When to pick beets and carrots from the garden, especially the collection and storage of the harvest

Perhaps the most pleasant time in the work of a gardener or a gardener is harvesting.

When all the troubles are over, it remains only to collect the fruits of your labor so that you can enjoy them in the future.

However, many other questions arise here: "When exactly do beets and carrots are harvested?", "How to properly collect the roots?" or "How to store the harvest?". On each of them you will find the answer in this article.

Why not dig carrots and beets too early

When deciding when to pick carrots and beets from your garden, it is important to know that these root crops differ favorably from other crops by their cold resistance. This makes them able to successfully survive the cold, and if they also create a special substrate of peat and sand, then it will be possible to leave the vegetables in the ground for the whole winter.

Nevertheless, the technology of creating such a soil is not easy and will require you to have certain knowledge and skills, as well as suitable environmental conditions,Therefore, only the most experienced farmers resort to this method of storing vegetables.

Do not rush very early to dig up carrots and beets. Even with the arrival of autumn, in September, they still grow beautifully, so if you get not fully ripe root crops from the earth, they will be poorly stored and in the future they will lose all their taste properties. In addition, if the street is still warm enough and the earth did not have time to cool down, then abrupt movement of root crops from relatively warm soil to a cold basement will lead to significant losses during storage.

The optimal time for harvesting is considered to be a dry autumn day when the air temperature is between +4 ° C and -6 ° C (it is in these conditions that it is better to pick carrots and beets). If the air temperature rises above +15 ° C, there is a rapid accumulation in vegetables of dry matter, carotene, enzymes and sugars.

What factors affect the harvest of carrots and beets

Not only external signs of ripening, but also some other factors affect the time of harvesting beets and carrots. The most common of these include a variety of vegetables growing in your garden (early ripening,mid-season or varieties intended for winter storage), biological features of growing plants, the purpose of growing, the state of plants and, of course, weather conditions.

Taking into account all these features, and accurately determining the time when you need to dig beets or carrots, you can get a quality crop with a pleasant taste and a fairly attractive appearance. In addition, the time collected fruits will be better stored.

When to pick up beets and carrots from the garden, signs of full ripening of root crops

Since ancient times in Russia it was believed that the best time to collect carrots, beets and some other root crops, ends on October 13. After this date, the beds should remain completely clean and prepared for the winter season.

Such a rule has a certain meaning, because when the air temperature drops to + 4 ° C, the roots stop growing, and at -3 ° C temperature, there is a high risk of hitting them with gray rot, so digging carrots to then throw it out makes no sense .Modern gardeners, who harvest before the onset of sustainable autumn frosts, are also aware of this.

Of course, this rule is more concerned with late ripening varieties, but when digging up beets and carrots of medium varieties of ripening, you can easily calculate for yourself: for example, the full ripening period of carrots lasts from 80 to 110 days. Additional signs indicating the completion of the process of formation of root crops, are their yellowed lower leaves. Mid-season carrots should not be held in the ground, as this will only make it worse.

Gathering carrots with early ripening, as well as those root crops that were planted before winter, should be started in the middle of summer, using it to prepare fresh vitamin salads or simply eating fresh (it is very juicy and tasty) .

It is better to dig up any fruits before the onset of prolonged rains (in each region this period may differ).

Rules of harvesting carrots and beets in the garden

If you know exactly when to pick up carrots and beets - this, of course, is good, but you still need to understand exactly how carrots or other root vegetables are harvested. The success of further storage of the crop depends on the correctness of the harvest.

Experienced gardeners recommend to remove the roots by hand, using a shovel or pitchfork only in extreme cases, when there is not enough power to remove the carrots for storage, simply pulling it out of the ground. However, even in this case, it is necessary to try to undermine the soil very carefully, since garden tools can easily damage the crop, which will keep it worse and soon begin to rot.

The beet and carrot topper must be immediately removed so that it does not draw nutrients from the roots and they do not dry out. Leaves can only be left on a beam carrot, but in this case it is better to leave petioles no more than 2 cm. If in the latter case this part of the plant can be simply “unscrewed”, then when digging up beets, the tops are necessarily trimmed with scissors or shears.

It is noteworthy that some gardeners, by contrast, are advised to leave the greens along with the root crops in order for the nutrients to pass from the upper to the lower part. However, it has long been proven that everything goes strictly in the opposite order.

From the excavated crop, it is necessary to carefully wipe the lumps of soil with a dry cloth, and after the roots have dried a little in the garden under the autumn sun, they can be removed for storage.

In no case should you wash carrots or beets, scrape them with a knife or knock down the ground, because you only damage the vegetables and they will spoil before you have time to cook the borscht from the new crop. Before placing the root crops in a permanent storage place, it will be good to dry them in a cool room, so that they cool down a little after the warm earth and sun.

Features storage of root crops

When digging up beets and carrots for storage, we have already figured out, but you also need to know about the features of the storage process. The best place for wintering the harvested crop is the basement or cellar, since it is in such premises that the most suitable temperature is set for long-term storage. It is undesirable to leave the roots on the balcony, especially if it is not glazed, because in such conditions the harvest will freeze sooner or later, and all your work will be in vain.

In the cellar, you can make special shelves that will protect the vegetables from the attention of mice, but if you do not have rodents, then beets and carrots can be simply poured into ordinary boxes or bins. Root crops are often dipped in clay or sprinkled with sand, which prolongs their storage at temperatures up to +3 ° C, although with proper and timely harvest, all such vegetables are already well stored, without any additional processing.

If the humidity in the room chosen for storage is relatively low, it is possible to leave the roots in ordinary plastic bags, and in order not to suffer from moisture (sometimes it happens), all vegetables are poured with sawdust.

Having learned how to correctly determine the time when you can dig up beets and carrots for the winter, and also understanding how to harvest and process the crop, you can easily store the fruits in their fresh, original form for a long time. In this case, until the next harvest, you will always have on hand tasty and healthy vegetables from your own plot.