Carrots, which are familiar to all of us, are one of the healthiest root vegetables, however, they are quite demanding in terms of storage. Many people complain that it rots, others complain that it dries out during storage. But all this is only due to the incorrect conditions in which it spends the winter. People, looking for a way to properly store carrots for the winter, have found several optimal solutions that are now widely used, and following them, you can eat a tasty, juicy, hard root vegetable until the new harvest.
Carrot description
From a botanical point of view, carrots are a biennial herbaceous plant, although in everyday life this is usually called the root vegetable used in cooking. Most scientists are of the opinion that cultivated carrots (lat. daucus carota subsp. sativus) belong to the genus of wild carrots, the Umbrella family.
However, some botanists disagree with this, considering seeded and wild carrots to be different species. However, the homeland of the domestic species has not yet been discovered. True, scientists have not yet been able to cultivate and remove an edible vegetable from a wild species, so discussions continue.
The word “carrot” comes from the Old Slavonic “murki”, and the English “carrot”, first found in written sources in 1530, was most likely borrowed from the French language, in which carrots are still called “carotte”.
The French name comes from the Latin “carōta”, and that, in turn, from the Greek “καρωτόν” (karōton). The Greek word is believed to have the Indo-European root ker- (horn), due to the similarity of the shape of the root vegetable to the horn.
How to tell if carrots are ripe
Vegetables collected on time will be stored for a long time and will remain tasty and juicy. If you dig up carrots early, they will not have time to fully ripen and will not be stored well in the winter. However, it is impossible to keep carrots in the ground, as this negatively affects its taste. In addition, when it gets colder, vegetables can be affected by various diseases.
Signs that it’s time to dig up carrots are:
- yellowing of the lower leaves;
- thin white roots appeared along the entire length of the fruit;
- in the middle the diameter of the root crop is more than one centimeter.
If cracks appear on the carrots, this means that they have already outgrown them and will not store well. You also don’t have to wait until all the leaves turn yellow, as this is a sign that the plant is affected by a disease.
You can also determine when it is time to remove carrots from the garden for winter storage by timing, weather conditions and favorable days according to the Lunar calendar.
Features of the structure of the vegetable
The peculiarity of carrots is in its structure: thin peel, sensitivity to external influences. If you make a mistake and do not follow the storage technology, root crops quickly lose moisture, wither, and are affected by diseases.
Due to its properties, carrots are cold-resistant; short-term frosts in late autumn are not harmful to them. Left in a garden bed without tops for the winter, it still has time to grow, despite unfavorable climatic conditions.
The best temperature for it will be the ground temperature around zero, the humidity of the environment - 95%. If the temperature is above zero, the biological dormancy of vegetables will be disrupted . Healthy, ripened vegetables can be stored in the ground, without mechanical damage or disease.
When to remove carrots from the garden
When harvesting carrots, timeliness is of great importance. Carrots tolerate frost well, especially if you cover the bed with tops. Lowering the temperature will cool the root crop and prepare it for storage.
Root vegetables that are overexposed in the ground lose a lot of their taste, or carrots may go into secondary growth. With the onset of negative temperatures, the likelihood of carrot diseases increases.
These are the main reasons indicating how important it is to remove carrots from the garden at the optimal time. This is the only way to count on a high-quality harvest.
At the beginning of September, you need to seriously think about harvesting, choosing fine days and monitoring the moment the root crops are ready for harvesting.
Here are some signs that indicate it’s time to remove carrots from the garden:
- yellowing of the tops;
- the diameter of the carrot in the middle of the root is more than 1 cm;
- white thin roots along the entire length of the carrot;
- Longitudinal cracks on root crops indicate late harvest.
This is interesting: How to find out who is gnawing carrots in the ground
Note! Nutrients and vitamins accumulate in root vegetables mainly a month before harvesting, when the average daily air temperature drops to +4..6 degrees. Therefore, it is not correct to harvest before this period.
According to the lunar calendar 2021
Many gardeners are determined by the lunar calendar when to harvest carrots and beets for winter storage. It is recommended to dig up these root crops during the waning moon phase.
During this lunar cycle, the sap flow in the fruits slows down, and the growth of root crops is inhibited. It is during this period that the harvest should begin.
In 2021, it is advisable to dig up root crops on the following dates:
- July: 11-13, 30-31
- August: 1-2, 27-29
- September: 4-5, 12-14, 21-23, 24-28
- October: 1-5, 10-13
Unfavorable days:
- September 1-3:
- 6, 26-28 October:
It is strictly not recommended to harvest beets or carrots when the moon is in the waxing phase or during the full moon, since at this time intense sap flow occurs inside the root crops and they are in the active growth phase.
Approximate time for carrot harvesting in the Urals
In the Urals and in regions with a similar climate, they usually start digging carrots for storage in mid-August. Cleaning may take until mid-September. While in the ground, carrots only gain nutrients and vitamins. However, it is necessary to prevent the vegetable from being frozen.
If we are talking about early ripening varieties, then such carrots can be dug up in early August. Ripe carrots are dug up indiscriminately.
In the free space, gardeners will be able to grow head lettuces, bush beans, as well as cabbage - kohlrabi or broccoli.
You can choose the right time to harvest carrots based on the ripening dates indicated by the manufacturer on the package of seeds. Also, a clear sign that carrots have reached technical maturity will be yellowing of the lower leaves of the tops.
The fact is that with a decrease in air temperature, there is an outflow of juices and substances from the green parts of the plant to the underground. In a short period from mid to late August, the vegetable can increase up to forty percent of its mass.
If the weather forecast in the Urals does not promise prolonged rains and a strong drop in air temperature, then you can postpone harvesting in order to harvest the maximum amount of carrots.
To understand that the carrots are ready for harvesting, you can dig up one or two and evaluate them. Correct carrots will be covered with small roots that look like strings.
Carrots left in the ground longer than expected will crack and become unsuitable for storing for the winter.
Are carrots afraid of spring frosts? Why are spring frosts dangerous?
The weather in spring is very changeable, despite the warm weather during the day, frosts can occur at night or in the morning, which are much more dangerous than winter frosts.
In winter, plants are dormant and can easily cope with low temperatures. In spring, vegetation wakes up: young shoots, leaves, buds, flowers, ovaries appear, which can die from sudden spring (return) frosts.
In this article we will look at what kind of frosts can happen and when to expect them, which plants are afraid of low temperatures and how to protect them.
Types of frost
- Radiation frosts are typical for the night time and appear as a result of the passage of an anticyclone, when the soil is greatly cooled due to effective radiation.
- Advective frosts are characteristic of the second half of May; they appear as a result of the movement of air masses with the arrival of Arctic air.
- Combined frosts are considered the most dangerous; with such frosts, air humidity becomes low, and the weather is windless and clear, which contributes to the formation of frosts.
How to find out if there will be frost
Frosts most often occur if:
- at 8 o’clock in the evening the air temperature begins to drop sharply or does not exceed 2 degrees Celsius,
- the sky is clear, the weather is calm and dry,
- There is an increase in atmospheric pressure.
If in the evening the weather is windy and humid, and there are clouds in the sky, then there is nothing to worry about; at night the air temperature will not drop to negative levels.
Which plants are afraid of spring frosts?
The more developed the buds of the plant, the more severe the damage will be:
- blossoming buds die at a temperature of – 3.5 degrees,
- buds die at – 3 degrees,
- a blossoming flower cannot withstand -2 degrees,
- a flower that has already faded dies at a temperature of -1.5 degrees,
- the ovary dies at – 1 degree.
Heat-loving vegetables, garden flowers, melons, strawberries, fruit trees and shrubs suffer the most from frost. At a temperature of -1-2 degrees they stop growing and may even die.
Greens and carrots do not need additional protection from light frosts, because... they can withstand cold temperatures down to -7 degrees. Raspberries and blackberries almost do not suffer from spring frosts, because... They bloom relatively late.
Ways to protect against spring frosts
The following protection methods will help reduce the negative effects of frost, minimize plant death and reduced yields:
Correct location
For plants that are more susceptible to frost, it is necessary to select appropriate growing locations:
- gentle slopes or relief hills, because the cold air quickly goes down from them,
- Places near large bodies of water reduce the negative impact of frost on garden plants.
If all the places in your summer cottage are unfavorable and stagnation of cold air forms on them, select frost-resistant varieties and types of plants.
Of the fruit trees, for example, these are apple trees (Grushovka Moskovskaya, Cinnamon Striped, Welsey, Antonovka vulgaris, Anise, Sharapai) and pears (Bessemyanka, Tonkovetka, Autumn Bergamot).
Smoke
The smoke method involves placing several fires on the leeward side of the site at a distance of 3-4 meters from each other. When burning there should be no open flame; it is important to create smoke that will envelop vegetation and trees.
You can set fire to any garden waste - dry branches, straw, leaves, manure, tops, etc. To prevent the fire from going out in the middle of the night, it must be 1.5 meters wide and 0.5 meters high.
This method increases the air temperature by several degrees, so it is effective only in frosts down to -4 degrees.
Sprinkling
This method is effective in frosts down to – 7 degrees. Watering the plants is carried out late at night, several hours before the expected frost. For irrigation, you can use a sprinkler irrigation system or a regular hose with a nozzle.
At low temperatures, moisture evaporates and warms the air, so the frost does not fall to the ground. A transparent film, which must be laid under the crown of trees or around plantings after watering, will help to enhance the effect of moisture evaporation. Immediately before frost, the film is removed and warm steam rises, protecting the plants from frost.
Covering material
The simplest and most popular method, because... covering material perfectly protects plants from frost.
As a shelter from spring frosts you can use: plastic film, glass or cut plastic bottles, spunbond, burlap, lutrasil or agrospan.
The main thing is to put on the cover so that the plants do not touch the material.
Depending on the variety
Groups of varieties have different lengths of the growing season and, accordingly, ripen at different times.
Based on ripening time, carrots are divided into:
- early;
- mid-season;
- late ripening.
The early varieties are harvested first, and the later ones are stored before the onset of frost. If you have early varieties of orange root crops growing on your site, they can be harvested starting in July. These carrots are not intended for storage - they are consumed fresh.
Mid-season varieties are ready for harvesting approximately 3 months after sowing, and this falls in August-early September.
Late varieties ripen after 4-5 months from the date of sowing; they have good keeping quality. The harvest time for late carrots falls in September-October. Only medium and late varieties of carrots are suitable for winter storage.
Harvesting time for early varieties
Early carrots are planted to produce products rich in vitamins at the earliest possible date. Harvesting is carried out in bunches already in mid-summer, after 60-70 days of growing season.
This is interesting: Carrots for storage for the winter: how to trim and prepare correctly?
If, out of ignorance, you miss the moment of harvesting such carrots, then its roots will crack right in the soil and lose their juiciness. We harvest carrots into bunches when the diameter of the root crops reaches 1-2 cm.
Important! When selectively harvesting carrots into bunches, bury the resulting depressions after removing individual root crops. Otherwise, you will create excellent conditions for the appearance of carrot flies.
When to remove mid-early carrots from the garden for storage
If mid-early carrot varieties grow on your site, you should keep in mind that their growing season lasts from 80 to 110 days. When scheduling cleaning times, you must adhere to these data.
The second sign is yellowing of the lower leaves of the plant. If harvesting is delayed, the pulp of root vegetables becomes loose and the taste decreases.
There is an opinion that you should start harvesting until all the carrot leaves turn yellow. However, this is a big mistake. If all the leaves of a plant are yellow, this indicates that it is affected by diseases, and not its maturity.
When to harvest late-ripening carrots
Late ripening varieties include those that have a growing season of more than 110 days. These varieties are also called autumn varieties and they begin harvesting in September.
It is in the fall that carrots accumulate vitamins and minerals in significant quantities. The cleaning day should be sunny and without rain. It is not recommended to keep carrots in the ground before frost. In this case, root crops may become infected with gray rot, which during storage will destroy the entire crop.
But cleaning too early is also not suitable. A large temperature difference between the basement and the outside environment can have a detrimental effect on the safety of the crop. If the harvest has already passed, and the air temperature remains above 20 degrees, then there is no need to rush to place the carrots for storage in the cellar, but keep them for some time in the shade, under a canopy.
Late carrots should be harvested for storage for the winter when the air temperature drops to 4 degrees Celsius and the weather is favorable and without rain.
We focus on weather conditions
According to folk wisdom, root vegetables need to be dug up before Kornilov Day (September 26), since after this the root does not grow, but only freezes. But if autumn is cold and rainy, it is better to harvest earlier, since the fruits will not grow in such weather and may begin to rot. To harvest the crop, you must choose a day without rain so that the soil in the beds is dry.
Carrots do not grow at temperatures of +4 degrees and below. Therefore, you should focus on weather conditions and dig up root crops earlier in cold autumn.
You need to have time to remove the carrots from the garden before the onset of frost, which in some regions occurs already in September, while in others it is still warm in October.
Varieties of carrots to be stored
Long-term varieties with improved cold resistance and adapted to unfavorable climates are suitable for storage in the ground. You should focus on the ripening period of the root crop, the content of carotene, and sucrose.
Such varieties will be well preserved in a garden bed or in an earthen pit until the next sowing season.:
- "Nantes" ("Nantes Semko F1", "Nantes 4").
- "Moscow Winter".
- "Incomparable."
- "Chantenay."
- "Autumn Cascade".
- "Cardinal".
- "Losinoostrovskaya-13".
- "Grossa".
- "Favorite."
- "Vorobevskaya".
When selecting carrot seeds for growing for storage in the ground, you need to take into account the characteristics of the area. Many zoned varieties are bred specifically for certain climatic zones.
Preparing carrots for harvesting
In order for beets and carrots to be stored for a long time and to be juicy and tasty, you need to prepare for harvesting in advance.
- From mid-summer, root crops are not fed with nitrogen fertilizers, but only with potassium and phosphorus.
- If there was little rain in the summer, two weeks before harvesting you need to water the beds thoroughly for the last time. After this, there is no need to water them, otherwise the vegetables will become watery and crack.
General rules for harvesting carrots
When starting to harvest, do not forget to adhere to the general rules.
- They begin to dig before the first frost: from September 15 to mid-October. If a vegetable has grown in a bed consisting mainly of sand and peat, then it is left in it for the winter.
- 30 days before the start of harvesting, stop watering and do not apply fertilizer.
- Large root crops do not store well, so you need to have time to remove them.
- It is not recommended to clean in wet weather. It's better to wait for dry days.
- Dig it out using a garden fork or shovel. The main thing is not to damage the fetus.
This is interesting: The best carrot salad recipes for the winter: simple and unusual
What crops are not afraid of frost. How to save garden crops from autumn frosts?
This picture, alas, is commonplace for Ural gardeners. Photo: Alexey Kunilov
Look, frosts are about to begin, first at night, and then during the day. It happens that they happen completely inopportunely, when not all the harvest has yet been harvested. What to do if the thermometer suddenly creeps down?
We must remember that there are crops that are immune to frost, and there are also those that are especially sensitive to them. For example, raspberries, pears, apples, beets, zucchini, pumpkin. They need to be removed first. If you didn’t have time, it doesn’t matter, these crops, damaged by frost, of course, will not be stored, but they can be safely used for preparations: raspberries, apples, pears for jam, beets can be pickled, and the pumpkin can simply be covered with something.
But carrots, parsley and cabbage are not afraid of frost. In general, some people leave carrots in the ground for the winter. And you don’t have to harvest cabbage until minus eight degrees. It will only be better for it - it will cool down before being stored for the winter.
The director of the Ural School of Horticulture and Horticulture, Svetlana Ryzhkova, has her own recipes for saving from frost and preparing plants for winter:
– I definitely cover my climbing rose with spruce branches. I put one branch on the ground, bend the rose on it, and put another branch on top. And I’ll press it down with something so that the wind doesn’t blow it up. The spruce branches also protect garden strawberries well. I close the climatis with a wooden box. Some gardeners cover their plants with straw, but I don’t recommend it - they will get mice. I also don’t like covering material, the plants can prop themselves under it, and in general I prefer natural materials rather than artificial ones. I sprinkle greens, for example, root parsley, with peat. I add sawdust under the currant and gooseberry bushes for the winter; you only need to take old sawdust and add urea, because sawdust pulls nitrogen out of the soil, and it is necessary for the normal development of plants. I wrap fruit trees with some synthetic material to a height where the branches begin to diverge, maybe with old tights, but not black ones - the sun can warm the tree, and then it’s cold again, trees don’t need such changes. Here we must also remember that when snow falls, it should not be higher than 30–40 centimeters around the plum tree. If it’s more, rake it off. The plum tree has an early growing season, and if there are temperature changes in the spring, its bark may peel off and the tree may die.
A special topic is planting “before winter”, this is also preparation for it. I’ve already planted the garlic, but the onion sets should be planted when the ground freezes slightly. Carrots should be planted at the same time, but with dry seeds, not soaked, otherwise they will immediately begin to grow. With this option, all the seeds will be hardened by cold, this is called stratification, and you will have an excellent harvest...
Interestingly, flowers that are thought to be killed by frost can sometimes be saved. So, what to do if frost hits at night and some flowers wilt. The main principle of autumn resuscitation is to do no harm. Flower growers often confuse autumn with spring and begin to carry out the same activities as during the return of spring frosts. What processes occur in a frozen flower?
Let's consider a typical rescue algorithm using dahlias as an example. Leaves tolerate short-term frosts down to -1°C, stems - up to -2°C. At a temperature of -5°C, almost the entire above-ground part of the plant dies, but the roots still continue to supply the stems and leaves with nutrients. The juice that they “pump” accumulates in the lower part of the plant and can cause rotting of the root collar or the entire tuber. To save dahlias, immediately after the first autumn frosts, cut the shoots to 15–20 cm, dig up the tubers, clear them of soil and treat them with any fungicide (for example, Maxim). Then dry the tubers in a cool place and store until spring.
In autumn, you should not water the plants with warm water, fumigate them with smoke, put fresh manure around the plants to raise the soil temperature, or spray them with a solution of Epin or Zircon.
To the point
Is it possible to predict autumn frosts yourself? Of course. In addition to messages on radio and television, nature itself gives clues - if by 19–20 pm the thermometer is approaching 1–2°C, then at night the temperature will definitely drop. At the same time, it will be coldest closer to dawn.
Cloudless skies, lack of wind and precipitation also warn of imminent frosts. Before frost, the dew disappears and the air becomes dry.
How to properly store carrots?
Before you start harvesting, you need to decide where to store the carrots. To keep the fruit as long as possible, you need to choose a dry, dark, ventilated place. In addition, there must be an appropriate temperature regime.
You can store carrots:
- in a plastic bag - but in order to prevent moisture from collecting in it, it is necessary to make a large number of holes. Air will circulate inside the bag, so the fruit will not rot;
- If you choose a box as a storage location, then the crop that has been dried in advance is placed in it. Vegetables are laid in rows and then covered with sand;
- storage in a pit - the depth of the pit should not be more than 30 centimeters. Sand is placed at the bottom, and after the carrots are placed there, the surface is covered with leaves.
The sections of this article discussed when to harvest carrots from the garden, how to do it correctly, and how you can preserve your harvest until spring. By following all the simple rules, you can pamper yourself with fresh carrots throughout the entire cold period and even longer, almost until the new harvest.
Conditions for storing carrots in winter
The shelf life declared by the breeders is guaranteed if, after timely harvesting and high-quality preparation, the fruits are provided with appropriate conditions. Wherever and in whatever way the crop is stored, a combination of three criteria is necessary:
- Temperature. It should not be below 2-3°C and above 10°C.
- Humidity. The optimal option is 90-95%.
- Ventilation. The rooms are quite natural. When packaged, nothing should interfere with the “breathing” of the fruit.
When arranging the harvest for the winter, they take care of cleanliness and infection safety:
- Basements are treated with checkers and whitened with lime. If there are traces of fungus or mold, add copper sulfate.
- Containers and containers are also wiped and ventilated.
- Packages or sacks not used are washed with soap and dried.
A gardener who pays as much attention to storing carrots as growing them will reap the benefits until the beginning of next summer.
