How to store carrots?

Autumn is the time for harvesting, and at this time summer residents are thinking about how to store root crops in winter. The most fastidious vegetable to store is considered to be carrots. An increase in humidity leads to its decay, and in the warmth the root crop withers. Bacteria and fungus easily penetrate through the thin skin. With the wrong organization of storage, carrots lose their taste and unique nutrients.

Optimal harvesting conditions contribute to the successful preservation of the quality and benefits of the root crop. It also depends on the growing area and the harvest period. It is important to be careful when harvesting root vegetables so as not to spoil the carrots, since damaged vegetables do not have a long shelf life. It is important to dig up crops in dry weather. So you can completely dry the roots and prevent massive rotting. It is better to dry carrots on a dry and clean wooden surface in a room such as a cellar or garage, under a canopy or outside (on a fine day). One of the conditions for high-quality drying is constant air circulation with minimal humidity. On average, the drying period lasts from 2 to 5 days.

Before sending vegetables for storage, it is important to sort them carefully and prepare them correctly. Dried carrots are cleaned of contamination. It will be convenient to gently wipe it by hand wearing gloves. It is undesirable to knock root crops on the ground and throw them so as not to damage. All specimens with traces of damage and damage are to be discarded. Even one spoiled root crop can lead to contamination and the loss of all reserves. Only hard varieties of mature vegetable crops are suitable for storage. It is best to keep healthy copies of "Moscow Winter", "Nantes 4", varieties "Samson", "Shantane", as well as "Nigel", "Cascade" and "Vitaminnaya 6". And if you want to keep the carrots "Parisian Carotel" or "Amsterdam" will not work.

Storage times may vary depending on where the vegetables are placed:

• in packages in the refrigerator, the fruits retain their quality and taste for 2 months;
• in closed boxes in cellars, carrots are suitable for up to 8 months;
• stored in coniferous shavings or in a "fur coat" made of clay until the new harvest ripens;
• it can be kept in the sand for up to 8, sometimes even up to 9 months;
• carrots left in the ground are edible until the next season.

In order for the carrots to be preserved, it is necessary to provide the necessary microclimate in the storage area.... It is imperative to create ventilation, a favorable temperature from -1 to +1 degrees and humidity in the atmosphere 90-95%. A cool cellar fully meets these requirements. Before sending vegetables for long-term storage, it is necessary to prepare the placement area: free from all unnecessary, clean, ventilate the room. If necessary, the basement will have to be dried, insulated or waterproofed. Moderate ventilation is important.

Let's consider different storage options.

• In sawdust. Carrots are well preserved in dry sawdust of coniferous trees. Root crops are placed in a container and sprinkled with shavings.The needles contain phenols, which help to protect stocks from diseases, inhibit decay processes. It must be remembered that last year's sawdust is not suitable for this. Such material may contain spores of fungi, microbes.
• In sand. An interesting way to store carrot fruits is by stacking them in pyramids. Pre-sifted and calcined river sand will be required. The creation of a blank has a simple algorithm. Wet sand is spread in a thick layer at the bottom of an empty box or simply on the shelves. A row of carrots is laid out and on top of it - an additional layer of sand. After that - the next row of carrots, adhering to a checkerboard pattern in comparison with the previous row. Actions are repeated sequentially, while it is important not to build a pyramid higher than one meter.
• In bags. This method assumes storage in clean and dry plastic bags. It is advisable to stack vegetables in packs of approximately 2-2.5 kg in each bag. Thus, during regular checks, it will be possible to remove the package with spoiled root crops in a timely manner, and the remaining packages of the crop will remain intact. In such bags, a series of ventilation holes must be made to eliminate condensation. This will prevent the carrot from drying out or withering for up to 4 months. It is impossible to tie PVC bags, so as not to increase the concentration of carbon dioxide, entailing damage to stocks.
• In the peat. In this material, the carrots will remain juicy and elastic. Only low-decomposed loose peat is required. It is necessary to bring its moisture content to 40-50%. Wooden and cardboard boxes will do. The first layer is peat. Vegetables are spread on it, maintaining the gaps between the fruits. The topmost layer in the boxes should be peat. Vegetables are harvested in a basement-type room.
• In moss. The sphagnum moss contains a substance that prevents rotting and the spread of the fungus. Moss is sold ready-made in specialized retail outlets. If you collect it yourself, you must first dry the moss. Then it is packaged in bags and used as a substrate for carrots harvested for the winter. This moss can only be used once. Next year we will have to prepare a new portion.
• In pots. Requires enameled dishes that are not subject to corrosion and oxidation. The tops of the root crops are preliminarily trimmed, they are washed out of contamination and laid out for drying. Then they are placed in a container vertically. The dishes with carrots are covered with a napkin or a sheet of paper.
• Clay casting... Clay is also used for pouring carrots. It will take half a bucket of dry clay. It is filled with water and left untouched for 24 hours. Then mix the mixture thoroughly and pour in a new portion of the liquid. In consistency, the solution will resemble batter. After the mixture is prepared, you need to prepare boxes or plastic buckets. They are covered with a layer of polyethylene. Then lay out the vegetables so that their surfaces do not touch. Pour clay and leave to dry a little, after which you can lay out the next layer. The steps are repeated until the container is filled to the brim.
• Soaking in a clay solution. This is an old technology for preserving vegetable products. In a clay shell, carrots are protected from rotting. Before putting it in a box, the specimens are alternately dipped in a clay batch and dried. The carrots should be completely covered with clay slurry. When the fruits are completely dry, they are placed in a box and taken to a prepared place.
• In chalk powder... You will need chalk in the form of powder. For 1 kg of vegetables, you need to prepare 20 g of a powdery substance. It is important to thoroughly dry the roots before dusting. After that, each vegetable is sprinkled with chalk powder and placed in a box in reserve.
• In lime. It is necessary to mix lime with water until a homogeneous mass that looks like a liquid condensed milk.Each root vegetable is dipped in a lime solution and completely dried. Then it is placed in wooden boxes or stored on the floor of the cellar until spring.

Vegetables can lie on the glazed loggia in any available container. Any of the previously described fillers will work as a backing. It is permissible to put carrots horizontally or vertically. But at above-zero temperatures on the balcony, it will not lie for a long time, as it would in a cool cellar.

On an uninsulated balcony in winter, it is better to put a bag or a box with root vegetables under the balcony door. At the first frost, the container is moved to the other side of the door. So the cold from the balcony will help the stocks to be preserved and not freeze. The main condition is that there are no batteries nearby, since vegetables deteriorate from dry air.

When frozen, you can wrap the vegetables well with some kind of dense material, for example, felt.

• In boxes. The boxes must be prepared completely dry, strong and clean. Put rows of root crops in containers suitable for the characteristics, but not more than 20 kg each. Cover the container with a lid. Store at a distance of 10 cm or more from a damp wall. This will protect the fruit from condensation. If possible, the boxes are placed on supports. So it is possible to compactly place a large stock of vegetables, even in a small area. Carrots will not lose their freshness, will not germinate, will not rot or wither.
• In paraffin. Melt the paraffin in a refractory bowl and immerse the washed and dried roots there. In a paraffin casing, they are stored on the balcony for up to 4 months.
• In onion skins... If there is a lot of husk left when harvesting onions for the winter, it can be useful for storing carrots. Raw materials are placed in containers and fresh orange fruits are put there. The husk is supposed to absorb excess moisture, preventing the processes of decay and germination of carrots.

If there is no cellar, basement and other storage available, the fruits can be stored in a household refrigerator. They must be clean and dry.... They are placed in plastic bags and placed in a vegetable container. The shelf life in this case is relatively short - up to 2 months. In the freezer, carrots last much longer - about 14 months. Hard but juicy varieties are suitable for freezing..

If the root crop is flabby or has a dried out appearance, it is not suitable for freezing. Selected carrots are allowed to be frozen uncut. Well washed, dry vegetables without tops and skins are folded in bags for freezing and sent to the freezer on demand.

If the garage is equipped with a cellar, it is allowed to store carrots in any suitable way by placing it in sand, sawdust, and smearing it with clay. It is also possible to store crops without a cellar, but for a short period, therefore this option is appropriate only for modest reserves.

In this case, each fruit is wrapped in a newspaper and placed in a box in layers.... Or you can wrap each piece in plastic wrap and lay it so that there are gaps between the fruits. The harvest will last up to 45 days.

Vegetable storage is necessary for large-scale organization of storage of large consignments of vegetables... Usually they are equipped in production. And since crops are usually brought to storage after mechanized harvesting, the roots must be carefully sorted. In vegetable stores, they are stored in herds or in special containers. It is recommended that the herds are not higher than 3 meters... If the harvest is supposed to be stored in containers or pallets, then you should not exceed the stack height by more than 5.5 m.

In this case, you need to take the following measures:

• regularly ventilate the warehouse;
• cover the vegetable stock with burlap;
• maintain humidity at the desired level.

You can increase the humidity in the warehouse in a simple way by placing containers with water there, or by spraying the upper layers of carrots that are in the air. Alternatively, periodically spill water over the passages. But the best performance is facilitated by the installation of refrigeration equipment.

This method is often practiced - part of the harvest is not dug out of the ground, but they do it with the arrival of spring and eat carrots until the next harvest. For such storage, you will have to cut the tops, sprinkle the soil with a layer of wet sand and cover with a dense oilcloth cloth. On top, sprinkle chips, foliage and humus, cover it all with a sheet of roofing material.

If the carrots are rotting, the reasons may be different:

• bookmark in the total mass of specimens with damage;
• a sharp change in temperature;
• excessive moisture;
• non-observance of storage rules.

That's why it is important to adhere very precisely to the intricacies of preparing vegetables for storage... Since this root crop can be easily damaged by impacts, it should not even be slightly beaten off from clods of earth or thrown from place to place. These damages will be subtle, but in the future they will become the place where the root crop begins to deteriorate and lead to the development of a fungal disease. The disease can spread to neighboring fruits.

A jump in temperature leads to the appearance of condensation, which becomes an impetus for fruit rot. They become soft and decompose in a short time. Vegetables are especially prone to spoil in plastic bags. To eliminate condensation, you need to make holes in the bottom of the PVC bags. Even slightly frozen roots (at -1 ° C) turn black and rot. With an excess, just like with a lack of moisture, the shelf life of vegetable preparations is reduced. Therefore, it is important to keep it normal. Often, a violation of storage technology leads to the formation of an excess of carbon dioxide. He, in turn, has a detrimental effect on the condition of root crops. They become soft, darken and wither. Therefore, it is necessary to adhere very precisely to the technology of storing vegetable stocks.... Then they will not taste bitter afterwards and will not dry out. If rodents are seen in the underground, you need to overlay containers with crop supplies with dry mint. Napkins soaked in an oil solution of peppermint are laid out in the corners of the room.

Storing carrots near apples is not allowed. Contact with apple ethylene distorts the taste of the orange root vegetable. And also, many gardeners do not recommend keeping carrots near potatoes.