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Beetroot, beetroot, beetroot are the names of the same delicious sweet vegetable rich in vitamins and microelements. Beets are grown in almost every summer cottage and garden plot. It is not difficult to get a rich harvest with proper agricultural technology, but it still needs to be preserved until spring in a marketable form.
The question of how to store beets in the cellar is of interest to many novice gardeners, and experienced vegetable growers are often looking for something new to test. There are many ways to save beets, but there are nuances, without which it is difficult to keep beets fresh and dense until spring. This is what we'll talk about today.
Variety selection is important
Since beets in the cellar or basement will have to be stored until spring, you need to pick up maturing varieties. And not all beets have such properties. Therefore, the question of choice must be approached seriously so that you do not have to throw out sluggish and even rotten vegetables from the cellar in winter.
What varieties of beets to choose for a long storage:
- Bordeaux 237;
- Late winter A-474;
- Egyptian flat;
- Red ball;
- Libero.
Many gardeners grow the Cylindra variety on the plots. It has excellent taste, a bright burgundy color, but it is stored only if all conditions are met. The slightest deviation leads to the fact that the vegetable begins to wilt.
Harvest
Harvesting is related to the storage of beets in the cellar in winter. You need a vegetable take away during. As a rule, beets are chosen from the ground before the first frost. In the south, harvesting of vegetables begins at the end of October, and in regions with a more severe climate at the end of September.
For cleaning, days with warm and dry weather are chosen. For digging in a root crop, it is better to use a pitchfork: for example, we injure the vegetable less.
In this case, the central root can be damaged, and pathogenic microorganisms that cause putrefactive processes can enter the root crop through the wounds that appear. Rot, fungal diseases lead to significant crop losses during long-term storage of beets.
Storage space for vegetables
Beets, although not a capricious vegetable, still require comfortable storage conditions. Root crops are laid in cellars or basements. These rooms need to be specially prepared. If the necessary conditions are not maintained in the storage, then neither modern nor old ways of storing beets will give the desired result.
What needs to be done in the cellar to save the harvest of root crops:
- Before storing vegetables for long-term winter storage, the room is cleaned of any debris.
- It is advisable to whiten the walls by adding karbofos or whiteness to the lime in order to destroy harmful microorganisms.
- Create temperature conditions. Root crops are perfectly stored at a temperature of 0- + 2 degrees. Higher temperatures promote leaf growth and dry beets.
- Sunlight must not enter the room.
- The optimum humidity is 90-92%.
Preparing root crops for storage
Winter storage of beets in the cellar requires careful preparation of root crops:
- After the beets have been picked out of the garden, there is no need to rush to transfer them to another place. Better to leave it under the sun to dry.
- This is followed by the stage of examination of each root crop for damage, injuries. Such specimens are discarded and recycled first. Healthy root vegetables are suitable for long-term storage.
- Sorting the vegetable by size refers to the question of how to keep beets in the cellar in winter. For laying in the basement, it is best to choose root crops from 10 to 12 cm in diameter. Smaller specimens will wilt quickly, and large specimens have a coarse flesh structure. It takes a long time to cook such beets, and they are poorly stored.
- Sorted root crops are cleaned from the ground. Do not use a knife, chips, brushes. In this case, injuries will appear on the beets. Roots dried out in the sun simply tap each other lightly.
- Beets are stored without tops. How to remove green mass correctly? According to the rules for the preparation of root crops, the tops must be cut off with a sharp knife, leaving the tail no more than 1 cm. Some gardeners, before laying the vegetable for storage, cut off not only the tops, but also the top of the beets. This is an option, but care should be taken to dry and disinfect the section. First, the root crop must lie in the sun until it dries completely. Secondly, the cut should be treated with dry wood ash. Experienced gardeners do not recommend twisting or simply cutting off the tops.
- Often, new roots begin to grow on root crops by the time of harvest. They need to be pinched off along with the lateral roots. The central taproot is also cut off, but not completely, and a tail of at least 7 cm is left.
Beet storage methods
Since the cultivation of root crops has been involved in more than one century, gardeners have come up with many ways to store beets in the cellar. Let's consider the most popular options:
- beets are placed on top of the potatoes;
- stored in boxes with holes made of wood or plastic without sprinkling;
- sprinkled with different fillers;
- in polyethylene bags;
- in pyramids on the shelves.
How to store beets correctly, which option is better, is up to the gardeners themselves. We will take a closer look at the most common methods.
Potatoes + beets
In big the box is first filled with potatoes, and on top of it root crops. By the way, this method is considered the best and most optimal.
Let's see why. Potatoes love the dry climate of a cellar or cellar. Beets, on the other hand, are better stored in high humidity. During storage, moisture evaporates from the potatoes, which is immediately absorbed by the beets. It turns out a mutually beneficial "cooperation".
In boxes
- Option one. The root crop is well kept in boxes made of wood and plastic. The main thing is that they have holes for air circulation. No more than 2-3 layers of beets are placed in a container. Vegetables are not sprinkled with anything.
- Option two. After being placed in boxes, root vegetables are sprinkled with plenty of dry table salt. You can do it differently. Dissolve a steep saline solution (brine) and hold the root vegetables in it. After the vegetables are dry, they are simply stacked for storage. Salt is not only an excellent absorbent, but also a good protection against fungal and mold diseases.
- Option three. Many gardeners use plant leaves to store beets, which release a volatile substance called phytoncide. They do not allow pathogenic bacteria and fungal diseases to multiply. Leaves of mountain ash, bitter wormwood, fern, tansy, and other fragrant herbs are suitable. They are placed at the bottom of the box and between the layers of root crops.
- Option four. You will need a wooden box with no holes. Dry ash or river sand is poured onto the bottom. Then beets are placed at some distance from each other. Above there is sand, another layer of root crops and again sand or ash. It is recommended to ignite the sand on a fire for disinfection before use.
Root pyramids
If there is enough space in the basements and there are shelves, then when storing beets, you can do without containers.How to preserve beets in this way?
A layer of straw is placed on racks or shelves (not on the floor!) Or covered with burlap. Burgundy roots are laid out on top.
In clay glaze
There is another old, time-tested way to preserve fresh beets. Although few gardeners use it because of the laboriousness of the work. In addition, unlike all options, this is the "dirty" way:
- First, a solution is prepared from clay, it should resemble rustic sour cream in consistency. Some gardeners add some powdered chalk.
- Then the roots are laid in clay, gently mixed and removed to dry. After a while, the vegetables are dipped in a clay mash again.
- What does this method give? First, the clay does not allow the root crop to dry out. Secondly, germs and bacteria cannot penetrate the clay glaze.
In plastic bags
Storing beets in a cellar or basement is possible in polyethylene bags. This is a good option for small spaces. After all, a bag with root crops is hung on nails, does not take up space on the shelves. Holes are made at the bottom of the bag to drain the condensate. It is not recommended to tie tightly, but from time to time the bag needs to be ventilated.
In piles
If you have a rich crop of beets and there is a lot of space in the basements, it is not necessary to use any containers or shelves for storing root crops. Layers of vegetables are laid on them. The bottom row is the most extensive; the shoulder tapers upward. This storage allows air to circulate.
Conclusion
We talked about the most common ways to preserve vegetables during the winter without loss. Each gardener makes his own choice. Many vegetable growers use several methods for storing root crops at the same time in order to find the best option. The fact is that the microclimate of the cellars is different: the same method can show both negative and positive results.
If you have your own proven options, we suggest you share them with our readers.
