Vegetable storage

Tomatoes and pumpkins are two vegetables we get calls on in the fall. We haven't reached the growing season's end yet, but it's only a few weeks away. If there are still tomatoes or pumpkins in the garden to harvest, follow these recommendations to ensure a successful end to your harvest season.

Have you ever thought about saving seeds from your own vegetable garden to grow next year? It can certainly be done and isn’t as hard as you might think. However, before you get started there are a few important things to keep in mind when selecting plants from which to save seeds.

Knowing when your onions are ready for harvest and how to prepare them for storage are important steps toward having a successful crop.

The history of popcorn in the Americas is very old, with the oldest samples of popcorn found in the Bat Cave of west central New Mexico dated at about 4,000 years old. According to the Popcorn Board, an organization of United States popcorn processors, it’s thought that the first use of wild and early-cultivated corn in the Americas was for popping. Popcorn was important to Aztec Indian ceremonies and an important food for them, too. Nearly all the world’s popcorn is grown in the United States, with one fourth of the U.S. national production in Nebraska.

Potatoes are one of our favorite vegetables. The Northern Plains Potato Growers Association says each person in the United States eats 110 pounds of potatoes each year!

Fortunately potatoes are not very difficult to grow in the home garden. And once you have your crop in the ground, it’s important to know when and how to harvest. Harvesting correctly ensures the best production from your planting, as well as good winter storage.

Both white and red-skinned potatoes can be grown as an early crop for new potatoes and as a late crop for storage.