How to store beets in the cellar in winter. Storing beets and carrots. How to store root vegetables Storing carrots and beets underground

It is convenient to keep beets, like other root vegetables, in a cellar or basement until the next season, where the best conditions have been created for them. Better conditions, but how to store beets in the cellar so that they remain firm all winter and do not lose their taste?

The key to successful storage of beets is proper cultivation and harvesting.

Many people have problems with long-term storage of this most useful root vegetable. But it’s hard to imagine Russian cuisine without beets! And with the approach of spring, it would be nice to increase the consumption of beets, given its numerous medicinal properties.

In fact, storing beets should not cause much trouble, because they are table root vegetables, the shelf life of which is much better than that of carrots or potatoes. If you know how to properly store beets and prevent affected specimens from getting into the total harvest infectious diseases, then in the spring you will get strong, healthy root vegetables from the cellar that have not lost any of their presentation and taste.

Storing beets for the winter will be successful if you not only provide for it suitable conditions in the basement, but also grow it correctly, carefully collect and sort the crop, and most importantly, select varieties that have the best shelf life and cold resistance.

Video about collecting and storing beets

Before you start growing beets, you need to remember that the highest quality, healthy root crops are obtained on fertile sandy loam or loamy soils. If you plant beets in acidic soil, they can be affected by ordinary scab, as a result of which the skin of the root crops becomes covered with warts and cracks, and becomes rough. Subsequently, other diseases will easily develop in the cracks, negatively affecting the keeping quality of beets.

For personal plots Beet varieties with high keeping quality are well suited: Incomparable, Bravo, Bordeaux 237, Krasny Shar, Podzimnyaya, Odnorostkovaya, Nosovskaya Ploskaya, etc.

Choose varieties with small root vegetables - they are tastier, not as fibrous as large ones, and they are stored much better. But beets that are too small should not be left for storage.

Choose varieties with small roots - they taste better

Harvesting beets should begin earlier than, since ripened beets that appear on the surface of the ground quickly freeze during the first frost. Dig up root vegetables as carefully as possible so that mechanical damage fungal and viral diseases did not develop in them.

Diseases that reduce the shelf life of beets:

• Gray rot often develops on beets that are frozen or damaged during digging;
• Root crops overfed with nitrogen and phosphorus have increased susceptibility to white rot;
• white and gray rot can be brought into storage along with lumps of earth adhering to root crops;
• In summer, beets are often affected by Fusarium, as well as Phoma, which develop during winter storage, forming hard black spots and voids in the root crops;
• During wet springs and dry summers, there is a deficiency of boron salts in the soil, which is why beets develop heart rot, which moves from the head of the root crop inwards, forming voids. Such root vegetables rot at the very beginning of storage.

It is advisable to leave the dug up crop in the sun for a short time in the garden bed.

How to store beets in winter - preparation of root crops and storage conditions

It is advisable to leave the dug crop in the sun for a short time in the garden bed (therefore, it is better to dig it up in dry, cool weather) so that the beets dry out a little and are better cleared of the soil. Root vegetables cannot be washed! Next, the beets need to be carefully sorted, leaving for long-term storage only those specimens that look healthy and do not have mechanical damage or signs of disease. The beet tops are carefully trimmed with scissors, or sharp knife, leaving “stumps” one centimeter at a time. Just do not tear off the leaves with your hands and do not touch the tails of the beets, otherwise you will inevitably damage the root crops!

Place the sorted beets, cleared of lumps of earth and tops, in a dry room with good ventilation and no direct sun rays so that the root vegetables dry completely within a week. After which you can transfer the beets to storage for the winter.

Storing beets in a basement or cellar is recommended at a humidity not exceeding 90% and at a temperature from zero to two degrees Celsius. More heat will lead to rapid withering of root crops, rotting and the development of diseases. Beets are especially sensitive to elevated temperatures at the beginning of storage: at +4 degrees, the tops will immediately begin to sprout.

The basement should have natural ventilation, and beet bins need to be arranged 15 cm above the floor

Please note that the higher the air temperature in the storage facility, and the more humidity, the faster the development of fungal diseases will occur, which will very quickly spread to the entire crop. But the signs of some diseases when sorting the dug up crop are completely invisible outwardly.

Air circulation in the storage is also of great importance - natural ventilation should be provided in the basement, and beet bins should be arranged 15 cm above the floor so that the air can circulate quietly, evenly cooling the root crops and not allowing them to sweat.

Options for winter storage of beets

In fact, storing beets in a cellar is not much different from storing carrots. You can simply store root vegetables in bulk on the floor, but it is more convenient to make bins with walls up to one meter high and provide a wooden lattice at the bottom for better ventilation of the beets. The bins should be located ten centimeters from the walls of the cellar or basement. Make sure that the gaps between the boards in the walls do not exceed five centimeters, otherwise the beets will fall through them.

Video about proper storage beets

How to store beets in the basement and cellar:

• The most common option is to store beets on top of potatoes. With this you will immediately kill two birds with one stone: the beets will absorb the moisture they need, and the potatoes, on the contrary, will be protected from excess moisture.
• To better preserve root crops, some gardeners sprinkle them with sand or dust them with sifted ash.
• You can store beets in the same way as carrots - in boxes filled with sun-dried river sand. Only during the winter you need to make sure that the sand does not become wet.
• Pre-processed beets are also well stored in the boxes. saline solution or sprinkled with salt (after the salt solution, the root vegetables must be well dried).
• Leaves of fern or any other plant rich in phytoncides can be placed under and on top of the beets.

You can store beets in the same way as carrots - in boxes filled with sun-dried river sand.

Now you know how to store beets in the cellar, and what you need to take into account so that the root vegetables remain as firm and tasty until the next season as after harvesting. The main thing is to prevent rodents from appearing in your cellar or basement!

And beets are largely the same. They can be stored in the same cellar, on the same balcony (if it is glazed), and even in the same box, but only on the condition that they do not touch.

ATTENTION: But carrots are considered the most difficult vegetable crop for storage, and beets are the most shelf-stable, so if possible, it is better to store them separately.

Suitable varieties

Late-ripening varieties of root crops should be selected for storage. The following varieties and hybrids of carrots are best stored:

Beet varieties suitable for long-term storage:

• Bravo.
• Incomparable.
• Bordeaux 237.
• Red ball.
• Podzimnyaya.
• Mulatto.
• Detroit.
• Nosovskaya flat.

1. choice of root crop variety;
2. preparation technology;
3. room temperature;
4. humidity mode;
5. lack of excess oxygen supply;
6. pest protection.

Among the storage methods, every gardener will find his own, the most convenient and profitable. First you need to decide when and how to store root vegetables..

Read more about suitable varieties carrots and shelf life can be read, and we told you which varieties are suitable for long-term storage.

When is the best time to dig up vegetables?

Harvesting vegetables too early reduces consumer qualities root vegetables, preventing the accumulation of a sufficient amount of sugars. Staying in the garden for too long makes it possible to accumulate sugar in large quantities, which makes the vegetable very attractive to rodents.

Typically, harvesting times depend on the ripening period and weather. The ripening period of root crops is usually written on the seed packaging. It is better to dig up vegetables for storage when it is favorable. Lunar calendar. The days of the waning moon are considered the most favorable, but this factor can be neglected for the sake of suitable weather conditions.

Harvesting should begin at the time when the lower 2-3 shoots of the tops have turned yellow. Such root vegetables already have good consumer properties. We harvest beets before the first frost (having frozen, they will not be suitable for storage), and carrots can be safely left in the garden until the first snow (chilled root vegetables are better stored). In a rainy autumn, it is better to harvest the crops early, since the roots, saturated with moisture, will not be preserved well until spring and will be more susceptible to rotting.

IMPORTANT: Carrots can be dug up after the first frost, but beets must be harvested before them! Frozen beets will begin to rot almost immediately.

You can find out when to remove carrots from the garden for storage.

Watch a video about the timing of harvesting carrots and beets:

Harvesting methods

Someone pulls root crops out of the ground, someone digs with a pitchfork, someone takes up a shovel. How to do it right? Do not water the vegetable bed before harvesting..

It is best to dig with a blunt pitchfork, supporting the root crop by the tail. The forks must be placed strictly vertically no closer than 5 cm from the row. This will help avoid microtraumas, because the key good storage- intact skin. Therefore, hitting root vegetables against each other to shake off the soil is also not recommended.

Remove excess soil from root vegetables better with your hands gloved. Then you need to trim the tops, cut them, not break them off, leave a tail of 1-1.5 cm, and leave to dry for several hours. Tops should be trimmed immediately, as this will preserve nutrients. Then sort the fruits, remove damaged and spoiled roots to avoid rot.

Some vegetable growers recommend this method of cutting carrot tops - cutting off 0.5–1 cm of the top of the root crop itself. If you use this method, you should keep the vegetables for some time before storing them in the storage place - until the top cut is covered with a crust, otherwise the fruits will begin to rot soon. In rainy weather, drying in the shed may take several days, even a week.

Root crops should not be washed before storing! Washed beets and carrots can be stored in the vegetable compartment of the refrigerator in a plastic bag for one month.

Shelf life of root vegetables

• At room temperature Beets and carrots can be stored for no more than a week.
• IN plastic bags in the refrigerator – 1-2 months.
• Boiled in the freezer – one month.
• In the cellar in a closed box – 5-8 months.
• In the cellar in pine sawdust or a clay shell - until the next harvest.
• In a cellar in the sand - 6-8 months.
• In the garden - until the new harvest.

Where and how can you keep them fresh at home?

Options

Beetroot is the most shelf-stable root vegetable. Therefore, the following storage rules should be observed:

1. Place them in bins or boxes; at a temperature of about 3 degrees, they will last well in the basement all winter.
2. It is well stored on piles of potatoes, which share excess moisture with it.
3. In a box without holes, sprinkled with wet sand in the basement.
4. In plastic bags of 15-20 kg.
5. In the garden in small piles. To do this, dig a hole 40 cm deep, place root crops there in the shape of a prism (prism height 1-1.3 m), cover with a thick layer of straw so that the height of the pile is 2 m, cover with earth, and in winter additionally cover with snow. Before laying, it is advisable to treat with chalk powder (200 g of chalk per 10 kg of beets).

Carrots are difficult to store perfect condition because she has thin skin, which does not retain moisture well, root crops quickly dehydrate and dry out. Plastic bags with a capacity of 20-30 kg will help preserve the necessary moisture. Root vegetables are filled in 2/3 of them, sawdust is sprinkled on top, there is no need to tie the bags so that condensation does not form.

A “clay shirt” also preserves carrots well – it’s made clay mash(clay is diluted in half with water), dip the carrots into this mash and dry. In such a shirt, carrots retain their juiciness well and do not spoil.

ATTENTION: If during harvesting you come across a lot of spoiled or injured root crops, you can process them and store them in processed form.

How to properly store for the winter?

Carrots can be stored in several ways:

These are labor-intensive methods, but they are used more often, since they better preserve all the nutritional properties of vegetables in winter time. Also used when small root vegetables are grated and placed in freezer. You can show your imagination and make curly cuts. Will also please cold winter cheerful mix of vegetables (carrots, Bell pepper, green pea).

Avoid storing root vegetables and apples in the same room, this will help preserve the root vegetables longer.

Harvesting beets and carrots is a troublesome task and should be approached responsibly. If you do everything on time and follow these simple storage rules, then your vegetables from the garden will be fresh until spring, and maybe until the next harvest year.

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Alexander Gushchin

I can’t vouch for the taste, but it will be hot :)

Content

When harvesting from their garden beds, garden owners should think in advance about where they will keep the food. Many people are interested in how to store carrots in the cellar in winter, what methods exist, what temperature should be kept in the room so that the root crops survive until spring. There are many different options content of this vegetable.

How to preserve carrots for the winter

The vegetable has a very thin skin through which bacteria can easily penetrate, so keeping it until spring is problematic. In addition, carrots are more susceptible to fungal diseases than other vegetables. To store it in winter, you need to make a lot of effort and know a lot of tricks.

How long can root vegetables be stored?

In a room where the temperature and optimal humidity, the vegetable will remain fresh for 4-7 months. If the cellar is warmer than 2 degrees, the storage period is halved. Methods:

1. Layers of clay, chalk, sawdust, onion peel. Up to one year.
2. Plastic bags. 3-4 months.
3. Wet sand, pyramids. 7-9 months.
4. Boxes without filler. 4-7 months.
5. Sawdust. Up to a year.

Storage temperature

The cellar where the vegetable is kept should be cool. To store carrots for the winter in the basement, optimal temperature should be 0-2 C. Access to the vegetable should be limited as much as possible fresh air. Moderate but stable good ventilation is needed. The room humidity level is no more than the maximum limit of 97%. Any temperature fluctuations can affect the condition of the vegetable, provoke sprouting of root crops, rotting, and drying out.

How to trim

The variety of root crop determines how long it will remain fresh. For long-term storage, the most suitable varieties of carrots are Shantane, Vitaminnaya, Skorospelka Nantes, and Moscow Winter. It is necessary to select whole fruits late varieties without damage. Bacteria and fungi penetrate through them. Before laying a vegetable cellar, you must remove the tops from it, but do not tear it off. It should be carefully cut off, leaving approximately 2-3 mm. A pointed knife is best suited for this job.

What is the best way to store carrots in the cellar?

It is very important to properly prepare the room; this has a significant impact on the final result. What you have to do:

1. Ventilate the room. It must be fresh there.
2. Disinfect the premises. A month before moving vegetables into the cellar, treat the walls with lime.
3. Whitewash the basement. This will protect the walls from damage by fungus and bacteria.

In the beds

Get a tight plastic film, sand, shavings, fallen leaves and fertilizers. The vegetable will be aged under conditions as close as possible to natural ones, like in soil. You need to lay a layer of film on the shelf. A mixture of sand, shavings, and fallen leaves is poured on top. The layer should be thick. Dried carrots are placed vertically in an improvised bed. The top is covered with another layer of film and the edges are pinched. This way the harvest will remain on the shelves until spring.

In enamel pans

To preserve early ripening carrots of the right varieties in winter using this method, they are thoroughly washed and the tops are cut off. All root vegetables are thoroughly dried in the sun. They are placed tightly vertically in an enamel pan. Placed on top paper towel. The container is tightly closed. The pot with the plants is placed in a cool cellar with increased level humidity. It will not deteriorate until the next harvest.

In plastic boxes

To store vegetables using this method, you should prepare some kind of filler: clay, sawdust, sand. Plastic boxes are well suited for carrots because they are less likely to rot than wooden ones, are susceptible to mold, and the spread of fungal diseases. These properties contribute to long-term winter storage. Carrots are laid in layers with any of the selected fillers.

In wooden boxes

There are two ways to store vegetables in this container - with or without filler. Short description each:

1. No filler. Place the carrots in layers in the boxes and cover tightly. Place on high shelves approximately 15 cm from the wall. Place no more than 20 kg of root vegetables per box.
2. With filler. This differs from the previous storage method in that the vegetables are laid in layers, each of which is sprinkled with sand.

Storage methods

There are many different techniques, thanks to which you can keep the vegetable fresh long time, even until the next harvest. You can choose the one that is most convenient for you, taking into account the condition of the basement and a number of other possibilities. Recommendations for those who do not know how to properly store carrots in the cellar in winter:

1. Constantly monitor the condition of root crops. If spots or blackening appear on the carrots, they will have to be removed from the total quantity and processed.
2. If the cellar is very cold and there is a risk that the root vegetables will freeze, the containers with them should be insulated with felt.
3. If the tops grow back, trim them constantly, because the greens will draw the juices out of the vegetable.
4. Make sure that no light enters the cellar.
5. When consuming stored carrots, select the smallest root vegetables first. The larger they are, the higher the keeping quality.

In plastic bags

To implement this method, you will need film bags that can support a weight of 5 to 25 kg. The bags maintain a high moisture content in the air, so the carrots do not rot, fade, or sprout. Root vegetables should be stored in open bags in winter, because they emit carbon dioxide(CO2). In small quantities, it prevents the development of fungal diseases. Be sure to pierce the bottom of the bags in several places to allow condensation to drain.

If the bags are closed, the CO2 content will be higher than O2, so the vegetables may spoil. If you plan to tie the bags, make a lot of slits in them so that air can flow into the carrots. If condensation collects on top of the bags, it means there is high humidity. In this situation, it is necessary to pour slaked lime near the bags, which will absorb excess liquid.

In the sawdust

This method of keeping is very common. To store carrots in the cellar in winter, you will need pine sawdust and boxes. The technology is almost the same as in the situation with sand. Carrots and sawdust should be laid out in layers in boxes. The material is perfect for storage. Sawdust contains a lot of phytoncides, which prevent the germination of carrots and prevent them from becoming infected with fungus.

In onion or garlic peel

It is worth saying that this storage method is not the most reliable. To implement it, you will need several wooden boxes and a lot of onion or garlic peels. It contains essential oils, preventing carrots from spoiling. Everything is placed in prepared boxes in layers. The husks come first, then the carrots, and this is repeated until all the roots have been distributed. For storage, you can use not only boxes, but also bags, which are then put on a shelf or hung.

In sand

This method is the most common and reliable. For storage you will need clay sand; river sand is not suitable. He supports a certain temperature, reduces the miasma of moisture from carrots. You will also need water and several boxes. It is best to store carrots in damp sand. One bucket should be diluted with a liter of water. Then you need to put the sand on the bottom of the box, distribute the carrots on top, and fill it in. Vegetables are placed in layers until they are gone.

Some people practice storing carrots in dry sand. It is poured in a thick layer on a shelf in the cellar, then the first layer of root vegetables is laid. They are covered with sand. Then comes a layer of carrots laid crosswise. Then sand again, etc., changing the direction of the vegetables. The height of the pyramid that you get is no more than 1 m. Before use, the sand must be disinfected and then periodically moistened with a spray bottle.

In the moss

For this storage method, you need to properly prepare the vegetable and raw materials. Carrots are not washed and thoroughly dried in the sun. Then it is kept in a cool place for a day. Root vegetables and moss are stacked in layers. Boxes are suitable for this. Moss has preservative properties, thanks to which the inside of the boxes is maintained required quantity CO2. Another advantage of the material is that it is very lightweight.

In dry chalk

There are two storage options using this method, each of them provides good results. Chalk - natural mineral, possessing alkaline properties. It minimizes the risk of bacterial growth and keeps the carrots firm and juicy for a long time. Description of storage methods:

1. Mix powdered chalk and wet sand. IN wooden box without holes with a tight lid, place the carrots vertically. Sprinkle sand and chalk mixture on top.
2. Carrots dusted with chalk keep well. For every 10 kg of root vegetables you will need 0.2 kg of powder. Each vegetable must be thoroughly powdered, and then put them all in wooden boxes.

In clay

A very popular, although labor-intensive storage method. Clay protects carrots well and prevents germination and wilting. There are two storage options:

1. Filling. Half a bucket of clay should be diluted with water. After a day, when the mass swells, it must be mixed. Then water is added again. They do this for several days in a row. The clay should be covered with a layer of water of 2-3 cm. The consistency of the composition is suitable, like sour cream, not thicker. The bottom of the boxes in which the carrots will be stored is covered cling film. The root vegetables need to be laid out in one layer so that they do not touch each other, and then filled with clay. When it dries, the second and then subsequent layers are laid out.
2. Dipping. For this method you need to prepare the same composition of clay and water as for the previous one. Unwashed carrots need to be dipped in a clay solution and dried in a place that is well ventilated. Then the root vegetables are placed in boxes or cardboard boxes.

Video