When to harvest carrots for the winter for long-term storage

Vegetables from your own garden are always much cleaner, more environmentally friendly than store vegetables. It is necessary to decide when to harvest carrots in advance so as not to overexpose vegetables and preserve their useful properties. It is not difficult to find out the right time for harvesting, you just need to take into account some of the nuances.

Basic Rules

When choosing the right time, you should rely on:

• weather;
• variety of carrots;
• growing region;
• the appearance of the plant.

The task of the gardener, if he wants to save the harvest, is to have time to collect the carrots before the first cold weather. It is advisable not to wait for the rainy season, from which the vegetable can rot and die. As a rule, if the root crop was planted with seeds from the package, it says when to remove the carrots from the garden for storage, depending on the time of planting.

Approximate terms:

When to harvest early carrots

These varieties mature by July if planted in May. It is harvested gradually, added to dishes immediately, and rarely stored in winter. Such carrots are thin and fragile; they lose their properties during storage. Root vegetables are mashed and juice is made from them. It is more convenient to store them ready-made. Early varieties are suitable for baby food and can be fed raw.

When to harvest mid and late carrots

After the onset of the first cool days, it is recommended to keep the roots in the ground for a few more days. The temperature difference has a beneficial effect on the immunity of vegetables. They store vitamins, become firm and juicy. After that, they can be stored longer.

Mid-season and late varieties can not be removed from the garden until mid-September - early October, if there is no severe frost. It is necessary to focus on the temperature in the atmosphere, if the roots are overexposed, they risk getting sick and rotting. The temperature on the thermometer should remain positive.

If you delay harvesting, the carrots will become lethargic and dry.

How to determine by external signs

If there was no seed package, then you will have to use the old folk methods.

There are several main signs by which you can understand when it is time to remove carrots from the garden for the winter:

1. The tops turn yellow. This is especially true of the lower leaves. They become spreading.
2. Take out a few copies to check. If they have reached the stated size, then it's time to harvest.
3. A sure sign of maturation is the appearance of additional lateral roots. This means that the carrots are ready to seed and are completely ready for harvesting.

Ready-made root crops can be simply harvested by manually pulling out the tops if the soil is loose. If the soil is oily, you will need a shovel to dig out vegetables.

If carrots are not removed from the garden in time, they lose their useful properties. Becomes dry, not edible.

Carrot readiness for harvesting by region

The terms of storage and harvesting in the regions of the country differ, you should also pay attention to this:

1. In the middle lane. In most cases, the collection takes place by mid-October. Start in September, after the 20th. To determine the exact timing of when to remove carrots from the garden in autumn, you need to wait for dry weather, without rain.
2. Ural. The sun in this region does not warm up for long, late varieties are almost never planted, they do not have time to grow.If planted towards the end of spring, harvest at the end of summer.
3. Siberia. Only varieties adapted to climatic conditions grow here. The root crop matures on average 100 days. Harvesting falls in late August - early September.
4. Leningrad region, Udmurtia, Nizhny Novgorod region. The early varieties are harvested in early August, the late ones at the end. You should focus on the weather conditions and the condition of the carrots. If it rained often in summer, then the dates are postponed to early or mid-September.

If the crop is harvested ahead of time, the root crop will not have time to absorb nutrients and vitamins. The carrots will not be sweet, they will become bland and bitter.

How to properly harvest carrots

Carrots need to be harvested correctly for the efforts to grow vegetables to be worthwhile. Then it can be stored for a long time.

How and when to harvest carrots, subtleties:

1. If collection is scheduled for the coming days, watering is stopped early. The best period to complete is 1-2 weeks before day X.
2. We must wait for the onset of dry weather, without rain. If carrots are pulled out of dry ground, they will last longer.
3. By lunar calendar the best harvest time is the waning moon.
4. If the carrots are medium-sized or small, they are pulled out without any tools at hand, right behind the tops. Larger specimens are taken out with a shovel so that they are not damaged.
5. Root crops after harvesting must remain intact. Otherwise, they will be attacked by microbes and will not last long.
6. After the carrots are removed, you must immediately cut the tops. Either leave 5 mm or remove completely, otherwise the fruits will become flabby over time. You can't cut off, cut with a knife.
7. If there is a lot of soil on the root crops, it must be dried and shaken off. After that, give them another day in the shade. After going through, remove unhealthy copies or damaged ones.
8. If the carrot is frozen, it is not recommended to leave it for storage. It will quickly deteriorate and will not retain any useful properties.

In order not to confuse the time of digging root crops for winter storage - remove it from the soil and try it. If the carrot is ripe and juicy, you can harvest it.

How are carrots stored in winter

In a private house, carrots are stored in the cellar during the winter - this is an ideal dark and cool place. Ventilation is required.

But not everyone has a cellar; in the apartment, orange root crops are stored like this:

1. Plastic bag. Dried carrots are placed in a bag and tied tightly. They make holes for ventilation and put them in the refrigerator.
2. Box. The carrots must be dry. They are laid in rows, covered with sand. In addition to sand, they use chalk chips, sawdust, and pine needles. There are modern substances that are used to sprinkle root crops in boxes for the winter: perlite, vermiculite.

Another storage option on the site is a pit. Root crops are placed there in even layers, covered with grass on top.

If you choose the perfect time to harvest your carrots, properly stacked root vegetables can be stored throughout the winter without losing their beneficial properties. To prevent them from freezing in the basement, the boxes should be placed at a height (on shelves). Some gardeners leave carrots planted for the winter. This is not the best storage method, only suitable for the Southern regions.

When to harvest carrots and how to store - video