It’s hot. We’ve all noticed it this week. It’s been difficult to work in the sun for too long before the prospects of air conditioning or swimming win over weeding. We worked for a few hours at Mujeres this week before the thoughts of icy drinks won over everyone’s desire to work. Oh well – that’s the nature of a Kentucky summer!
Anyway, now that tomatoes are finally starting to ripen, zucchini are abundant, and all plants are starting to produce fruit, it’s important to know how to store produce once you harvest it. I grew up thinking that most things – with the exception of bananas – absolutely HAD to be refrigerated. Once I actually began living on my own, I started to realize that there are certain vegetables that shouldn’t be refrigerated, because refrigeration actually speeds up their ripening process.
Some fruits and vegetables release a gas called ethylene, which may speed up ripening if refrigerated or placed with other vegetables that are not gas-releasing vegetables. Here’s a basic list taken from vegetariantimes.com that outlines what produce to refrigerate and what produce to keep away from the fridge:

REFRIGERATE THESE:
• Apples
• Apricots
• Canteloupe
• Figs
• Honeydew

DON’T REFRIGERATE THESE:
Avocados
• Bananas, unripe
• Nectarines
• Peaches
• Pears
• Plums
• Tomatoes

KEEP THESE AWAY FROM ALL OF THE PRODUCE LISTED ABOVE:
• Bananas, ripe
• Broccoli
• Brussels sprouts
• Cabbage
• Carrots
• Cauliflower
• Cucumbers
• Eggplant
• Lettuce and other leafy greens
• Parsley
• Peas
• Peppers
• Squash
• Sweet potatoes
• Watermelon
If you store any incompatible veggies together – such as storing greens like kale with peaches – it is likely that because of the gasses released by peaches, your kale will wilt in a matter of days. When I was younger I was told that tomatoes should be refrigerated – however, I now know that they should not. I hope that this has helped in some way! It can be difficult to know whether or not to refrigerate certain veggies – and it is always a shame to see them go bad.