Save your money. There are many things you can do to prevent premature spoilage in your fruit and vegetables.

Northerners go to great lengths to try and curb their staggering weekly grocery bill. We check all the sale flyers, carefully making lists before we shop. We drive to other towns, 40 minutes to five hours away to save money, yet when we get our produce home we often don't store it properly to get the most mileage out of it.

First make sure to start with the best produce you can find. It pays to take an extra minute to look for a tomato or apple without any bruises or cuts, a firmer cucumber or a potato without any green on it. That green on a potato, by the way, was caused by the potato being exposed to too much light and it will taste bitter. So grab another potato. Then make sure to store your potatoes in a cool, dark place.

Our house has a room built in the basement with bare concrete wall which keeps our root vegetables, beverages and extra goods dry and cold enough to discourage rapid aging.
Fruits and vegetables are not "stock up" items so only buy what you will need for one week. If you do buy bulk bags of onions, potatoes or apples, remove any shrivelled, bruised or rotting suspects as they will quickly take the entire bag down with them.

Discard any twist ties or rubber bands which keep produce too close together. Cut off all the green tops on radishes, carrots and parsnips as they will draw moisture away from the vegetable and you want to keep things hydrated.

Most vegetables require high humidity. That's why the grocery stores spray their produce every few minutes with filtered water.

Another big tip- do not try to ripen and store tomatoes in the fridge. They won't ripen and they will be tasteless. Ripen them at room temperature on the counter.