Few of the city dwellers stock beets for the winter. It's easier to go to the store and buy as much as you need to make dinner. But in winter, the beets are often frost-bitten or damaged by rot due to improper storage. And its price in this period is much higher. Therefore, zealous hostesses make for the winter stocks not only of onions and potatoes, but also beets.
Which beets are suitable for storage
The shape of the beet, as well as its color and taste depend on the variety. Excellent taste has an Egyptian beet variety. These root crops have a flat shape, purple-red flesh, dark red skin. Variety “Bordeaux” is known to many mistresses, because this beet has dark red flesh, purple-red peel and great taste.
In addition to these varieties, others are in demand: “The Incomparable”, “Pushkin Flat”, “Podzimnyaya”, “Leningradskaya Round”, “Mulatto”, “Libero”, “Salat”. They are not only used for food as they mature, but also stored for storage.
When harvesting beets for storage
Round root vegetables ripen in July. But the bulk of the beets are ready for harvest only in August. Beet later varieties that ripen in the fall, begin to clean in October, without waiting for the frost.
To harvest the beets start in dry weather. To do this, choose cool days with air temperatures of 10-15 °. Late beet varieties are harvested at a temperature not lower than 0 °, since frozen root crops are not subject to storage. Beet harvest begins to clean with the onset of yellowing of its leaves. You can not pull up the beets, grabbing the tops. So you can damage the delicate skin of root vegetables. Such beets will quickly begin to deteriorate, infecting the nearby fruits with rot.
For digging beets using a pitchfork or shovel. With the help of these tools, they dig up a root crop, helping with their hands to pull it out of the ground. Dug beets gently shake off the ground and immediately cut the leaves, leaving the petioles about 2 cm long. If the tops are not cut off, the leaves will begin to pull the juice from the roots, the beets will quickly wither and therefore become unstable to storage.
The tops are cut with a knife, and do not break open, so as not to damage the fruit.
If the root has a long root, it can be slightly trimmed, but still it is desirable to leave the beets in the form in which it was dug, because the infection can get inside the fruit through the cut.
If the land is wet during harvesting, then the dug up root crops leave in the open air a little dry, but not in the sun and no longer than 1-2 hours.
In wet weather, the beets are dried in the room, spreading it in a single layer on a litter on the floor. In this case, the drying process can be extended to two days.
Pruning the tops, immediately sorted. Strong root crops without mechanical damage are taken for storage, with correctly trimmed tops and not infected with diseases.
During sorting, which is carried out in fabric gloves, gently remove adhering pieces of dirt, leaving a thin layer of earth on the surface, which will protect the skin of the fetus from damage. Prepared beets immediately sent to storage.
Storage conditions for beets in the basement or cellar
To store beets, you can use the basement, cellar, specially equipped room.
The ideal temperature for storing beets is 0-3 °. At elevated temperatures, beet leaves will start to grow, and the shelf life will be significantly reduced.
Humidity in the room should be 90-92%. Such conditions need to be maintained constantly, otherwise the roots will quickly begin to fade.
If the storage is low humidity, it is recommended to spill water periodically on the floor.
There must be good ventilation in the vault, and there should not be any light.
How to store beets in the basement or cellar
Beets can be stored in boxes, in bags, on shelves, in bulk in bins.
Method 1. Prepared beets tightly placed in dry wooden boxes with a capacity of 30-50 kg, removed for storage.
Method 2. A layer of pure sand is poured into the box. Beets are placed on it so that the fruits do not touch each other. Fall asleep with sand.
Method 3. The boxes are covered with film with a thickness of 60-100 microns, filled with beetroot. Tare set piles.
Method 4. Beets poured into the bins, making the height of the mound of not more than 1 meter. Beets can be stored with potatoes. Such a symbiosis does not allow the potato to rot, as it gives away unnecessary moisture to the beets. So that the lower layers of the beets do not start to deteriorate, leave a distance between the flooring and the floor for ventilation. Method 5. Root crops are laid out on a rack without gaps, each layer is poured with sand. It is recommended to add chalk or dry hydrated lime in the sand (for 50 kg of sand you need to take 1 kg of chalk). Such an additive is a good prophylactic against damage from rot and other diseases.
Instead of sand, you can use sawdust moisture up to 15%. Due to the disinfecting properties of the essential oils contained in sawdust, beets do not deteriorate and do not fade.
Method 6. For better storage of beets using clay. To do this, clay is diluted with water to a creamy state, roots are immersed in the solution, allowed to dry. After that, the beets are covered with a thin film that protects the fruit from withering and spoilage.
Method 7. A large number of beets can be stored in bags of thick polyethylene with a capacity of up to 50 kg. Dried beets put in bags, put them vertically. So that they do not accumulate condensate, they are left open.
Note. All these methods can be used to store beets on the balcony. But only if it is glazed and supports the conditions mentioned above.
How to store beets in an apartment
At room temperature, beets can be left no more than a week. Then she will start to fade. If you want to save the beets for a long time, it is removed in the refrigerator.
For this, prepared beets are put in a plastic bag, in which small holes are made for ventilation. Root vegetables packed in this way are placed in a refrigerator in the vegetable compartment. There they can be stored for up to three months. But it is necessary to take into account not only the temperature regime, but also the humidity, which in some refrigerators is greatly overestimated. When condensate appears on the inner surface of the package, the beets are taken out, dried, and put in a new package.
Particularly inventive owners came up with an original way of storing beets in the apartment. Each root should be wrapped in foil, then put in the fridge. This method of storage is good because the fruits are not in contact with each other, do not contact with the air, but at the same time - breathe. In this package, the beets retain their original appearance for up to three months.
Mistress of the note
In any method of storage, beets are periodically picked out, removing spoiled root vegetables. If time does not remove the fruit from the total mass that starts to deteriorate, it can destroy all stocks.
