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Harvesting beets and carrots for the winter is not an easy task. Here it is important to take into account many nuances: the time of harvesting vegetables, the conditions for their storage, which you can provide them with, the duration of storage. Unfortunately, gardeners do not always manage to save beets and carrots. These vegetables require the creation of a special microclimate that does not allow them to get wet. There are many options for storing and preparing these vegetables, it is worth considering them in more detail.
Proper harvesting and preparation
Many articles have been written about how to store beets and carrots for the winter. I would like to pay special attention to their qualitative selection in preparation for winter storage.
- Harvest root crops must be ripe. Do not dig them ahead of time.
- Getting them out of the ground, you can not damage the skin. For harvesting for the winter, specimens chopped in two with a shovel are not suitable either.
- Samples selected for storage are carefully examined. Any hint of pests or disease is a reason to put the root crop aside.
- Washing beets and carrots will lead to quick spoilage. If harvesting occurs from wet ground in the rain, the vegetables must be dried a little and cleaned of its residues with your hands.
- Under no circumstances should the tails be cut off. Without them, you will not save the fruits of your labor until spring. The fact is that they help the tuber not to lose moisture.
The correct approach and compliance with all conditions will preserve the taste and juiciness of the crop for quite a long time.
It is important to know not only how to properly store beets, but also when to dig them up. For her, the digging period begins when the tops turn yellow en masse. Carrots, even until October, feel great in the ground. So if the weather is not very rainy, you can take your time cleaning it.
What hostess does not want to please her household with crispy carrots or beets in winter? Let’s try to figure out whether it is really so difficult to keep carrots and beets in good condition until next spring.
Ways to store beets and carrots
There are several time-tested ways to keep your crop going until spring. Many housewives use them to enjoy fragrant and fresh vegetables during the long winter. Depending on the place of storage and conditions, everyone chooses the method to their liking.
Proper storage involves compliance with the conditions for preparing, laying vegetables. Regardless of the method chosen, it is impossible to lay rotten root crops spoiled by worms for the winter.
It is worth remembering that in apartment conditions it is impossible to achieve the required temperature and humidity, as in the cellar. It is in the cellars that a good microclimate is created for the winter storage of vegetables. It is worth mentioning that all the methods below are suitable for both beets and carrots and are, in fact, universal.
In plastic bags
Those who live in an apartment often face a dilemma: how to store carrots if there is no cellar or basement. Tubers are stacked in packages of 7-10 pieces. Do not form too large packages – beets, like carrots, in this case can quickly begin to rot. For ventilation, either small holes are made in the bags, or they simply do not close them. For reliability, many housewives shift vegetables with fern leaves. This is an additional protection against damage.
In sand
Storing carrots and beets with sand is considered one of the most effective ways. There are several nuances here.
- First, the sand used should not be wet, only slightly damp.
- Secondly, for 10 kg of sand, you need to add about 200 gr. chalk or slaked lime. It is in such a mixture that a special alkaline environment will be formed, in which carrots, like beets, feel great.
For the proper preservation of carrots and beets, a wooden box is taken. Its bottom is covered with a layer of sand, about 5 cm thick. After that, carrots are laid. But there should be only one layer of carrots. Sand is again spread over it so that the first and second layers of vegetables do not touch each other.
Beets are placed in separate boxes. Do not put both types of vegetables together.
A stand is being prepared under the boxes – about 10-15 cm above the floor level. Do not bring them too close to the walls. This little trick will save you from the formation of excess condensate inside the tank when the temperature changes. After everything is laid, you can cover the boxes with a lid.
When storing the crop using this method, it is important to know that its total amount in one container should not exceed 20 kg. Otherwise, there will be a lot of layers. If the crop starts to rot in them, it will be extremely difficult to notice.
in sawdust
For storage, we select only root crops cleaned from the ground, not rotten and not wet. The difference with the previous method is only in the raw materials used. The sand is very heavy, so many housewives prefer to use sawdust instead. Carrots should not be pre-washed if they are stored in sawdust.
In onion skins
To keep the beets in the apartment, having neither a garage nor a basement, you need to stock up on a lot of onion peel and canvas bags. About three-quarters of the bags are filled with beets or carrots, mixing with the husks. So, you can store vegetables of different types together. The main thing is to choose a darker and cooler corner.
in clay
The crop is well stored in clay. This method is suitable for both beets and its fellow carrots. The only drawback is that you will need to find such a large amount of clay somewhere.
First, the raw materials are prepared in a special way. To do this, it is diluted to the consistency of sour cream. On average, it turns out half a bucket of water per bucket of clay. Approximately 20-24 hours the mixture settles, during which time all the lumps will dissolve. It needs to be stirred from time to time.
The mixture is again poured with water, it should cover the clay. In this state, the solution is left for about 3 days. After that, you can start laying.
We take a plastic bag and cover the box with it. One layer of beets is laid out at the bottom. It is poured with pre-prepared clay. Beetroot dries out for several hours. Then the next layer follows. And so on, until the box is full. It remains only to close it on top with polyethylene and a lid.
Of course, it is very problematic to perform such a procedure at home. The process is quite messy. It is better to do it on the street or in the basement.
Beets can be stored in garlic mash. Before you start pouring vegetables, they are kept in garlic infusion. A glass of garlic is passed through a meat grinder. It is insisted for several hours in 2 liters. water.
The clay solution is prepared in the same way as described above. When the beets are harvested and cleaned of dirt, they are soaked for several minutes in a garlic solution, then dipped in clay. The coated root crops are laid out to dry, and then folded into pre-prepared boxes.
Even at low temperatures, the beets will not freeze and retain their color and aroma.
Not only beets, but also carrots feel great in a clay solution, until the end of winter they remain juicy and tasty, as if they had just come from the garden.
In the ground
A good and proven way to get crispy carrots right after the winter cold, according to the first spring rays, is to bury them in the ground in the fall. It is used in many villages. Of course, there are some peculiarities. First you need to choose a place. In order for the root crops to retain their appearance, it is necessary to choose the driest place, which is freed from snow in the first place.
Next, you need to dig a hole about 1 meter deep. The correct form of carrots is laid in it. In one hole, you should not fill up more than 1,5-2 buckets of beets or carrots.
At any temperature outside, under a layer of snow and earth, vegetables will not freeze. In the spring, in March-April, they must be dug up.
The disadvantages of this method include the fact that rodents can find your vegetables. Nobody is immune from this. In addition, it is only suitable for someone who lives in his own house and has his own garden.
Conclusion
Storing carrots and beets is not an easy task. But what to do with those specimens that are not suitable for laying before winter? They can always be frozen, dried, canned.
If you know other ways of laying vegetables for the winter, be sure to write it to us in the comments. We welcome your advice and comments.