How to store squash in an apartment?

I have a line on squash and potatoes but do not have much freezer space. My basement is not sealed and since I am in a rental, not worth my $$ to do it. Is it possible to store squash in an apartment setting? Is there a way to store in a box or something?

 

Go old school with a root cellar! Don't know your specific conditions, or how much basement space you might have, but, that's a possibility for ya!

 

I was thinking of getting wooden shelves that would fit in an exterior wall closet. I was thinking it would keep it cool, free from pests and some air flow.

something like this

 

What kind of squash? Some keep longer than others. Colder, but not freezing and dark are what you need.

If you have an outdoor patio, maybe you can locate an old ginormous cooler like this

Might give enough insulation to keep them cold but not freeze. They are big, so you could even add some. If you lived out this way I have an old one I could give you. Maybe one cheap on craigslist? End of summer might find a steal.

 

Winter squash store best cool dark and fairly dry air under a bed in plastic boxes with no lid will work potatoes store better in cool , dark and humid

 

Thank you for the response. I wasn’t sure about plastic because of someone once saying they needed airflow to keep from rotting. Where I am at is pretty dry.

 

Acrorn and butternut squash. I am trying to save freezer space for meat. Since sausage went up $2 a package in the last 6 months, I have been trying to stock up.

I have a couple of cooler that may work.

 

When I worked in the produce biz, Acorn/Danish came in jitneys, which are parallelized containers about 30" tall. You see them a lot in grocery stores filled with pumpkins, watermelons, etc.. Based on that I don't think you need to worry much about piling them too deep. Butternut always came in boxes one layer deep, and to my hand (and knife) feel softer. If you are storing both loosely I'd keep the butternut on top, one layer deep.

Even after all these years I still have a friend that I started out with who works in a warehouse as a buyer. I'll check to see if I can find out anything about long term storage.

Almost everything has different tricks to help store and then ripen later. An example are apples, which are first de-waxed to clean them up and then re-waxed with carnuba (derived from de-waxed apples before it's cleaned) then placed in cold storage where they are gassed to preserve them. Thegasprevents the apples from absorbing gasses from other fruit that are in a ripening state. And that's just apples!

 

It seems from my research on the storage of Squash / Pumpkins, that there are two main considerations for extending the storage life of the produce for as long as possible.

1. Preparation for storage.
2. Storage environment.

Storage preparation begins with timing and selection of produce to be cropped, and includes techniques for curing the crop for long term storage.

The storage environment should provide for good air flow and ventilation, and maintain optimal temperature and humidity conditions that will keep spoilage at bay for as long as possible. The scale of storage will naturally depend on how much storage space you have available, how much you produce, and how long it takes to use up what is cropped and stored under optimal conditions.

Here are some useful resources, particularly the processes for 'curing' the produce.

How to Store Harvest, Cure, and Store Winter Squash

How to Harvest and Store Summer Squash

 

Cardboard and shredded paper


Dark dry cool


We have a dark and very cool basement, using old 'milk crates' and paper, we have no problems. By the time planting rolls around, most left in LTS have sprouted and are ready for planting.

Perhaps store in a closet against a cool outer wall?

 

You could always cook it down and can it. We do that with pumpkin all the time.

 

As long as you don't have a top on you should be fine . Being under a bed you can't stack them too deep

 

Only comment I have on storing squash, pumpkins, apples, is keep them from touching each other, paper for apples, space for others, as one bad one will spoil the whole bunch in a short time. When one does get a bad spot, cut it out and use the rest, but once it develops into a full blown stinking mess, it has to be thrown out. For home storage, in sand, leaves, on racks such as you show, hanging from poles, all have worked well, "if I kept on top of it". I have had no luck just putting stuff into storage and then going back 3 months later and getting what I need. It is about as likely to be ruined than not. As mentioned above if you wish to store food, you have to pick a variety that stores well and both properly harvest it and curing it.

I no longer raise potatoes at all nor tomatoes outside, in our area the late season blight, i e cause of Irish famine, is so bad that I have had 100 % failures in both crops outside. The potatoes look fine for a few weeks and then turn into a slimy mess. You biggest sources of information are found in the seed catalogs and in those neighbors who have been doing it for all their lives. Go into the forum and read the old posts, there are some good ones on both the success and failure.

 

Another option is to process surplus winter squash / pumpkin into pumpkin flour.

How to Make Pumpkin Flour (+ ways to use it!)

This youtube clip describes and demonstrates the process...it is best fast forwarded, several minutes simply shows him cutting and dicing the pumpkin, and a couple of minutes of loading the dehydrator.



An alternative method of dehydrating pumpkin into flour / powder
Dehydrating123: How To Make Pumpkin Powder | Trail Recipes


via: Dehydrate Pumpkin and Make Pumpkin Powder

10 Best Pumpkin Powder Recipes | Yummly Pumpkin and 5 spice icecream??? YOLO!

If bugging out...it's hard to tote a pumpkin with oneself...but some pumpkin flour...that seems more doable

 

I have a ton of pumpkins this year so I will give this a try! Thanks!

 

My "apartment" is the upper floor of a 2-story house. We have a back staircase, that goes down to the back door and basement, and really isn't heated....so I'm thinking I'll be putting a shelf out there, to store produce during the winter months. It never freezes back there, but should maintain the same temperature as the basement. And I won't have to walk downstairs, to get the stuff when I want to use it!

 

Cold and dark with dry

 

Storing squash in an apartment setting can be done with a few creative approaches. If your basement isn't suitable for storage, you can consider using cool and dark areas within your apartment.

 

Absolutely! Storing squash in an apartment without much freezer space is a common concern, and it's great that you're looking for solutions. Even though the thread is a couple of years old, the information might still be relevant and helpful.

Since the thread is a bit dated, you might want to check out reliable online resources like https://axonproperties.ca/ for updated tips on optimizing small living spaces. They provide valuable insights into effective storage solutions that could help you store your squash without taking up too much space.

Remember, squash has a relatively long shelf life when stored properly, so with a little creativity and the right environment, you can enjoy your harvest for quite some time.

 

I grew something (first time) called a Georgia roaster melon (like a pumpkin) One plant has produced 20 (about the size of a basketball) Going to try and store them under the house. we have 5' crawl space pack them in straw ten stays about 65 degrees--say to store at 50 but thats allI got.