2

Good Keepers

… Through the improbable winter to the impossible spring.

William H. Matchett
“Packing a Photograph from Firenze”

Here’s a checklist to consult at the beginning of the gardening season — which is, for most of us, in January and February when we pull a rocker up to the warm woodstove or glowing fireplace with our lap full of catalogues, ready to fill in the rows in our mind’s eye garden — the one that is always perfect. We have a brand-new chance, now, to remedy the mistakes and shortcomings of the last gardening season. A look at the root cellar will tell us whether our order of good keepers should be increased. Old-time gardeners referred to the late winter and early spring weeks as “the hungry gap”—when stored vegetables ran low, fall-butchered meat was used up, the cow was dry, and the hens hadn’t resumed laying. If you’re left with only a handful of root vegetables at midwinter seed-ordering time, now’s your chance to provide for a bigger and longer-lasting winter vegetable harvest next fall. We’ve kept this list of good keepers separate so that you’ll find it easy to refer to when planning your garden. Most of the vegetables discussed in this book will keep well regardless of variety, but for really outstanding storage life, you might want to try some of these especially reliable varieties. Unless specific sources are noted, the variety is widely available.

image

A fall harvest basket filled with beets, radishes, and celeriac.

Beets
Broccoli
Brussels Sprouts
Burdock
Cabbage
Cabbage, Chinese — Wong Bok types keep well.
Carrots
Cauliflower
Celeriac
Celery
Colbaga (Farmer)

According to the catalogue, colbaga “combines the flavors of Chinese cabbage, cabbage, and rutabaga.”

Collards

Vates is good because it is shorter, but all collards are very hardy.

Eggplant

Not a long keeper, but try these late varieties.

Endive
Escarole
Kale
Kohlrabi
Leeks
Onions
Parsnips
Potatoes, Sweet
Potatoes, White
Radishes, Winter
Rutabaga
Salsify
Squash
Tomatoes
Turnips
Watermelon