Carrots consist of two parts: a juicy root crop and green mass, which ensures the process of photosynthesis. Many gardeners wonder whether it is necessary to trim the tops of carrots? If so, then when to remove the above-ground parts of the plant.
Carrot leaves are cut off only after collecting it from the garden. Removal of greenery must be carried out in accordance with certain rules so as not to damage the root crop.
Important! Under no circumstances should you trim the tops when carrots are growing in the garden. If you do this, the roots will begin to wither or rot.
Before cutting the tops, you need to dig up the vegetables and dry them. If they are too deep in the ground, you can wash and dry them for several days so that the moisture completely evaporates.
Pruning is necessary so that the root crops do not dry out due to the fact that the green mass is taken away nutrients and moisture, or did not rot.
The technology for removing tops depends on their shelf life and purpose of use:
- If you cut it 2 centimeters higher from the head, the carrots will be stored for up to three months. This technology is used for planting in the ground to obtain seed material;
- if you cut the tops 2 millimeters higher from the head, the germination process will be stopped and the root crop will be completely preserved for up to 6 months.
The carrot harvest occurs at the end of September, beginning of October, so pruning of the green part of the plant occurs at this time.
Pruning rules
By following the basic rules for cutting carrot tops, the vegetable will last until the next harvest:
- The tops should be trimmed on the same day that the root crops were collected from the garden. Do not leave vegetables sitting for too long, as they may wilt.
- Before pruning, clean the fruits from the soil and dry them for several hours.
- Greens need to be cut sharp knife. Under no circumstances should you tear off the tops with your hands or twist them.
- Sprinkle the cut with chalk so that no fungi or microorganisms that cause rotting get there.
- After trimming, the vegetables are placed in boxes, sprinkled with sand. To the cellar or basement carrots are harvested fourteen days after harvest. During this time, the skin should completely harden and if there are slightly rotten vegetables, you can immediately throw them away without storing them.
Where can you use carrot tops?
Juicy carrot stems are an excellent ingredient for various dishes and healing infusions for diseases, but not everyone realizes this. Everyone is accustomed to the fact that tops are waste.
Meanwhile, the green mass can be used:
For the preparation of medicinal folk remedies:
- from hemorrhoids. To treat the disease you need to make tea. Chop green stems (fresh or dried), place one teaspoon in a cup and pour boiling water over it. Insist for half an hour. You should drink no more than one cup per day. The course of treatment is 2 months;
- for allergic rashes, dermatitis. Place 2 tablespoons of chopped tops in a small container, add boiling water, leave for several hours. Make lotions with the resulting infusion.
Important! Before using the tops as a treatment, consult your doctor.
In cooking. The stems are used in the preparation of various soups, casseroles, and for pickling other vegetables. Greens can be dried, placed in plastic bags and store in freezer. To use, choose only green branches, without the slightest deformation.
Trimming the tops is a mandatory process before storing vegetables. There is no need to throw it away, as it may be useful to you.
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How to prepare carrots for winter storage? The carrots must be harvested on time, that is until the first frost. Weeding before harvesting is done if the bed is heavily overgrown with weeds. An unripe vegetable is not as healthy as fully ripe. And overexposure to it in the garden is fraught with excessive accumulation of sugars and it is also more often exposed to attacks by mice and insects.
Read about it on our website. When harvesting carrots sort by the size of root crops and their damage.
Looking around every carrot for rot and the presence of holes in it from the introduction of harmful insects.
Root crops are dug up with a shovel and carefully. Removing soil particles from them by hitting each other leads to cracking. How to properly trim carrots for winter storage?
The tops are cut to the head of the vegetable, and twice. The first time its leaves are removed, and the second time it is cut below the upper edge of the head. by 1 cm. This will prevent germination in winter and wilting.
How to trim carrots for storage - photo:
How to properly trim beets and carrots for storage? The carrots intended for seeds, the tops are left long up to 2 cm. You can wash the root crop only if its head is heavily contaminated with wet soil. When digging it out of sandy soil, just shake off the dirt. Read more on our website.
Is it possible to wash carrots for storage for the winter? Carrot washing is done on harvest day warm water without soap and other substances, then it is dried before storing for winter in the air under a canopy and then maintained at a temperature from 10 to 14 degrees Celsius heat. The carrots remain in this “quarantine” for 7 to 10 days, depending on air humidity. After it, it is again sorted by the presence of damage.
How to trim carrot tops for storage? An experienced gardener will share her method of preparing carrots for storage with you in this video:
Processing methods
How to process carrots for storage? Do I need to wash carrots before storing them? There are several ways to store carrots. Before this, the vegetable is processed potassium permanganate solution.
White rot, which affects fruits, spreads quickly when they are stored in one container, this differs from black rot, which is not transmitted from root crop to root crop.
Treatment of pure carrots with potassium permanganate is carried out in a large container (basin or bath). Getting ready dark purple solution and poured onto the vegetables placed there. The exposure lasts up to 2 hours, then the carrots are removed and dried on thick fabric or tarpaulin.
This method of treatment is only effective against damage to root crops by white rot and pests. Possibility of fruit spoilage black rot remains. The procedure for processing carrots before storing them for winter storage is as follows:
Tips for preparing root vegetables for storage in this video:
Storage rules
How to store carrots?
Carrots intended for long-term storage need a week before harvesting. active watering. This will give it more ripeness.
The most acceptable temperature for storing washed carrots in winter - from 0 to +1 degrees Celsius. Above this limit, germination begins. In the garden, vegetables are damaged even at minus 2 degrees Celsius. You can learn about opportunities in the garden from our article.
In a storage room (cellar, basement), you can place carrots in stacks (piles) without using containers, sprinkling the rows with sand. Define sand moisture Simply squeeze it in your palm, the lump should not crumble. There are carrots in stacks heads out. Read about it on our website.
Carrots are a root vegetable rich in vitamins and easy to grow. Not only the vegetable itself has beneficial properties, but also its tops. But do they cut off the tops of carrots at all? Is it possible to trim the tops of carrots while the vegetable is growing? And when can you trim the tops of carrots? Let's find answers to these questions.
In front of everyone beneficial properties green root vegetable, it should be eaten with caution. If you are allergic to carrots or essential oils contained in its stems and leaves, stomach ulcers or inflammation of the large intestine, it is better to refrain from adding carrot “tops” to your diet. It is not recommended to consume these greens for pregnant women, as they increase the tone of the uterus and can cause miscarriage.
Is it possible to cut off the tops of carrots while they are still growing? It is not recommended to trim carrots while they are growing. Like the greens of any plant, carrot tops are involved in the process of photosynthesis. If you cut off the green stems before harvest, the carrots will stop growing and simply rot in the ground. Also, root vegetables with greens cut before ripeness lose their taste and are no longer saturated with useful microelements. If you notice that a vegetable is larger than its neighbors, you should not panic and try to cut everything off to reduce the growth rate - large tops will not have a bad effect on carrots, but cutting them can only do harm.
When to cut
When can you cut carrot tops? When you prepare a root vegetable for storage for the winter, cutting off its stems is not only possible, but necessary. If they are left, the rotting process will begin very quickly. Without stems, cut correctly on the day of harvest, the root crop itself will be stored longer, and it will better retain its taste. Are carrot tops cut in advance while they are still unharvested and in the ground?
Some gardeners begin trimming green leaves about a week before harvest, but it is better to leave everything as it is until harvest. Carrots, being in the ground without greenery, begin to grow it again. If you use a vegetable directly from the garden throughout the season and do not plan to store it, then it is not necessary to follow the pruning rules in this case.
Pruning rules
Pruning of greenery is carried out on the same day as the harvest. Before cutting, vegetables are dried and cleared of soil. If you are cutting greens with the root top, use a well-sharpened knife so that no stems remain on the surface, and apply chalk to the cut. The petioles left behind may begin to sprout and the harvest will be ruined.
Trimmed and prepared vegetables are stored in the cellar, stacked in boxes in layers with some space between each vegetable, and filling each layer with sand. Descent harvested into the cellar occurs only two weeks after collection. This way the skin will become quite rough, and during this time all the spoiled and unsuitable root vegetables will reveal themselves.
Cut tops can be used in cooking, dried or frozen for the winter. Some people use the branches for pickling and preservation. It does not keep in the refrigerator for a long time and dries out after a couple of days, so when fresh it is used immediately. Everything will wither even faster in plastic bags, so if you put the cut tops aside with plans to use them in soup or salad, it’s better to just tie them in a loose bundle. More mature greens will be bitter, but in combination with pepper, vinegar, ginger and garlic there will be much less bitterness.
For storage, choose only whole leaves that are not yellowed, limp or slimy, and free of mold. Dry the tops under sun rays Not recommended. You can store it both in glass containers and in canvas bags. The storage area should be dark and at room temperature. You can freeze both in plastic containers and in plastic bags.
Video “Recipes for treating carrot tops”
In this video you will hear useful tips on the use of carrot tops.
Often, when growing beets and carrots, gardeners are faced with the question of when to remove root crops from the beds and how to properly store them so that they can be preserved until spring. This issue is connected with the fact that gardeners are afraid to miss the required dates for harvesting fruits.
In the autumn, during the harvesting period of root crops, it begins to rain in some regions of Russia, which makes harvesting the fruits difficult. In addition, such collected vegetables do not keep well. At the same time, collecting vegetables ahead of schedule, they don’t have time to accumulate everything useful material, which are concentrated during the ripening period of root crops. By understanding the timing, you can protect the harvest and preserve it for several months.
When to dig beets and carrots for storage, timing
The harvest time for beets and carrots directly depends on the climatic characteristics of the region. In addition, the timing is determined by counting the time after the appearance of the first shoots, sown root crops or the time of planting their seedlings. By identifying them, you can accurately harvest exactly when you need it.
In the Moscow region, beets and carrots are dug from mid-August until early October. The harvest time is determined by the degree of ripeness of the root crops. Until this time, vegetables are actively growing, becoming saturated with vitamins even at an air temperature of 6-8 degrees Celsius. Harvesting at 1-3 degrees Celsius is not dangerous for carrots, since the soil in which the plants grow does not allow them to freeze.
Beets are harvested from the garden beds before the first frost, as they are afraid of the cold.
Harvesting is carried out on a dry, sunny day so that the root crops can dry in the fresh air for 2 hours. If the harvest is harvested after precipitation (in damp soil), then the vegetables should be allowed to dry under a canopy.
In the Middle Zone
Harvesting root crops in Middle Zone Russia fluctuates due to the time of sowing seeds or planting vegetable seedlings. Ripe vegetables are harvested from the beds from late August to early October.
The time for harvesting vegetables in the Urals also depends on the period of their planting. For this region, early and mid-season trees are planted. early varieties. Fully ripened beets and carrots are harvested from late August to late September.
In Siberia
In Siberia, early varieties of beets and carrots with a growing season of 80-110 days are most often grown. When using mid-season and late varieties, plants are grown by seedlings rather than seeds. In both cases, the fruits are collected in August - September.
For long-term storage of beets and carrots, root vegetables are harvested when the Moon is in earth, fire and air signs, - the crop rots less. You can't dig up vegetables when the Moon is in water signs– the harvest is not preserved.
It is better to remove vegetables for winter storage:
- On the waning Moon in the signs of Capricorn, Taurus, Gemini;
- on the waxing Moon in the signs of Virgo and Capricorn.
It is not advisable to collect vegetables on the waning Moon in the sign of Cancer, Pisces, Scorpio; they will be watery and quickly spoil.
Favorable days for harvesting beets and carrots:
- 1-4,7, 12-13, 21-23, 30-31 August,
- 1-4, 7-8, 10-12, 15-19, 27-30 September,
- October 1, 4-5, 15-16.
Unfavorable days
- August 8-9,
- September 5-6,
- October 2-3.
Beets are afraid of the cold and are harvested before the first frost. Frozen fruits do not have a shelf life and quickly deteriorate, becoming affected by gray rot. It is collected approximately a week before the carrots are harvested.
It is best to harvest carrots after the first frost or even the melting of the first snow. These carrots are better preserved because they are cooler. Harvested carrots store worse in warm weather and require pre-cooling before storing them for winter.
If growths appear on the tops of root vegetables, this is a clear sign that the vegetables need to be dug up and sent for storage. Yellowing of the tops from below indicates that the fruits are also ready to be collected and sent for storage.
The best method for testing for maturity before harvesting is to dig up one carrot and beet at a time to ensure they are ripe. If dug up vegetables have lateral growths, this means that they are ready to release seeds. This sign indicates that the vegetable crop needs to be harvested as quickly as possible. Overexposed carrots in the soil have a bitter taste, and beets become woody and lose their taste.
It is best to harvest the ripe crop by hand. If the soil is hard, then use a shovel or pitchfork.
The harvest of beets and carrots depends on the period of their planting.
Medium varieties ripen in 105-120 days. They have better preservation abilities than early varieties.
Late varieties ripen for 130 and have very good shelf life. At proper conditions they are stored until spring.
When collecting fruits, the tip of the shovel is carefully driven into the ground on the side of the row, and when you lightly press it, the soil rises and the plant is pulled out by the tops with your hands. Vegetables are stacked along the row.
After harvesting, the fruits are left in the garden in direct sunlight to dry. After drying in the sun, drying of vegetables continues in a cool, ventilated room
The tops are removed immediately after digging up the crop. The tops are separated from the carrots by hand using the twisting method.
The tops of beets are cut off using a knife or pruning shears at a height of 1-2 centimeters from the fruit.
The lateral roots of vegetables are cut off completely. The main root is cut to 1/3 of the length with a knife.
Before storing vegetables, the cuttings must have time to cork, otherwise the plants will begin to rot.
The collected fruits are pre-cooled in a cool room before storing. dark place or sprinkled with sifted soil and left under a canopy until the air temperature drops to 4-5 degrees Celsius. Those left under a canopy turn over from side to side every 2 days. You can’t store them this way for a long time!
Shelf life of carrots and beets room temperature without preliminary preparation is 1 week, in the refrigerator for 1 month, then it withers and spoils.
At home, vegetables can be stored for no more than 3 months, depending on the variety. Moreover, early varieties are stored only in the refrigerator, and middle and late varieties placed in boxes with wet sand and sawdust. If there is not enough space, boxes are placed one on top of the other, away from heating devices and covered with foam.
In order for the harvested crop to be stored longer, it is sent to a cool, ventilated and dry place. A cellar, basement or glazed balcony or loggia is suitable for these purposes. Vegetable storage temperature winter period should be 0-3 degrees Celsius. Air humidity should be 90%.
Before storing vegetables, all root vegetables are sorted and sorted. Cut and damaged vegetables are set aside. Spoiled root vegetables are the first to be eaten or grated and frozen.
Small fruits are also left for food. If there are a lot of them, then the box with them is placed on top to make it more convenient to take them first.
All fruits are arranged according to size, otherwise smaller ones will lead to spoilage of larger vegetables.
Fruits are prepared for storage in several ways:
- When storing vegetables in the refrigerator, use plastic bags with holes for condensate outlet. Vegetables are stored for 1 month.
- Vacuum bags or containers are used to store vegetables. In this case, the beets and carrots are washed and the remaining tops are removed. Each vegetable is dipped in a strong saline solution and placed in a bag (container). Vegetables are stored in the refrigerator for 1-1.5 months.
- If there is a small amount of fruit, the vegetables are individually wrapped in foil. This helps the root crops not to come into contact with each other, retaining moisture and nutrients for 3 months.
- At home, root vegetables are placed in a wooden box or box and layered with fern leaves or onion skins. The leaves of this plant and the husk do not allow bacteria to develop due to their fungicidal properties. The container with fruits is placed near the hallway or near the balcony door.
- When stored in a basement, cellar or glazed balcony, vegetables, when laid out in layers in boxes, are poured river sand or sawdust. To protect against pests, boxes with root vegetables are placed on shelves.
- In the basement or cellar a large number of vegetables are stored in stacks, with their heads up in wet sand.
- Beets and carrots are well stored in clay casings. To do this, vegetables are placed in a water-clay mixture for 2-3 minutes. After this, they are laid out to dry and sent for storage. This method is suitable for storage both in storage facilities and at home, next to the balcony or front door.
- You can also use chalk for storage. When wet coating vegetables, the fruits are dipped into a solution of chalk and water, thoroughly dried and stored.
- When dry coating, each root crop is sprinkled with powdered chalk, placed in a storage container and sent to the basement or cellar.
- Instead of chalk you can use wood ash. The preparation of vegetables is similar to dry coating.
- Lime solution protects root vegetables from spoilage and preserves nutrients. Vegetables are dipped into mortar. Lime is diluted with water (1 kilogram per 30 liters of water). The mixture is stirred. Vegetables are dipped into the solution, then dried in the shade for 1-2 days. The film that then forms on the fruits preserves them, preventing rot and disease from spreading.
- Beets can also be stored on top of potatoes. It gives excess moisture to the beets, which it needs for long storage. These vegetables have similar storage conditions and are easy to store together. When condensation appears on the beets, they are covered with burlap or dry straw, which changes as it becomes moist.
Each gardener chooses his own method, which is more suitable for him.
- About a month before harvesting root crops, stop watering the beds with beets and carrots, otherwise the fruits will begin to crack.
- During the harvest sorting process, the juiciest-looking fruits are selected. They are sent for separate storage. In spring, the preserved fruits are planted for seed.
- To store the harvested crop for a long time, you need to choose the right varieties that store well and properly care for beets and carrots throughout their growth.
- Early varieties are not suitable for winter storage.
- Different varieties of beets and carrots are stored in different boxes. This allows you to extend the shelf life of root vegetables for a longer period.
- In addition, vegetables of different sizes are also placed in separate containers, since small fruits spoil faster than large ones.
- The humidity of sand for filling beets and carrots should be at the level of 50-65%.
- When covered with sand or sawdust, root crops are placed so that they do not touch each other. Sand (sawdust) sprinkles each laid out row of vegetables.
- The storage temperature of beets and carrots should be 1-3 degrees Celsius. More heat leads to crop damage.
- If the air during storage is colder, then the vegetables are covered with a layer of polystyrene foam.
- Vegetables are stored in basements in designated areas, fenced with clean, fresh boards.
Air circulation must be ensured in any storage facility. Air ventilation should be natural. Vegetables should be above the floor at a height of 5-10 centimeters or higher so that air can circulate from below. This allows you to constantly cool the fruits, preventing them from sweating and subsequently rotting. Clean boards are laid out on the floor, and wormwood is placed on them in a layer of 3 centimeters. Wormwood protects vegetables from mice.
Trimming carrots and beets before storage: video
Beets and carrots are a storehouse of vitamins. The safety of the fruit depends on proper harvesting. Gathering root vegetables required period, and by saving them, you can get healthy vegetables for first and second courses.
In addition to the most common garden crops, such as cucumbers, potatoes and tomatoes, there are also beets. Despite everything, it is often grown in gardens. This is justified by the fact that it does not require special attention and some self-care. But you still need to know certain nuances of such cultivation, for example, the rules for pruning beets. We will talk about how to prune beets for the winter later in the article.
When pruning beets, you need to know certain nuances
Sorting
The sorting process refers exclusively to the final stage of plant preparation. Sorting is done before placing the beets for long-term storage. Typically this should be done in four separate piles. The first group includes small fruits, the second group includes medium-sized fruits, the third group includes large fruits, and the fourth group includes fruits that have some damage.
Experts note that medium-sized fruits perform quite well in storage. Therefore, first of all, it is necessary to use small fruits and large ones.
How to properly trim beets for storage
We will not consider in detail how to grow beets, since this process is simple, so the most important thing when caring for it is harvesting. You need to dig up fruits from the soil with maximum responsibility and care. Quite often, a crop suffers from a shovel and quickly becomes unusable. Those species that have been damaged in this way should be used in everyday life first.
When digging beets, it is necessary to remove the roots correctly
In addition to improper extraction of roots from the soil, serious harm can be caused to the plant if improper pruning beet tops. The greenery on the surface of the earth can be quite fluffy, or maybe quite sparse. But regardless of its type, pruning must be done correctly. Otherwise, the plant may be infected. This means that a fairly large number of pests and diseases can affect the fruit.
How to trim beets for winter storage
It is also necessary to know that for proper storage For such a crop, the greens must be cut off, leaving only a small part, which is equal to one centimeter. It is strictly forbidden to pick the tops with bare hands. As a rule, this leads to the fact that the root crop is pressed in certain places and its shelf life is significantly reduced. You need to remove the tops only with a well-sharpened knife. Such equipment must also be correct.
Trimming equipment must be correct
Requirements for a knife or pruning shears:
- the instrument must be clean;
- before direct work the blade must be washed;
- the knife must be sharp. This is to eliminate the possibility of ragged ends.
Treatment before storage
If you want to store such a product long time, then before sending it for storage, the fruit must be carefully processed. First, the crop is sorted. Next you need to inspect the beet tubers. From the entire harvest, you need to select those fruits that meet the following requirements:
- the fruit should be of medium size, approximately 10 cm in diameter;
- seemingly healthy;
- not damaged anywhere;
- without pronounced signs of morbidity.
Small or too large are not suitable for long-term storage
Small tubers and too large ones are not suitable for long-term storage.
When you select the necessary fruits, you need to carry out the following so-called manipulations with them:
- dry off a little excess moisture. This must be done in the sun;
- the drying process should last no more than four hours;
- Remove excess contamination.
And now your fruits are completely ready to go to the cellar. This place has it all necessary conditions for such storage. You need to understand that such a crop is difficult to grow, so you cannot make mistakes when caring for and harvesting.
Video: Pruning and storing beets
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