Everyone wants to eat vegetables as fresh as possible, because it is good for the body, but for this you need to know how to store them properly. With the proper content of vegetables, valuable and biologically active substances are almost not lost in them. Most vegetables contain from 75% to 97% water, and the loss of at least 5% of water leads to wilting, vegetables lose their appearance and nutritional value, look wrinkled and flabby. And the microbes that get on the vegetables begin to multiply. Therefore, in order to save vegetables for the winter, you should not put them all together on the balcony, in the refrigerator or in the garage. First, you need to carefully inspect each vegetable, and select damaged and crumpled specimens.
It is best to store any vegetables in the garage, in the attic, or in a special cellar or basement at a temperature of +3 — +10 °C at 85-90% humidity, but not everyone has such a room. You can also use homemade “pogrebs”, i.e. specially designed cabinets and drawers that mimic the conditions of keeping vegetables, similar to the conditions of the cellar. But about everything in order.
Rules for storing potatoes for winter
Potatoes are the most popular vegetable that is always present in our daily diet. It grows underground, which means in the dark and prefers to be stored in a dark place too. If stored incorrectly, it quickly deteriorates. In a warm place, potatoes begin to germinate, and the humidity in the refrigerator will make it moldy and wet. You can not store potatoes in the light, otherwise it may turn green, which will be an indicator of the formation of poisonous corned beef.
Before removing potatoes for storage, it must be dried well, after holding them for several hours in the open air. Potatoes are best preserved at 2-30C and 85-90% humidity. To create such conditions, a dry, cool, dark room is well suited, for example, a cellar or basement that does not freeze in winter. You can also use the balcony for this purpose, before the onset of frost, but provided that it is not heated.
Potatoes can be stored in boxes with small holes in the walls for air access. The boxes are placed on stands (15-20 cm above the floor) and do not push them close to the wall.
When storing potatoes in bins , they are covered with a layer of no more than 1 m. The top layer of tubers, as a rule, fogs up, which creates foci of diseases. To avoid this, immediately after laying, cover the potatoes with empty boxes, matting, bags or baskets stuffed with shavings. These materials are hygroscopic and absorb excess moisture well. You can put a layer of beetroot on top of the potatoes.
Very often, when storing potatoes, plants are used that secrete phytoncides that kill pathogens of fungal diseases. Individual tubers can be taxed with rowan leaves or wormwood stems.
At least once a month, you need to inspect the potatoes that are preserved. At the same time, it is necessary to remove the rotten and diseased, if any. If this is not done, then several rotten or phytophthora-infected potatoes can infect the entire crop. Under such circumstances, you can lose most of the crop.
Carrot storage rules
Carrot skin is very thin, therefore, it is extremely difficult to preserve carrots for a long time without allowing germination, rotting or freezing. The most favorable conditions for storing carrots are a constant temperature of +1 ° C, humidity of 90-95%, limited air access, moderate ventilation.
Before you put the carrots in storage, it needs to be dried after holding them for several hours in the fresh air. Cut the tops level with the head to destroy the buds capable of germinating. Carrots withstand storage in bulk well in ordinary cellars, basements that do not freeze in winter, in burts or pits.
In plastic bags. Bags of any capacity are used for storage. The bag is placed in storage and kept open.
In the boxes. It is better to take boxes with dense walls and lids. Their capacity should not exceed 20 kg. The boxes are stored on the balcony, but with the onset of cold weather they need to be covered with something warm. And in case of severe frosts, it is better to bring the boxes into the apartment and put them next to the balcony door.
In the sand. Carrots are placed in pyramids or collars up to 1 m high with their heads outwards, layering the rows with fresh, slightly moistened sand. As the top layer of sand dries, it is moistened by sprinkling water on the sides and on top. The sand layers should be at least 1 cm (the bottom layer is 2 cm), and the root crops should not touch each other.
In a 3-liter jar. If there are not very many carrots, then it can be put in a 3-liter jar, and stored depending on the weather on the balcony, in an apartment near the balcony door or in the refrigerator. At the onset of frost, the jar must be closed with a lid.
In a clay barrel. The clay is stirred to the thickness of sour cream and the root vegetables are immersed in it for 2-3 minutes, they are taken out and dried. A cover is formed around the carrot, protecting it from wilting and diseases. Carrots in clay cases are placed in boxes or baskets. Compared to other storage methods, this one gives the least amount of waste.
In coniferous sawdust. Carrots are best preserved in sawdust with a moisture content of 18-20%.
The chalk solution also helps to preserve carrots, it can be bought in hardware stores. After processing with chalk, carefully dry the carrots on paper and put them on the balcony or in the refrigerator.
In order for carrots to be stored in the refrigerator for as long as possible and then have good quality and consumer characteristics, you need to take into account the following rules for laying root crops for storage:
Carrots need to be cleaned from the soil and packed in plastic vacuum bags. At the same time, it is advisable not to wash the root crops. If you have purchased washed root vegetables, then they cannot be stored for a long time, a maximum of 1-2 weeks.
After that, the plastic bags filled with carrots should be put on the lowest shelf in the refrigerator. Thus, carrots can be stored for 1-2 months. Next, carrots in plastic bags may deteriorate due to accumulated carbon dioxide in plastic bags.
Well-washed and trimmed carrots can be wrapped in food stretch film, while it is necessary to ensure that each carrot is tightly wrapped and does not touch neighboring root crops. After that, such packages can be placed on the lower shelf, where they can lie for several months.
Carrots are quite well preserved in special plastic containers. They create quite good microclimatic conditions for storing carrots. At the same time, carrots tightly packed in a plastic container should be placed on the lowest shelf in the refrigerator.
Cleanly washed carrots are ground in food processors and stored in plastic bags in the freezer. Although at the same time carrots lose their natural taste and some vitamins, they can be stored for a long time in this form. Therefore, it can be used for food throughout the year.
Carrots can be stored in the refrigerator for several months, if there is not much of it. But it needs to be examined periodically. This is done in order to remove packages with carrots that have started to deteriorate. Although the refrigerator is not the best place to store carrots, but if there is no other, it can be stored there quite successfully for some time, if you put it there correctly. You can’t just put carrots in the refrigerator or put them in open plastic bags, because they won’t be able to be stored for a long time and will quickly begin to deteriorate and wither.
How to store onions at home
In order to effectively store onions at home, it is necessary to grow them properly, collect and prepare them for a long and effective lying for several months. To do this, you need to follow a few simple rules, which include:
Onions will last well and for a long time if they are properly planted and grown. It should always be remembered that bulbs do not like when there is a lot of humus in the soil and when it is systematically flooded.
It is necessary to collect onions only when the leaves are completely dry. This is usually done 90-120 days after planting.
After the onion is harvested, you need to prepare it for long-term storage, for this purpose, the leaves are cut (leaving a neck of 5-6 cm) and the roots. Also, the onion is dried for two weeks in the fresh air.
Only when the onion is well dried, it can be poured into a pre-prepared container. Onions can be stored in a variety of containers, the main thing is that it is sterile and dry and well ventilated. More often, onions are stored in wooden boxes, wicker baskets, cloth bags or in special nets for storing vegetables.
Very often, the leaves after harvesting onions are not cut off, but dried together with the bulbs. After that, individual bulbs, using twine, are woven into small braids. Thus, the onion is preserved for a long period and at the same time is a great opportunity to decorate the interior.