Storage of beets in a cellar, or How to provide themselves with fresh vegetables for the whole year

There are products without which it is impossible to do without. The body just needs to eat them from time to time. One of them is ordinary beet. It is a part of many famous and beloved dishes. The most popular way in the people, which makes it possible at any time to have at hand the main product needed to make, say, vinaigrette or red borsch, is the storage of beets in the cellar.

Ideal room

People from time immemorial used to stock up for the most essential food. No one is tempted to stay hungry. That is why it has long been customary to postpone part of the products and store them until the next harvest. This applies more to vegetables, which are known to have a seasonal character. Experience shows that it is not possible to store them at room temperature . Therefore, for such purposes, there must be a separate room that meets certain requirements. There are several indicators that determine the ability of a particular building or room to be an ideal repository for beets:

• Temperature (from 0 to +3 degrees);
• Access to fresh air and the possibility of airing (always necessary);
• Humidity (from 85 to 90%);
• Accessibility of direct sunlight (in our case this should not be).

If all these conditions are met, the beet storage in the cellar is possible for a fairly long time. Moreover, she has a wonderful "keeping quality", and this is a rare ability for vegetables.

Method of storage

Each product should be stored in a certain way. It is necessary to take into account all the circumstances that may affect this process. Thus, the storage of beets in the cellar begins with the preparation of the vegetable itself. Each root crop must first be cleaned, that is, remove from its surface the remains of mud and soil. Do it dry, without resorting to the help of water. Otherwise, excessive moisture will necessarily lead to wilting, germination, and then, possibly, to rotting the product. When cleaning, do not use sharp objects that can damage the skin. Do not also rub one product about another. This can also disrupt the integrity of the outer shell. Then it is necessary to cut off the tops, leaving only small stalks 2 centimeters long. Now the product can only be dried in the wind without access to sunlight and you can start storing. Storing beets in the cellar is not easy. The ideal container for this is a wooden box. And to protect against possible excessive humidity, river sand, peat or sawdust are used. Root crops are laid in 3-4 layers and abundantly poured by the selected filler.

Obligatory conditions

Storage of vegetables in the cellar requires certain knowledge and preliminary preparation. This can not be done spontaneously. Everything should be thought out in advance. Preparation of the cellar begins in the summer, when it is relatively free. To begin with, you need to take out all the removable shelves, and clean the room thoroughly and ventilate it. Then it is necessary to check whether any racks or compartments are needed for repair, and all possible fixes. After that, paint the existing metal structures and reassemble everything. It is necessary to check the room for the presence of rodents and to seal up the mink found tightly. It is advisable, of course, to disinfect the room and refresh the top of the floor covering. Somewhere in a month it is already possible to bring fresh sand, sawdust and other auxiliary materials. Ideally, any cellar is better divided into three compartments: for potatoes, vegetables and fruits, and arrange them in a certain way. Storage of vegetables in the cellar is usually conducted in different ways. If wet sand is filled in boxes for the carrot, then for beets it must be absolutely dry. In addition, vegetables negatively relate to heat, so they are better placed on the lower floors, if the premises are multi-tiered. And necessarily from time to time you have to turn over and revise the products to ventilate them and find them in time, and then remove the fruits with obvious signs of spoilage.

How to keep the product in winter

A good owner should start taking care of the products before harvesting. It is necessary to pre-arrange the premises and think about how it will contain this or that vegetable. For example, storage of beet in winter can be organized in many ways:

1. On wide racks, stacking products with a slide.

2. In open plastic bags.

3. In boxes or specially equipped containers, pouring products with sand or other hygroscopic material.

4. In the form of a small bulge directly on the floor of the cellar or cellar.

5. Pour the fruits in a small layer, like a veil, over the potatoes.

6. In banks in the form of conservation.

Each of these options has its advantages and disadvantages. In any case, only high-quality fruits will be well preserved. That is why before you bookmark them you need to carefully review and leave only those that do not cause suspicion. Otherwise, even one of the smallest beets can spoil the entire crop.

What you need to know about storing vegetables

Do not forget that the products from the garden are much more difficult to store than, for example, canned cans. If it is enough for a packaged product to withstand a certain temperature regime, then the conditions for storing vegetables are much more difficult to observe. There must be two interrelated factors: the option chosen for the bookmark, and the microclimate of the room. It must be remembered that in the fresh products (greens, vegetables, fruits) biological processes continue to go. Fruits do not die, they breathe and partially develop. When creating optimal conditions during storage, all processes of vital activity of vegetables are partially slowed down. At this time they completely retain their nutritional qualities and taste properties. After a while, the products naturally begin to age and lose their useful properties. And further storage changes even their appearance. Therefore, no vegetable can be stored indefinitely, but it is possible to create conditions for maximum maintenance of its positive characteristics, for example, until the next harvest.

How to store beetroot in winter

Vegetable harvesting is usually done for one reason: the products of plant origin are seasonal in nature and are not able to grow in winter in natural conditions. All this forces people to equip special rooms in which vegetables can retain their properties for some time. If we talk about beets, then for starters it is necessary to know several factors that significantly affect the very process of storing this product:

1. Product grade. Not all beets are suitable for long-term storage. Prepare better late and medium-sized varieties.

2. Growing conditions. During the growth period, the optimum watering regime must be observed. This factor is one of the main factors affecting the shelf life of the product. If there is insufficient watering, the beets in the cellar will dry quickly. And vice versa - with abundant can quickly begin to rot.

3. Storage of beet in the winter in the cellar must pass at a certain temperature and humidity of the room.

To preserve the harvest for a long time, all the above conditions must be observed. This is the only way to guarantee the quality and safety of products for the body.