Fresh produce – here’s what you need to know about harvest and storage

Fresh-picked produce is usually intended to be used soon. But it is nice to be able to get it to last at least a couple of weeks before it spoils. To keep produce delicious for as long as possible consider the immediate handling, the maturity or curing of the produce and the storage conditions.

Immediate Handling

Whether it is leafy greens or melons, it is very important to get the field heat out as quickly as possible to optimize the shelf life of the produce. Don’t leave them lying out in the basket while you pick something else. At least put them in the shade if you are heading back into the house soon.

Back at the house, get them to optimum storage temperatures as quickly as possible. This could involve drenching them in ice water for a few minutes. If you use a water system to cool the produce spin, shake or wipe off excess moisture.

Maturity and Curing

Some produce can be picked and eaten at just about any time and some need to be totally ripe. Some can be ripened off the vine while others will not ripen any more once picked. For longer storage potatoes, onions and garlic need to be cured after they reach maturity.

Eat at the immature stage:

• Potatoes
• Summer squash
• Broccoli
• Cauliflower
• Leafy greens
• Asparagus

Eat at the early maturity stage:

• Sweet corn
• Summer squash
• Cucumbers
• Green beans
• Peas
• Green tomatoes
• Peppers
• Kohlrabi
• Okra
• Potatoes, carrots, beets, garlic, onions, rutabaga, turnips

Eat at full maturity stage:

• Melons
• Tomatoes
• Peppers
• Potatoes, garlic, onions
• Winter squash
• Fruits — raspberries, blackberries, apples, peaches

Fruits that continue to ripen after harvest include tomato, cantaloupe, apple, quince, pear, plum, nectarine and peach. These can be picked once they have started to ripen and will produce fruit nearly as sweet as if it had been completely ripened on the vine.

Fruits that stop ripening once picked include blackberry, raspberry, cherry, cucumber, eggplant, grape, pepper (sweet and hot peppers), pumpkin, squash (summer and winter), strawberry, sweet corn and watermelon. These must be picked when they are at the desired stage of ripeness.

Storage Conditions

Storage conditions are based on temperature and humidity. Cold storage is 32-40°F. Cool storage is 40-50°F and warm storage is 50-60°F. For humidity, moist is above 90 percent relative humidity (RH), and dry is below 70 percent RH. Moderate humidity is in-between.

Home storage does not give us all the options. Create a few places to fit as close as you can. I use two small refrigerators for the cool-humid and cold-humid storage — get as close as you can.

Produce for cold-humid storage includes asparagus, beets, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, fruits (almost all), leafy greens, fully ripe musk melons, parsnips, peas, radishes, rutabagas, sweet corn and turnips.

Fully ripe tomatoes should be stored in cool-humid conditions and ripening tomatoes in warm-humid conditions. If you don’t have cool-humid conditions, it may be better to put the fully ripe tomato in the refrigerator for a short time (up to seven days) than to store them on the counter above 70°F. When you pull them from the refrigerator let them warm back up to room temperature.

Cured garlic and onions should be stored in cold-dry conditions (close to 32°F).

Produce for cool-humid storage includes green beans, honeydew melons, peppers, potatoes, fully-ripe tomatoes and summer squash.

Warm-humid storage produce includes basil, cucumbers, eggplants, sweet potatoes, green tomatoes and watermelon.

Warm-dry storage is best for pumpkins and winter squash.

One last point. Produce that continues to ripen after harvest (climacteric) should not be stored in the same area as produce that does not ripen after harvest (non-climacteric). The ethylene gas from the climacteric produce will cause the non-climacteric produce to rot quicker or break dormancy quicker in the case of potatoes, sweet potatoes, onions and garlic.