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Summer residents have to spend a lot of effort to harvest a high-quality harvest of each crop. But this stage is not the last one either. Plants need to be grown, wait for the harvest, and then save it. Winter storage is essential for any region. In the cold season, it is difficult to provide your diet with fresh vegetables and fruits, so summer residents think about storage methods in advance. In the article, we will consider the rules for storing winter garlic at home.
Winter garlic is a bit finicky vegetable, but very useful.
As soon as at least one parameter is violated during storage, then without it you can stay long before the new harvest. But in addition to nutritional and gustatory qualities, it also has a strong healing effect. Therefore, we will consider the aspects of proper storage of garlic heads in the winter.
Preliminary preparation before placing the garlic for storage
High-quality storage of winter garlic at home is possible only with proper harvesting. Gardeners need to do everything according to the rules:
- Observe cleaning times. The main helpers in this are the lunar calendar, weather forecast and external signs of a plant ready for harvest.
- As soon as the leaves of the plant turn yellow, the stem is soft, and the husks will easily fall behind the cloves, then it's time to harvest.
- Provide proper watering. Watering is stopped 3-4 weeks before the expected harvesting date. In this case, the crop is better stored in winter. So try to dig up the heads before the rains start.
- Choose suitable weather conditions. A vegetable harvested in rainy weather is more difficult to preserve - additional drying is required.
- Carefully digging out the heads of garlic for storage. To do this, use a pitchfork, not a shovel. Be sure to retreat from the stem of the plant by 5-7 cm so as not to injure the garlic.
The next steps are drying, cleaning, bulkhead. Everyone is important and necessary. Summer residents need to wait for the natural stop of vegetative processes in the plant.
In a rainy season, the harvest is laid out under a canopy for 10 days, in dry weather it is left in the beds.
Further actions include cleaning from soil, cutting stems and roots. The remaining roots are fired.
Now the bulkhead.
If during the growing season there was an infection with a fungal infection or pest larvae, then the product will not withstand for long. Therefore, it is better to discard any questionable heads for primary use and not leave for winter use.
Home storage options for winter garlic
In order for garlic to retain its characteristics and attractive appearance, you need to choose the appropriate winter storage method for your conditions. There are only two main ways - warm and cold.
The parameters of the warm method are the temperature not higher than 200 ° С and the air humidity in the room from 50% to 70%. More suitable for industrial applications. In the cold version, the temperature indicators are kept from + 2 ° С to + 40 ° С, the percentage of humidity is allowed up to 90%. This option is closer to home storage. Most often, gardeners place the crop in the refrigerator... A winter vegetable does not require a longer storage, it still will not withstand more than six months and will start to deteriorate or germinate.
Among the huge number of ideas, gardeners identify the most convenient for winter garlic. The crop is stored using:
- Cold method.A home refrigerator, a sterilized glass container, a cloth bag treated with saline are suitable for him.
- Salt method. With him, the heads of the winter product are sprinkled with dry salt.
- Flour, pouring garlic cloves or heads with it.
- Onion skins are also used for pouring the harvested crop.
- Vegetable oil. The cloves are poured with pre-prepared oil.
- Paraffin. The substance provides long-term storage even at room temperature. With this method, the garlic does not lose moisture.
- Garlic stalk braids.
- Boxes, nets, storage boxes.
Each method has its own nuances, advantages or disadvantages.
We keep winter garlic at home without problems
How to store winter garlic at home? Well proven, proven by many housewives, options - kitchen, pantry, refrigerator. To place a winter crop in room conditions, use:
- Glass jars... They must be sterilized and dried. Then unpeeled slices of winter product are placed. But the additional substances for the safety of the vegetable are taken different. If nothing is poured over it, then tightly close the jar with a lid. In another case, the slices are covered with wheat flour. Leave the jar open while adding flour.
- Another ingredient that saves winter garlic from spoilage in winter is table saltThe components are placed in a jar in layers, alternating garlic and salt.
- Baskets are good for slices... The required ventilation is maintained in them without a draft. If you take cardboard boxes, plastic or wooden boxes, you will have to make holes in them.
- Pigtail suspension.
A popular way to store a winter vegetable since antiquity has even decorated houses with braids. Such a peculiar garlic decor. The advantage is that at any time you can inspect your stocks and find a damaged or damaged head. For weaving, a base is needed - a rope, a rope, twine and garlic stalks 35 cm long. Therefore, determine the winter storage method for garlic in advance to leave the required stalk length. One side of the braid is attached to the wall with a loop. - Double bag... You will need two types of shopping bags - canvas and plastic. Canvas is placed inside the film, and prepared winter garlic is poured into a double "container". The advantages of this method are the stability of moisture parameters and good preservation of the crop throughout the winter.
- Vegetable oil... Time consuming way. The oil must be boiled for 1 hour, add 3-5 drops of a pharmacy iodine solution. Uncleaned heads are put in oil, then removed and cooled. Before laying, the processed winter product is dried. For storage, use any container of the desired size.
Important nuances
We looked at ways how to properly store a winter vegetable at home. If we we store the product in the apartment, then the best option should be recognized as a glass container with a tight lid. Room temperature does not always contribute to the long-term preservation of the garlic crop. Therefore, many housewives do the right thing if they use several different methods at the same time. With a small amount of winter garlic, a kitchen refrigerator is suitable, if there are more stocks, then the most convenient one is chosen. Most often empirically, trying the listed options. In any case, don't forget:
- regularly inspect and sort out stored garlic;
- make sure that the product is not stored in the light;
- observe the required humidity so that the heads do not rot and mold;
- remove damaged or diseased bulbs in time, especially when their color changes;
- pour oil over the sprouting teeth.
Any home storage method for winter garlic will be reliable when laying high-quality material. Pay attention to the bulkhead of the bulbs after harvest, provide the necessary temperature and humidity indicators. With this approach, you will save a healthy vegetable until the next harvest.
