Human Resources Center

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Tel: 607-734-4453
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www.cce.cornell.edu/chemung

Storage Guidelines for Fruits & Vegetables

Cold storage of fruits and vegetables was used Once harvested, fruits and
extensively by our ancestors to keep food after the vegetables must be stored
harvest season. In modern times, the year ‘round under proper conditions. These
availability of fresh produce in the supermarket has can be classified into four
reduced the use of home storage. However, even groups:
today there are benefits to home storage. Home
gardeners often have excess fruits and vegetables • Fruits and vegetables that require cold, moist
that cannot be consumed immediately but would conditions
store well. Even people without home gardens can • Vegetables that require cool, moist conditions
buy food in season when it is fresh and inexpensive • Vegetables that require cool, dry conditions
and then store it at home until a later date. • Vegetables that require warm, dry conditions

Both options are cheaper than buying food in the The tables on the following page list temperature
winter when it is often quite expensive. In addition, and humidity requirements for most vegetables. In
stored food harvested at peak maturity from the addition to proper temperature and humidity, all
garden usually has better flavor and a higher fruits and vegetables must be kept in a dark, aerated
nutritional value. environment. Standing water, however, must be
avoided as it will quickly lead to rot.
When harvesting your own produce for storage or
buying it locally in season, there are certain Produce must not be allowed to freeze, and should
guidelines to follow that assure maximum quality be protected from animal pests such as mice. It is
and minimum spoilage of your stored food. important to remember that crops held in storage are
still living plants, capable of respiration and affected
• Harvest fruits and vegetables at peak maturity or by their environment.
as near as possible
• Use only produce that is free from all visible The goal of storage is to keep them in a dormant
evidence of disease state. One other note, fruits and vegetables should
• Pick only fruit or vegetables that are free from ALWAYS be stored separately. Fruits release
severe insect damage ethylene, which speeds the ripening process of
• Handle food carefully after harvest to prevent vegetables. Fruits are also very susceptible to
cutting and bruising it picking up the taste of nearby vegetables.
• Leave an inch or more of stem on most
vegetables to reduce water loss and prevent Indoor storage. There are many areas in
infection dwellings that naturally provide (or can be adapted
• Use late-maturing varieties better suited to to provide) a variety of temperature and moisture
storage conditions for storage. Assess your specific
situation. Use a thermometer to monitor
In general, use only the best food for storage. temperatures in various areas of your building
Damaged food is more likely to suffer mold and during the fall and winter to find locations that are
bacterial decay during storage and thus should be convenient and most readily adaptable for food
used fresh or it should be discarded. storage.

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Storage Guidelines for Fruits & Vegetables

Table 1. Fruits & Vegetables that require cold, moist conditions

Vegetable Temperature (degrees F.) Relative Humidity (%) Length of Storage
• Asparagus 32-36 95 2-3 weeks
• Apples 32 90 2-6 months
• Beets 32 95 3-5 months
• Broccoli 32 95 10-14 days
• Brussels Sprouts 32 95 3-5 weeks
• Cabbage, Early 32 95 3-6 weeks
• Cabbage, Late 32 95 3-4 months
• Cabbage, Chinese 32 95 1-2 months
• Carrots, Mature 32 95 4-5 months
• Carrots, Immature 32 95 4-6 weeks
• Cauliflower 32 95 2-4 weeks
• Celeriac 32 95 3-4 months
• Celery 32 95 2-3 months
• Collards 32 95 10-14 days
• Corn, Sweet 32 95 4-8 days
• Endive, Escarole 32 95 2-3 weeks
• Grapes 32 90 4-6 weeks
• Kale 32 95 10-14 days
• Leeks, Green 32 95 1-3 months
• Lettuce 32 95 2-3 weeks
• Parsley 32 95 1-2 months
• Parsnips 32 95 2-6 months
• Pears 32 95 2-7 months
• Peas, Green 32 95 1-3 weeks
• Potatoes, Early 50 90 1-3 weeks
• Potatoes, Late 39 90 4-9 months
• Radishes, Spring 32 95 3-4 weeks
• Radishes, Winter 32 95 2-4 months
• Rhubarb 32 95 2-4 weeks
• Rutabagas 32 95 2-4 months
• Spinach 32 95 10-14 days
Table 2. Vegetables that require cool, moist conditions
• Beans, Snap 40-50 95 7-10 days
• Cucumbers 45-50 95 10-14 days
• Eggplant 45-50 90 1 week
• Cantaloupe 40 90 15 days
• Watermelon 40-50 80-85 2-3 weeks
• Peppers, Sweet 45-50 95 2-3 weeks
• Potatoes, Early 50 90 1-3 weeks
• Potatoes, Late 40 90 4-9 months
• Tomatoes, Green 50-70 90 1-3 weeks
• Tomatoes, Ripe 45-50 90 4-7 days
Table 3. Vegetables that require cool, dry conditions
• Garlic 32 65-70 6-7 months
• Onions 32 65-70 6-7 months
Table 4. Vegetables that require warm, dry conditions
• Peppers, hot 50 60-65 6 months
• Pumpkins 50-55 70-75 2-3 months
• Squash, winter 50-55 50-60 2-6 months
• Sweet Potato 55-60 80-85 4-6 months

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Storage Guidelines for Fruits & Vegetables

Use these materials for a single storage season only,

because they can become contaminated with molds
and bacteria. They often can be recycled as mulch in
the garden. Moisture retention of produce is usually
achieved with moistened sand, sawdust or peat
moss. Plastic bags, lined boxes, crocks, metal cans
with liners, or plastic garbage cans are all items that
retain moisture. Perforate plastic bags or liners at
regular intervals to allow air circulation and prevent
condensation.

Any spot that is sufficiently and evenly cool (32 Vegetables requiring moist storage should never be
degrees to 60 degrees F.) can be stored there. left directly exposed to air. Alternating layers of
Basements are generally the most logical place to produce with packing materials reduces disease
adapt. transmission. Wrapping individual items of produce
with newspaper aids moisture retention and reduces
Older homes are often less well-insulated and have the possibility of cross-transfer of odors and disease.
pantries, back halls, enclosed porches, sheds and
bulkheads that are adaptable to storage. Homes
heated with wood stoves often have a central area of Packing materials:
radiant warmth and peripheral areas that are
considerably cooler. • clean straw
• sawdust
• sphagnum moss
Outdoor storage. In areas with cold winters, • peat moss
vegetables requiring cool to cold, moist conditions • dry leaves
can be stored in any of several types of outdoor • sand
storage areas. Earthen storages (from simple
mounds to more elaborate root cellars) naturally
provide cool, moist, dark and even conditions for a
Timing of storage.
Placing fruits and vegetables in storages, either in
fairly long time. All outdoor storages have the
pits or in basement rooms, before cold weather starts
disadvantage of sometimes being inaccessible, as
in the fall is a frequent cause of early spoilage. One
well as being subject to damage by rodents and other
of the most difficult steps in successful storage is to
vermin.
keep the produce in prime condition from the time of
optimum maturity until the night temperature is low
To be successful, any outdoor storage must have
enough to cool the storage area. The length of
thorough drainage. A storage into which water
storage and retention of nutrients will be maximized
settles will not keep produce and may result in total
if the produce can be stored under the proper
loss.
conditions immediately after harvest.

Packing materials. Packing materials used Following are a few examples of storage areas for
in storage perform several functions – insulation fruit and vegetables.
against fluctuating temperatures, moisture retention,
and reduction of disease transmission. In outdoor
storages, clean straw, dry leaves, corn stalks, hay, or
Refrigerator storage. One of the best ways
to store small quantities of vegetables requiring cold
sawdust are commonly used for insulation. These
or cool moist conditions is to use an old or extra
materials may be purchased relatively cheaply from
refrigerator. The amount of current required to run a
local farms or garden centers. A slightly more
storage refrigerator is usually low because it is
expensive alternative is peat moss.
opened infrequently and can be located in an out-of-
the-way, cool location. For best storage, produce
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Storage Guidelines for Fruits & Vegetables

should be washed free of soil and placed into plastic Basement storage room. Modern
bags with 2 to 4¼” holes for ventilation. The 5- or basements with furnaces are generally at least 50-60
10-pound bag size is usually most convenient for the degrees F. and dry. While this is appropriate for
average family. Vegetables in plastic bags do not some types of food storage, in order to achieve the
wilt nearly so rapidly as those stored openly in the cool, moist conditions necessary for most fruit and
refrigerator. vegetables it may be necessary to construct a
separate room. This separate storage area should be
Outdoor sheds. Sheds, breezeways, enclosed located in the coldest part of the basement, away
porches, and garages can be used to store insulated from the furnace. The north and the east sides of the
containers. An insulated container stored in an house are preferred. Avoid heat ducts and hot water
unheated area should have 6-8” of insulation on the pipes that generate heat. The room should have an
bottom, sides, and top with 2-3” between layers of outside window for ventilation.
produce. Additional blankets or other coverings
may be necessary depending on how cold the outside While the exterior walls do not need to be insulated,
temperature reaches. Remember that produce must the inside partitions should have 3½” thick fiberglass
not be allowed to freeze! insulation. Faced insulation should have the vapor
barrier closest to the warm side of the storage. If
unfaced insulation is used, a vapor barrier such as 6-
mil thick polyethylene can be used. The ceiling also
requires insulation and a vapor barrier. Temperature
can be controlled in this storage room by opening
and closing the outside window. Humidity can be
kept high by pouring water on the floor or by
keeping wet burlap sacks or some similar material in
the room.
10/2001 Chemung County

3/2004 Revised

References:
Fact sheet, Storage of Home Grown Vegetables by F.M.R. Isenberg, Cornell University Department of
Vegetable Crops, Master Gardener Reference, and
Bulletin 7, from Northeast Regional Agricultural Engineering Service (NRAES-7), Home Storage of
Fruits and Vegetables, by MacKay, Susan, 1984.