Storing garden veggies in wine cooler - Ask Extension
Hello! Like many gardeners, I'm harvesting veggies faster than I can process or give away. I know the refrigerator is too cold for many vegetables, so...
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Storing garden veggies in wine cooler #880651
Asked August 08, 2024, 7:24 AM EDT
Hello! Like many gardeners, I'm harvesting veggies faster than I can process or give away. I know the refrigerator is too cold for many vegetables, so I'm wondering if I can use a wine cooler that's around 55 degrees (not being used for wine). I'm not sure if this environment is dry or moist.Would this be suitable for summer squash, cucumbers, bell peppers, and eggplant? If so, should I put them in some sort of bag first or can they just go straight in? If the wine cooler is not appropriate for some or all of these, what else would you suggest?
Thanks for your help.
Baltimore County Maryland
Expert Response
Hi Holly,
Thank you for your question. For whole produce, your refrigerator temperature of 40 degrees Fahrenheit will be appropriate. If you process (cut) any of the produce you'll want to store it at this temperature and not the wine fridge.
If you want to treat your wine fridge as commercial storage, you may want to look at the manufacturers directions to see what the relative humidity is or if that can be modified. If not you could look for a sensor. I'd give this Cornell Univ. document a read through and prioritize what you think would be best given your garden.
https://cvp.cce.cornell.edu/submission.php?id=411
Cheers
