How to keep beets for the winter in an apartment and a private house

Beets grown in your garden or purchased from farmers will have to be stored somewhere. A vegetable, incredibly healthy and necessary for cooking various dishes, should be in the kitchen of every housewife. Before laying a vegetable for long-term storage, you need to find out what methods of harvesting a root crop exist. Let's try to figure out how to properly store beets at home.

Long-term storage varieties

Most vegetable varieties are not suitable for wintering. Keeping quality depends on many factors, but to a greater extent on the selected variety. If the gardener wants to save the beets for the winter, then when choosing seeds, you need to focus on the variety.

Important! If the harvest is good enough, there is still no certainty that the beets can be stored for a long time for the winter. It is necessary to take care of storage conditions, t mode, humidity.

It is better to store at home in winter that variety of beets that have a dense skin and are resistant to damage by mold and rot. The following varieties are most suitable with good keeping quality:

• Gribovskaya flat A473;
• Detroit;
• Salad;
• Renova;
• Libero;
• Mulatto;
• Pablo F1;
• Cold resistant;
• One-sprout;
• Late winter;
• Red ball;
• Incomparable;
• Bravo.

Better and longer it will be possible to preserve the beets of medium and late ripening varieties... Often, gardeners are offered the popular Cylinder variety. However, you need to understand that it will not be stored for a long time in winter and is only suitable for canning and cooking for a month.

How to select beets

Before you start storing beets for the winter, you need to pay attention to the correct harvest - on time. Harvesting time depends on the climatic conditions of a particular region, variety.

Harvesting signs:

1. The size of the root crop can be assessed visually.
2. If the tops are dry and yellow.
3. If formations are formed on the leaves and fruits.

You can start harvesting in October... It is better if the weather is dry without rain. If you miss the timely harvest, this can lead to rotting of root crops.

Collection rules:

• You need to collect beets at a time when t does not fall below zero.
• Dig up the vegetable with a pitchfork or a shovel under the root vegetable so as not to damage it. Stack in piles next to the garden bed.
• Trim the tops, leaving 0.5 cm.
• Clear the root crop from the ground and remove the side roots.
• Handle the fruits as carefully as possible in order to prevent the appearance of defects, cracks.

The fruits are ready to dry in the fresh air. To do this, you need to lay them out on film or in boxes in one layer and leave them outside to dry for 5 hours. The weather must be sunny. If it's damp outside, it is better to dry the vegetable indoors or under a canopy.

Interesting! Gardeners who trust the lunar calendar should know that beets are harvested at a time when the moon is in the last quarter.

Processing technology is carried out immediately after drying. It consists of the following stages:

1. Clean the vegetable from dirt, sand... You need to clean it as carefully as possible so as not to damage the skin. Microorganisms can get into the cracks of the beet and it will not be possible to preserve it for a long time.
2. Vegetables should be sorted by examining each one individually.... If there is damage to the root crop, rot, then they must be used first.
3. Choose medium-sized fruits for long-term storage, and use large fruits in the first months.

Important! Fruit storage must not be washed.

Video: how to properly remove and store beets at home.

Optimal storage conditions

Storage conditions are very important for this vegetable. Therefore, it is advisable to answer the question - how to properly store beets at home. The root crop, which has good keeping quality, is well stored even at low temperatures.

The main aspects to which it is important to pay attention to when storing beets in winter:

• Temperature regime. The temperature at which beets can be stored should not exceed 2-3 С and should not fall below zero... Too low temperatures affect the quality of the plant, and t above 5 C makes it soft and activates the growth of tops. Already after a few weeks, such a root crop is unusable. The first time you need to maintain t 2-3C for at least 2 months.
• Indoor humidity must be at least 90%otherwise the vegetable will dry out and become soft and wrinkled.
• A place... Storage conditions for beets can be selected based on the place of residence: in an apartment or in a private house. The air should be cool and the room dark and ventilated. The main storage locations are indoor and outdoor. The root crop can be properly stored all winter in pits, basement, cellar, balcony, pantry. Keeps well on the floor, on the ground, in containers or bags.

You can save the beet crop in the following ways:

• canning;
• to freeze;
• keep a fresh root vegetable at home.

Features of storage locations

There are many places where you can store beets. The main thing is to comply with all the conditions in which a tasty culture retains its useful properties and remains tasty.

It is best to store beets for the winter in the following places:

• in the cellar;
• in a refrigerator;
• on the balcony;
• in boxes of sand;
• in the barn;
• in the apartment under the windows;
• in bags.

Video: where to store beets in the winter at home.

In the apartment

Of course, many people live in apartments rather than private houses. Therefore, many summer residents often think about the question - how to keep a root crop for the winter in an apartment?

It is worth noting that keeping fresh beets in the apartment for the winter is a little problematic due to the limited territory. However, you can adapt and create favorable conditions for the root crop.

Where can beets be stored in an apartment? There are several suitable storage locations:

1) Fridge... Due to the limited space, only a couple of kilograms of beets can be stored in the refrigerator for the winter. The temperature should be 2-3 C. At the same time, it will be stored for only a few months.

To keep the root vegetable in the refrigerator for the winter, you need to put the vegetable in a plastic box or cellophane bag, having previously made holes in it for air ventilation. It is better to choose fruits of medium or small size for the refrigerator.

2) Balcony or storage room... If the balcony is insulated, then beets can be stored in it in winter. You need to put the fruits in a wooden box with sand. When storing root vegetables in sand, it prevents the formation of mold, vegetables do not get sick or dry out, completely retaining their appearance. You can replace sand with sawdust and peat.

Medium-sized fruits can be placed in boxes or other containers. Another option for storing beets in boxes on the balcony is to mix the fruits with ash and chalk.

3) Under the windows... If there is no balcony in the dwelling, then you can store the beets for the winter right in the apartment under the windows, just not near the battery. It is convenient to put the root crop in a bag that holds 40 kg. A larger volume will not be very comfortable to store under windows. The main condition for storage in bags is to seal it tightly so that no light enters.

Although it is a little more difficult to keep beets for the winter in an apartment than in a private house, it is quite possible. The main thing is to follow all the recommendations.

In a private house

In a private house, most often there is a cellar or basement where you can successfully store beets for the winter, because there is maintained the necessary humidity t to preserve the harvest.

In the first month of storage, it is especially important to maintain appropriate conditions. If t rises, bacteria proliferate rapidly, mold and fungus appear.

To properly store beets in the cellar in winter, you must follow the following rules:

1. There must be good air circulation in the cellar... The natural circulation is done by raising the beet containers 15 cm above the floor. This will keep the fruit chilled and prevent fogging.
2. Place vegetables in bulk on the floor in the cellar... To do this, you can spread plastic wrap and sprinkle vegetables in one layer.
3. Some gardeners make special bins, walls up to a meter high... At the bottom of such structures, a fine mesh is installed 5-10 cm above the floor. This will provide ventilation for the plant.
4. Store on top of potatoes in bags or boxes... In this case, it absorbs moisture and prevents the potatoes from deteriorating.

If you want to keep the beets in the cellar until spring, then it is better to follow the tips above.

Video: how to properly store beets in a cellar in winter.

The fruits can be processed, mixed with the following elements:

• chalk;
• ash;
• sand;
• peat;
• sawdust;
• sprinkle with table salt;
• treat the boxes with brine;
• put fern leaves on top.

Mix any of the ingredients with root vegetables immediately during preparation for storage.

Video: how to store beets in sawdust in the basement.

Popular ways to save

There are other storage methods. There are also several ways to properly save beets for the winter:

• Dry... Alternatively, some of the beets can be dried in small pieces to add to stew vegetables or other dishes.
• Canning... There are a huge number of ways to preserve, pickle vegetables. It is very convenient to store preservation in glass containers.
• To freeze... You can successfully store beets in the freezer for the winter. It is especially important to store frozen beets in grated form for making borscht. To do this, you need to peel, grate and pack the vegetable into bags or special plastic containers and place in the freezer.
• Leave fresh and save beets for the winter at home using the above methods.

Video: how to store beets for the winter in bags.

General tips - how to save beets for the winter

Experienced gardeners recommend:

• If severe frosts and warming have begun, and glazing does not save, then you need to cover the harvest with a warm blanket.
• If vegetables are stored on the balcony, and the room allows, then it is better to lay out the beets in one layer. Thus, it can be protected from decay.
• Leave the tops 1 cm without cutting them to pulp. In this form, the vegetable is much better preserved.
• In order not to waste time on cleaning and cooking the root vegetable, you can stock up on ready-made dressings for borscht in the form of canned or frozen in advance.
• Vegetables should be regularly examined for mold and rot. Remove spoiled fruits, and rinse and dry the wet ones.
• To keep beets well, you need to pay special attention to watering when growing crops. Also, don't give too much nitrogen fertilizer.
• Waterproof synthetic pads can be used to store large quantities of beets. They need to be placed between vegetables in a container.
• From all unsuitable crops, you can prepare seals for the winter.

Common storage errors

To keep fresh beets at home for the whole winter, you need to do it according to certain rules. Unfortunately, many people make annoying mistakes that take away the joy of eating a delicious red vegetable in winter.

Therefore, it is worth knowing the main mistakes that can be made when saving beets at home:

• Storing beets next to radiators and other heating devices... In this case, the vegetable will quickly lose its elasticity and taste.
• If you wash vegetables before storing, then they will not survive for several weeks.
• Tops cut to pulp leads to the fact that microorganisms enter the vegetable.
• To monitor the room temperature, it is better to install a thermometer rather than try to set t at random.
• Choose early maturing varieties for storage in the winter.
• If do not sort out periodically root crops, that is, the probability of contamination of the entire crop (and not only beets).

If you store the beets correctly, then you can feast on the vegetable throughout the winter and even more than half of the spring. Correctly preserved mid and late ripening varieties can be stored until the next season. The main thing is to take into account all recommendations for conditions: variety, air temperature, ventilation, humidity, storage location. Good luck in preserving the beet harvest until spring!