When to clean carrots from the garden for storage?

Carrots are considered to be one of the most useful vegetables. It's just a huge amount of vitamins. Growing carrots is easy. Any gardener or summer resident, even the beginner, can easily handle the task. But when to remove carrots from the garden to ensure its long-term successful storage? That's the question and I have to understand this article.

Why roots do not survive the winter

Many housewives, as well as owners, are faced with the fact that the roots grown with love do not survive the winter period. And it also happens that half of the crop is not able to even reach the frost. What's the matter? There may be several reasons for this. Firstly - different maturation periods for different varieties. Secondly - ignorance of when to remove carrots from the garden. Thirdly, the technological side of preserving root crops can be violated. And finally, the last, fourth reason is inappropriate weather conditions.

When to clean beets and carrots from the garden

Although carrots, as well as beets are considered frost-resistant, they should be collected before the regular frosts come. You can not allow the plants to become covered with snow even on the beds. And do not look that the tops are still green and beautiful. So when to clean beets and carrots from the garden? The best time for this is the end of September or October. Usually, cleaning begins immediately, as all potatoes are cleaned. But too early to dig root crops, too, is not worth it. After all, you deprive them of a large number of useful substances in this way.

Early harvesting time

That carrot, whose varieties ripen very early, for long-term storage is not suitable. She is planted, as a rule, in order to obtain a carrot. A young sweet root is ready for consumption already in the middle of summer and is used for salads or baby food. If you do not know when to remove carrots from a bed, you can skip this moment, and then it will crack right in the ground and lose its juiciness. If you notice that the diameter of the carrot has reached a centimeter, then it's time to start digging it out. This is the most delicious and useful carrot for consumption in raw form. Do not forget to dig in after excavating individual carrots formed pits. This will help prevent the defeat of the remaining root vegetables carrot fly.

When to harvest carrots from the garden for storage, if the maturation period is medium

Growing on their plot varieties with medium maturity, it is necessary to remember that to grow such vegetables should be from eighty to one hundred and ten days. Watch your site. If you notice that the lower leaves turn yellow, then it's time that you can remove the carrots from the bed. If you do not remove root crops on time, then their pulp will become loose, and the taste will become much worse. The view that all leaves must turn yellow and fade is extremely erroneous. This is more likely to say that the plant is hurt than about its maturity.

When to clean carrots, if it is late varieties

Let's talk about the late varieties. Their maturation lasts more than one hundred and ten days. These varieties are called fall and are collected in the first half of September. It is during the autumn period that carrots accumulate in large quantities of vitamins and nutrients. The most important thing is that the day in which the harvest is to be carried out, it is not rainy. To the frosts, contrary to the prevailing opinion, it is not necessary to leave root crops in the ground. If this is the case, then very often they are affected by their gray rot. In this case, the entire crop may be lost during storage. But early digging of root crops is not recommended. A large temperature difference will not bring anything good. If the crop is already harvested and the air temperature is still above twenty degrees, then do not put it directly in the cellar, where, of course, the temperature is much lower. So after all, when to clean carrots from the garden? Based on all the above in this section, it can be concluded that as soon as the air temperature becomes lower (about four degrees Celsius), but the weather will still be good, one can safely be taken for digging out carrots.

How to harvest correctly

Finding out when to remove carrots from the bed, it is important not to miss that moment that the correctly harvested crop increases the chances of getting a quality result during storage. Carrots should be prepared before cleaning. Somewhere a month before the scheduled time, watering is stopped. This will save the future harvest from cracking. Gather the carrots on a warm and clear day. Before the night frosts begin. Frozen carrots will not be stored.

Little to know when to harvest carrots for the winter from the garden. We still need to understand how to do this. Digging root crops is best using forks. So there is less chance of damage. Carrots dig up and get out of the ground, holding the tops. With our hands we clean it from the ground, but in no case we do not scratch anything. Try not to damage root crops, because they are unlikely to last for long. Also, avoid bumps and kinks when transporting root crops. Once the carrots are excavated, it is necessary to remove the tops, and, as soon as possible. If this is not done, the moisture through the leaves will evaporate so much that it will lead to fading of the fruit. After all the tops are removed, the carrots are laid out under the canopy, leaving it a little aired.

Ways to remove tops

You can remove carrot leaves in a variety of ways. One of the options - twisting and tearing her hands. You can also cut off the leaves, but you can not touch the roots themselves. One of the options for cutting the tops is one in which there is a small tail on the carrot, which should not exceed a half centimeter in size. And still it is possible to cut off the top part of a carrot on depth no more than two millimeters. In this case, during storage, the tops will not be able to germinate and the root crop will not lose its nutritional properties, but this work is very jewelery. If you do not do it the way you want, then you risk losing the entire crop due to rot.

Carrot storage

In the previous sections, we figured out how and when to remove the carrots from the bed for storage. Now let's see how this storage is implemented.

After the carrots are slightly dry, shake off the remaining ground. For storage use boxes with a small depth. Root crops are laid in rows and lightly poured with sand, which should be slightly moist. Peat can be used for these purposes. Some truck farmers store carrots in plastic bags, making holes in them for ventilation. Of course, the basement in which you plan to store your vegetables should also be well ventilated.

Another interesting way of storing carrots is dipping it into a clay chatterbox. Each root vegetable is dipped in clay before being sent to the basement and dried on a grate. Thus, protection from mice and other pests is made and juicy and crunchy carrots are preserved. Sometimes, clay garlic is added to the clay mixture, which scares off various pests from the crop.

If you want to keep a small carrot until the spring, then prepare a pit about thirty centimeters deep and fill it with sand. Put the carrots in rows, pouring it with sand. When all the carrots are laid, fill the pit and cover it with leaves, fir branches and slate. In winter, heap a lot of snow on top of it. Thus, having unearthed this hole in the spring, you will receive root crops of such freshness, as if you just dug them up.

While keeping the carrots in the fridge, wrap each one in a piece of paper. So it can stay juicy and tasty longer.

If you do not have anywhere to store carrots, then do not forget that it can be dried or frozen. In this case, you will not have any problems with rot.

In the sections of this article it was considered when to remove carrots from the garden, how to do it correctly and how you can save your harvest until the very spring. Observing all the simple rules, you can pamper yourself with fresh carrots throughout the entire cold season and even longer, almost to the new harvest.