How nice cold winter is fresh vegetables! And if it is a hand-grown and preserved crop, it is doubly pleasant. But it is important not only to grow vegetables, but also to store them in fresh form throughout the winter.
Carrots are very rich in vitamins and other beneficial substances. But how to keep them for a long period, it's you and we now find out.
How to prepare carrots for winter storage
For long-term storage it is important to properly harvest the carrots. One week before you are going to harvest, water the carrots abundantly. It will become juicy and fragrant. After five to six days from the beginning of abundant watering, drench the beds and cut the tops, leaving small tips 3-4 cm from the root. This will make it easier for you to pull the carrots out of the ground. And pruning the tops will help to retain the necessary moisture in carrots.
After you have dug out the carrots, spread it on the prepared litter and let it dry for two to three days.
After thorough drying of carrots you need to sort it out. We choose only whole roots without any mechanical damage. If the carrot was damaged by shovel or insects and animals in the process of growth, then such specimens are put aside. Recycle and use them in the near future, They are not suitable for long-term storage. With prolonged lying they will begin to rot themselves, except that the process of rotting can spread to the entire reserve of carrots.
To wash carrots, laid for long storage, in any case it is impossible. Like other root vegetables, it is washed immediately before consumption.
How to store carrots in the cellar
One of the best ways of storing carrots is in the cellar( cellar).To do this, you need to spread out the root crops on plastic bags or cardboard boxes, boxes and put it in a cellar or cellar. The temperature in the place of storage of carrots should be close to zero. In addition, in a room where carrots are stored, there must be a sufficiently high humidity. But you need to ensure that there is no fungus or mold. From such a strong moisture, the whole crop can deteriorate.
To increase the shelf life of carrots in cardboard boxes and plastic bags, you need to make small holes in them for air circulation.
Carrot storage in sand
Another way to keep carrots in boxes is with the use of sand. Lay the carrots in boxes or cardboard boxes in layers, pouring them with sand. This way you can store carrots on racks. But this method is suitable if the basement area is large enough. Sand can be poured and a bunch and in it already bury the carrots for storage.
If there is no sand at hand, then the layers of carrots can be shifted by old newspapers. It is important in this case that carrots do not come in contact with each other.
How to store carrots in the refrigerator
A small amount of carrots can be stored at home, in the refrigerator in the vegetable compartment, after putting it in a plastic bag. The drawback of this method of long-term storage is that it is possible to keep a very small amount of vegetables.
For all of the above ways of storing carrots in winter, one thing matters. The entire crop should be regularly reviewed for spoilage or rot. The spoiled root vegetables must be removed in a timely manner from the stocks.