Storing beets for the winter 

It is believed that beets have been grown in Our Country since the tenth – eleventh century. Traditionally, we choose root crops for our table, while in the East they prefer leafy varieties. The set of useful substances contained in this vegetable is unique. In addition to being a storehouse of vitamins, macro- and microelements, beetroot fights cancer cells and is a good way to remove toxins. In terms of iron content, this root crop is second only to garlic, and iodine to seaweed. Agree that we are more accustomed to fighting iodine deficiency with beets than algae. Includes a root crop and a rare vitamin U, which is a good help in the fight against allergies and normalizes the activities of housing and communal services. And it is also believed that in the Middle Ages, although the plague did not bypass us, it did not become such a monstrous disaster as in Europe, partly due to the use of this wonderful root crop.

Beets are easy to store, and in winter they can be fried, baked, boiled, they are good as a side dish and indispensable in borscht and soups. In addition to the traditional laying in the cellar along with potatoes, you can freeze or dry root crops. In this article we will try to tell you how to store beets at home.

Storing vegetables begins with planting

We are not going to write about beet farming here. It’s just that there are moments on which its keeping quality directly depends, special attention should be paid to them. We will talk about ways to winterly store table (red) beets. Sugar, fodder varieties and chard, a leafy vegetable, will remain outside the zone of our attention.

What beets to plant

There are early, middle and late varieties of table beets. Early matures in 2-3 months from the moment of planting, but is not subject to long-term storage. For these purposes, mid-season and late varieties of root crops are more suitable. The latter are better stored, but do not always have time to ripen in the conditions of the middle zone and Siberia. The first ones ripen on time, but for their long-term preservation, strict adherence to the temperature regime and storage conditions is required.

We will list some varieties of beets so that it is easier to navigate when planting seeds or buying vegetables.

Pay attention to the root crops of the average ripening period:

• Bohemia;
• Bordeaux;
• Bona;
• Detroit;
• Red ball;
• Incomparable A 463;
• Mulatto.

Beets of late varieties with a long shelf life:

• Cylinder;
• Ataman;
• Donna;
• Matron;
• Patrick;
• Torpedo;
• Rival;
• Citadel.

Hybrids Lukerya F1 and Chudesnitsa F1 retain marketability and taste until the next harvest.

Thinness of care

Medium-sized root crops are best stored. In order to get beets of the right size, limit its nutritional area by planting them according to the 10×10 cm pattern (the plant tolerates picking well at a young age).

The root crop loves potassium supplements, and a lack of boron can cause voids to appear, which will adversely affect storage. Nitrogen, on the other hand, must be given in limited quantities, since its excess is not excreted from the vegetable, but accumulates in the form of nitrates that are harmful to health. This is manifested by the appearance in the beets of white concentric circles, uncharacteristic of the variety. Not only will it be poorly stored, after a while black spots will appear in the root crop.

This is true, but table salt has no place in the garden, it is better to replace it with sodium humate. So, you will get sweet root crops and do not worsen, but improve the condition of the soil.

Harvesting

Experienced gardeners know that the actual harvest time does not always coincide with that indicated in the description of the variety. They depend on temperature, watering, soil composition, care. Usually, the tops of beets that are ready for harvest turn yellow and dry slightly.

In any case, this vegetable is dug up before the onset of frost, later than potatoes, but before carrots. With an abundance of rain, root crops should be harvested ahead of time in order to avoid putrefactive processes during storage.

Preparing beets for storage

Dig up the root vegetables, being careful not to damage the skin. Spread them under a canopy for several hours so that the soil dries well. Shake it off, but never wash or rub the beets. Now sort it, select all vegetables damaged during harvest, affected by rot or other diseases. They must be used for harvesting or eaten first, since such root crops will not be stored for a long time.

Put aside all the little things and very large beets, they are not suitable for winter storage. In the refrigerator or cellar, such vegetables can lie for a month. Small root crops dry out quickly, and large ones are not subject to winter storage, as they have a poor taste and increased fiber content, which only increases with time. Vegetables with a diameter of about 10 cm with intact smooth skin have the best keeping quality.

Cut the tops of the beets selected for storage in winter, leaving a stump of 1-3 cm. You can’t touch the tails at all, no matter how long they are. Otherwise, pathogenic bacteria will get into the wound surface of root crops taken out of the ground and not cleaned with water, which will greatly reduce the shelf life of beets.

Arrange the vegetables in a dry, cool, well-ventilated area, in a single layer if possible. You can’t store them right away. The difference between the temperature of the environment and storage will be detrimental to root crops. Reduce it gradually, over 1-2 months. Only when the temperature outside reaches 8-9 degrees, the beets can be lowered into the cellar or basement.

How to store beets

It is not enough to grow and harvest or buy high-quality inexpensive root crops on the market. It is important to preserve them with minimal loss of nutrients. Special vegetable stores save agricultural products much longer than home conditions allow. The shelf life of beets of late varieties, which we can provide on our own, is about 8 months. There are varieties of root crops that are bred specifically for winter storage, they remain fresh and suitable for consumption until early production appears. Some hybrids store up to a year.

Storage conditions

In root crops in winter, biological processes do not stop completely, but only slow down. Our main task is to provide optimal conditions so that during storage they, firstly, do not grow, and secondly, prevent the development of diseases that reduce consumer qualities and keeping quality.

Storage of beets should take place at a temperature close to zero or slightly higher, optimally – 0-2 degrees (not higher than 4). This slows down biological processes and reduces moisture loss. Even a short-term decrease or increase in temperature by several degrees in winter storage can cause the development of diseases.

The best air humidity for beets is 90-95%. It can be assumed that it is good to keep it at 100% in order to generally prevent fluid loss. This cannot be done because such humidity is an ideal environment for the development of rot and mold.

How to store beets if the basement is wet or completely dry? Just this task is solved very simply. In a room with low humidity, it is enough to put a bucket of water, and with a low one – an open wide container with 10-15 kg of table salt or a few red bricks.

If the temperature changes frequently, the storage time will be reduced to 4 months.

Storage in a private house

Perhaps, of all root crops, beets are the easiest to store. Firstly, it has a dense peel, which makes it difficult for putrefactive bacteria to penetrate, and secondly, it gets along well with other vegetables, especially potatoes. Let’s see how to properly store beets:

1. If you have a large basement and all vegetables can be freely located, but there is a problem with free shelves (they are busy with conservation or simply absent), root crops can be stored simply on the floor. Put wooden pallets or grates on it, which will provide ventilation for the bottom layer of vegetables and spread them out in several layers or pyramids. It is important that the roots are medium-sized at the bottom, and large at the top (they need to be used first).
2. It is best to store beets for the winter together with potatoes. So, it does not require a separate place, moreover, it consumes the moisture emitted by its neighbor for its needs.

   

3. Storing root crops on shelves in layers provides optimal storage conditions with the required humidity and temperature conditions.
4. Shallow boxes or baskets can be used for winter storage of vegetables even when stacked. The main thing is that the containers standing on top do not put pressure on the root crops from the lower tiers.
5. Beets can be stored in moist, pre-disinfected sand, table salt, chalk, ash, sawdust or peat. Possible – does not mean necessary. We often store root crops in sand, while other bulk materials are best not used unless absolutely necessary.

   

6. Beets can even be stored in open plastic bags, although this is not the best way.
7. In extreme conditions, root crops can be stored by lowering them into a clay mash. After drying, it hardens and forms a protective cocoon on the surface of vegetables, protecting them from drying out and rotting.

Preservation of beets in a city apartment

And how to store beets in a city apartment? After all, in the refrigerator, wrapped in paper, it can only lie for 30 days. If each root crop is wrapped in foil or parchment, then it can be stored in the vegetable compartment for up to 3 months.

It is often advised to lay out the beets in plastic bags, and, without tying them, put them next to the ajar balcony door. When deciding to try this storage method, keep the following in mind:

• an ajar balcony door in cold winter will significantly reduce the temperature in the apartment, which is unacceptable, but if it is closed, then the storage conditions for root crops will be unsatisfactory;
• beets are not washed before storage, pathogenic bacteria live on it that can harm the health of your household;
• it is unrealistic to provide a temperature of 0-2 degrees at the balcony door.

If you have a glazed balcony or loggia, this simplifies things:

1. Put the root crops in boxes or baskets, sprinkled with sand, salt, shavings or chalk so that they do not touch each other and cover with an old blanket on top.
2. If you’re storing bags of potatoes on your balcony, place the beets on top.
3. You can lower each root crop into a clay mash, dry it, put it in boxes and cover it with a blanket.

Non-standard ways of storing beets

We talked about how to properly store beets, but there are other ways. They are especially good for city apartments if there is no room for vegetables on the balcony. It happens that due to the abundance or complete absence of rain, root crops grow small, large or deformed and will obviously be poorly stored. What to do with them?

Drying

From a kilogram of raw beets, 130 g of dried beets are obtained. It is easy to store in a linen bag or tightly closed glass jar. That’s just during heat treatment, 90% of vitamin C is lost.

Rinse and boil the root vegetables for 20 minutes. Cool, peel, cut into slices. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, lay the pieces in one layer and dry in the oven at a temperature of 70-80 degrees. The finished product should be dry, but elastic.

There are many dryers that allow you to dry beets with minimal loss of nutrients. Each must come with instructions.

Freezing

Grate fresh beetroot on a coarse grater, divide into bags and store in the freezer. Portions should be such that the removed crushed root crops are used immediately, they are not subject to re-cooling. Frozen beets are suitable only for first courses and gravies.

Conclusion

As you can see, there are many ways to store beets. Choose the right one for you, and provide your family with vitamins for the winter.