Storage Tips

Potatoes
Potatoes store better with the dirt still on them so long as it is dry. Store the potatoes in a dry, cool, but frost free place. They should be placed in light-proof but ventilated containers such as boxes or Hessian sacks, or you can pile them on a dry floor and cover with straw.

Carrots
Before storing, remove the soil and cut off the foliage close to the crown. If you have a small amount of carrots then storing them in a plastic bag in the fridge should preserve them for a week or two. However, the best way to store carrots if you have the space, is in boxes between layers of dry sand (pack the roots closely, with sand between the layers). Keep the boxes in an airy, dry, frost-proof shed or garage.

Onions and Shallots
The best way to store onions is to secure the onions one after the other to a length of rope and hang them in a cool, dry place. Alternatively, hang them in bags of nylon or string netting. Store shallots in a net or basket in a cool, dry place.

Cauliflowers
Cauliflowers can be kept for up to three weeks if you hang them upside down in a cool shed, garage or room.

Beetroot
Screw off the foliage, leaving the leaf stalks attached to the root so that ‘bleeding’ does not occur. Pack the roots in a box containing sand, earth or peat (the material should be slightly damp). Cover each layer of roots before placing the next, finishing with sand.

Apples
Late varieties of apples can be kept for several months if wrapped individually in oiled paper, which is obtainable from garden centres. The individually-wrapped fruit is then placed in a tray and should be stored in a cellar, or a frost-proof garage or shed, with an even temperature of about 4 degrees C (40 degrees F) is ideal. Alternatively, the apples can be placed on fibre trays, which can be bought or are often given away by greengrocers, and stored as above. Another method is to put the apples in a plastic bag, but first make ventilation holes in the bag or else leave the top loose.