Carrots are considered to be one of the most healthy vegetables. It just has a huge amount of vitamins. Growing carrots is easy.
Any gardener or summer resident, even the most beginner, can easily cope with the task. But when to remove carrots from the garden to ensure its long-term successful storage? It is this issue that remains to be dealt with in this article.
Why root vegetables do not survive the winter
Many hostesses, as well as owners, are faced with the fact that root crops grown with love do not survive the winter period. And it also happens that half of the crop is not even able to reach the frost. What is the matter? There may be several reasons for this. Firstly, different ripening dates for different varieties. Secondly - ignorance of when to remove carrots from the garden. Thirdly, the technological side of the conservation of root crops may be violated. And finally, the last, fourth reason is inappropriate weather conditions.
When to remove beets and carrots from the garden
Although carrots and beets are considered frost-resistant root crops, it is still better to collect them before regular frosts occur. Plants should not be allowed to become covered with snow on the beds.
And do not look that the tops are still green and beautiful. So when to remove beets and carrots from the garden? The best time for this is the end of September or the month of October. Usually, harvesting begins immediately, as all the potatoes are harvested. But too early to dig root crops is not worth it. After all, you will thus deprive them of a large number of useful substances.
Early harvesting time
Those carrots, whose varieties ripen very early, are not suitable for long-term storage. It is planted, as a rule, in order to obtain bundled carrots. A young sweet root vegetable is ready for use already in the middle of summer and is used for salads or baby food.
If you do not know when to remove carrots from the garden, you can skip this moment, and then it will crack right in the ground and lose its juiciness. If you notice that the diameter of the carrot has reached a centimeter, then it's time to start digging it out. This is the most delicious and healthy carrots to eat raw. Do not forget to dig the resulting pits after digging up individual carrots. This will help prevent damage to the remaining root crops by the carrot fly.
When to remove carrots from the beds for storage, if the ripening is average
Growing on your site varieties that have medium ripening, it is necessary to remember that such vegetables should be grown from eighty to one hundred and ten days. Watch your site. If you notice that the lower leaves turn yellow, then the time has come when you can remove carrots from the garden. If you do not remove the roots in time, then their flesh will become friable, and the taste will become much worse.
The opinion that all leaves should turn yellow and fade is extremely wrong. This more likely suggests that the plant is sick than about its maturity.
When to harvest carrots, if it is late varieties
Talk about late grades. Their ripening lasts more than one hundred and ten days. These varieties are called autumn and are harvested in the first half of September. It is in the autumn period that carrots accumulate in large quantities of vitamins and nutrients.
Most importantly, the day on which the
harvest is coming is not rainy. Before frosts, contrary to popular belief, it is not worth leaving root crops in the ground. If you do this, then very often there is a defeat of their gray rot. In this case, the entire crop may be lost during storage. But early digging of root crops is not recommended. A large temperature difference will not bring anything good. If the crop is already harvested, and the air temperature is still above twenty degrees, then you should not place it immediately in the cellar, where, of course, the temperature is much lower. So still, when do you remove carrots from the garden? Based on all of the above in this section, we can conclude that as soon as the air temperature becomes lower (about four degrees Celsius), but the weather still remains good, we can safely start digging up carrots.
How to harvest
Understanding when to remove carrots from the garden, it is important not to miss the moment that a correctly harvested crop increases the chances of obtaining a high-quality result during storage. Carrots should be prepared before harvesting. Somewhere a month before the appointed time, watering is stopped. This will save the future crop from cracking.
Harvest carrots on a warm and clear day. Before night frosts begin. Frozen carrots will not be stored.
It’s not enough to know when to pick up carrots for the winter from the garden. You also need to understand how to do this. Digging root vegetables is best done using forks. So there is less chance of damage. Carrots are dug up and removed from the ground, holding the tops. We clean it from the ground with our hands, but in no case we scrub it with anything. Try not to damage the root crops, because they are unlikely to last long. Also avoid bumps and kinks when transporting root crops.
As soon as the carrots are dug up, it is necessary to remove the tops, and, as soon as possible. If this is not done, then the moisture through the leaves will evaporate so much that this will lead to withering of the fruits. After all the tops are removed, the carrots are laid out under a canopy, leaving it a little ventilated.
How to remove tops
There are many ways to remove carrot tops. One option is twisting and tearing it off with your hands. You can also cut off the leaves, but you can not touch the root crop itself. One of the options for cutting the tops is one in which a small tail remains on the carrots, which should not exceed one and a half centimeters in size.
And you can cut the top of the carrots to a depth of not more than two millimeters. In this case, during storage, the tops will not be able to germinate and the root crop will not lose its nutritional properties, but this work is very jewelry. If you do it the wrong way, then you risk losing the whole crop due to rot.
Carrot storage
In the previous sections, we found out how and when to remove carrots from the beds for storage. Now let's figure out how to carry out this storage.
After the carrots are slightly dry, brush off the remaining soil from it. For storage use boxes with shallow depth. Root crops are laid in rows in them and lightly sprinkled with sand, which should be slightly moist. For these purposes, you can still use peat. Some gardeners store carrots in plastic bags, making holes for ventilation in them. Of course, the basement in which you plan to store your vegetables should also be well ventilated.
Another interesting way to store carrots is by dipping it in a clay mash. Each root crop is dipped in clay before being sent to the basement and dried on a wire rack. Thus, protection against mice and other pests is made and juicy and crispy carrots are preserved. Sometimes crushed garlic is added to the clay mixture, which repels various pests from the crop.
If you want to keep a small carrot until spring, then prepare a hole about thirty centimeters deep and fill it with sand in the bottom. In rows, lay the carrots there, sprinkling it with sand. When all the carrots are stacked, fill the hole and cover it with leaves, spruce branches and slate. In winter, rake a lot of snow on top of it. Thus, digging this hole in the spring, you will get root vegetables of such freshness, as if you had just dug them.
Keeping carrots in the refrigerator, wrap each in a piece of paper. So she will be able to remain juicy and tasty longer.
If you have nowhere to store carrots, then do not forget that it can be dried or frozen. In this case, you definitely will not have problems with rot.
In the sections of this article it was considered when to remove carrots from the garden, how to do it correctly and how you can save your crop until spring. Observing all the simple rules, you can treat yourself to fresh carrots during the entire period of cold weather and even longer, almost to a new crop.