Potatoes are the most common vegetable that is cultivated not only in the fields, but also in personal plots. So that you can eat the fruits of your labor throughout the winter, you need to familiarize yourself with the rules for storing root crops. In this article, I will tell you what conditions are optimal for keeping potatoes in winter.
Required optimum conditions
To prevent the potatoes from losing their taste and becoming lethargic, I store them in a well-ventilated area. It is important to ensure the correct humidity and temperature readings.
Temperature regime
It is desirable that the temperature in the storage be in the range from +1 to +3 degrees. If it is higher, the roots will begin to sprout, they will become soft and unusable.
When the temperature drops, the starch inside the root vegetables turns into sugar. That is why you can sometimes feel the sweetish aftertaste of potatoes in dishes.
If the temperature drops to -2 degrees, the crop freezes completely. It is undesirable to use it for cooking.
Humidity
With excessive moisture, the crop deteriorates quite quickly. The process is accelerated when there is insufficient air access to the room.
If it is not possible to provide good ventilation for the potatoes in the cellar, it is better to store them in the garage. With high humidity, you will have to take measures to combat fungal infections and rot. In this case, the harvest will not be able to save until spring.
The most suitable moisture content is considered to be 75-80%. These are optimal conditions that ensure the preservation of the taste characteristics of the vegetable, vitamins and microelements.
How to prepare potatoes for winter storage
Before storing vegetables, set the appropriate temperature in large storage areas. By this time, in root crops, biochemical processes cease.
I prepare potatoes for storage as follows:
- I manually clean the tubers from the remnants of the earth.
- I dry them. To do this, after digging, I spread them in one layer under some kind of canopy. The tubers should not be exposed to sunlight.
- Sorting. Tubers with mechanical damage, with rotten parts and remove diseased ones.
I leave tubers damaged by the tool during digging for 10 days in a dry room. If rot does not appear on them during this time, they can be sent for storage with the rest of the harvest.
Room preparation
I prepare the storage room in advance. The cellar must be protected from freezing and contact with the external environment.
I insulate the hatch with some kind of thermal insulation. I usually use Styrofoam. To protect against excess moisture, I place containers with quicklime in the corners of the cellar.
Before loading vegetables, the room should be well ventilated and protected from fungi and parasites. For processing, you can use lime whitewash or sulfur checkers.
What to do if it freezes?
If the potatoes are frozen in the garden, they need to be dug up and sorted out. Perhaps it will be possible to save at least part of the crop. Vegetables that have frozen during storage also need to be sorted out to determine the extent of damage.
Slightly frozen tubers, which remain white when cut, can be stored further and eaten. But their taste will already be slightly sweet.
If the potatoes are very cold, then after thawing, they will quickly begin to rot. These tubers are best used for animal feed.
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