Autumn harvest: how to store vegetables in the cellar

The most thermophilic among all suburban root crops. Beets are easily pulled out of dry soil, and from wet soil they can be gently removed with a pitchfork. Peel the root vegetable from the ground and trim the tops, leaving petioles no more than 1 cm long. Do not trim the roots. Rinse the vegetable and then dry well. Powder the slices on the stalks with ash, and when they are hardened, you can lay the root crops for storage, treating them with ash, chalk or shifting with spruce branches.

In the evening on the eve of harvesting, water the beds (5-6 liters of water per 1 sq. M), then the roots will become juicier. Peel the carrots from the ground and immediately cut off the tops, leaving the stalks of 2 cm so that the vegetables do not lose moisture through the leaves. Carrots for storage should not be washed. The best time for cleaning is dry, sunny weather with a breeze. Dry the dug up roots on a sacking for 2-3 hours, and then put them in boxes with a capacity of 15-20 kg, sprinkling with sand. For long-term storage – until spring – carrots can be coated with clay. Make a solution of the consistency of sour cream, immerse the roots there, and then remove and dry. A thin cover is formed that protects the vegetable from wilting and disease. For 10 kg of carrots, you need 3 kg of clay.

Dig it up in September. A few days before harvesting, cut off the tops and burn them. She is often a distributor of fungal infections. It is best to dig up the tubers in dry weather. Place them immediately in boxes, baskets, bags. For 3-4 weeks after harvesting, keep the potatoes in a dry place protected from light at a temperature of at least + 15 °. This will allow the wounds created during the digging to heal and the skin to get stronger. After the “healing” period, place the tubers in a cellar or other storage. Dusting with ash, chalk or spraying with wormwood infusion improves the preservation of potatoes.

White cabbage is harvested later than all vegetables. It can withstand minor frosts down to -5 °. If it gets caught in a more severe frost, give the heads of cabbage the opportunity to thaw in the bud. A small cabbage plot can be covered with a non-woven cloth. If the vegetable sits in the ground longer, its taste will improve. Pull the head of cabbage by the root, leave 2-3 cover sheets. They will protect cabbage from mechanical damage and gray rot. Arrange the heads of cabbage in a cool dry place, on shelves, stubs up. It is important that the forks do not touch each other. You can wrap them tightly in soft paper. If over time the paper becomes damp or darkens, it must be removed, the heads of cabbage must be cleaned of the top layer of leaves and wrapped in clean paper. Powder the stumps with ash, chalk or sprinkle with crushed coal.

1 to 2 weeks before storing the vegetables, use a store-bought sulfur stick and take care of the ventilation. Optimal storage conditions: for root crops – temperature + 1 … + 3 °, humidity 70%; for cabbage – temperature is about 0 °, humidity is 90-95%; for potatoes – temperature + 3 … + 5 °, humidity 70-80%.