly soon. It's possible that my basement was too warm.

I f>... A mild frost won't hurt, but I would harvest the carrots immediately. If