Carrot storage

When to harvest carrots for storage

Proper cleaning is the key to long-term storage. Dig up before or after the deadline – the root crops will deteriorate. And there are 2 more rules for harvesting carrots.

Have time to dig before frost. There are root crops that benefit from a light frost. For example, parsnips. After freezing, its roots become sweeter, because the starch turns into sugar. But freezing carrots are contraindicated – it does not store starch, but sugar in its pure form. Root vegetables caught in frost will become bitter. But this is not so bad – they will not be stored yet.

In the middle lane, carrots are usually dug at the end of September.

Dig in the evening. Carrots have an interesting feature – during the day, root crops accumulate sugar, and spend it at night. Therefore, it is better to dig them in the evening – they will be sweeter.

Food conditions carrots

Carrot storage requires coolness and high humidity – 90 – 95%. Such conditions are easiest to provide in the cellar. If it is not there, you can send carrots to a glazed loggia or to an unheated pantry. A small crop – in the refrigerator.

Another option is to grate the carrots on a coarse grater and send them to the freezer. The same method is suitable for small and damaged root crops that will not be stored in the cellar.

Food temperature carrots

The optimum storage temperature for carrots is 0-2°C (1). If it is lower, the carrots will freeze and become bitter. At higher temperatures, the roots will begin to wither and rot. The optimum air humidity is 88 – 90%.

Ways of storing carrots

Carrots are very poorly protected from moisture evaporation, wither quickly and are prone to sprouting after harvest (2). That is, it is not easy to store it. And yet, there are several quite reliable ways.

In sand or sawdust. So in the old days peasants did it: carrots were put in layers in boxes, each layer was sprinkled with sand or sawdust (deciduous trees, conifers will not work – carrots will smell of resin) mixed with onion peel. The sawdust was pre-moistened with water, it is not strong – they should remain crumbly.

Another option is to pour sand into a deep box and stick carrots into it “shoulder-deep”. In this case, the roots should not touch each other.

In the clay. In some regions of Our Country, peasants used a different method: each root crop was dipped into a clay mash (the clay was diluted with water to the density of sour cream), and then dried. And then they put them in wicker baskets and sent them to the cellar. Clay protects carrots from wilting and rotting.

In mhu. Here everything is the same as in the first case: the carrots are laid out in a box in layers, but sphagnum moss is used as a layer. They also line the bottom of the box.

Sphagnum has unique properties. It absorbs a huge amount of moisture (100 times more dry weight), which means that carrots will not sweat or rot. In addition, this moss has disinfectant properties. In addition, it accumulates carbon dioxide and thereby creates additional conditions for the preservation of root crops.

On the balcony. Without a cellar, carrots can be stored on the balcony, but not for long – a couple of months. At temperatures above 0 ° C, it can simply lie in a box. If frosts are planned, root crops should be covered with burlap, dense non-woven fabric, a blanket, jackets or something similar. In extreme cold, carrots are brought into the apartment and kept in the coolest place.

On the beds. If there is no cellar, no balcony, no place in the refrigerator, and the harvest is large, you can leave carrots in the garden for the winter, in the ground. At the first light frosts, the beds are mulched with peat with a layer of 10 cm. And 5 cm of earth is poured on top.

If the weather allows, it will be possible to dig up root crops all winter (just mark where you have rows with carrots). Otherwise, carrots can be left until spring – they will be perfectly preserved in the soil.

How to store carrots in the refrigerator

There are several options, but really reliable – three.

Unwashed carrots in paper. In this case, root crops are completed in size by 5-6 pcs. Each batch is wrapped in thick wrapping paper – it allows the carrot to breathe and prevents condensation from forming. Inspect supplies from time to time – if the paper becomes damp, change the packaging.

Washed carrots in cling film. With this option, each root crop is tightly wrapped with cling film and sent to the vegetable compartment. The film eliminates the ingress of air, which means that condensation will not form.

Frozen carrots. This is ideal for small and damaged root crops that cannot be stored in the cellar and refrigerator.

For soups, grate carrots on a coarse grater. For vegetable stews, cut into slices. Then spread in portions in plastic bags or containers and send to the freezer.

Popular questions and answers

There are several points that raise questions among summer residents. We asked them to answer agronomist-breeder Svetlana Mikhailova.

Sources of

1. A group of authors, ed. Polyanskoy A.M. and Chulkova E.I. Tips for gardeners // Minsk, Harvest, 1970 – 208 p.
2. Ilyin O.V. and a group of authors. Vegetable grower’s guide // M.: Rosselkhokhizdat, 1979 – 224 p.