When is it better to clean carrots so that it is perfectly mature and healthy? Some people prefer to leave it until the middle of autumn. After all, this vegetable is not afraid of the cold. It is resistant to it, and from about the end of summer until the end of September it accumulates nutrients and sugars.
Some prefer to leave it until the middle of autumn
There are factors that stipulate the timing of the collection of carrots. First of all, these are the varieties by which it is divided into:
- late-ripening;
- mid-term;
- early ripening.
Medium-ripening variety of carrots "Samson" 
Early ripening - is very juicy. Its fruits are long and thin. By July you can get a good harvest. If you overexpose the vegetable, it loses its taste and becomes cracked. This root is best used in salads and there is just so, because it is not suitable for cooking.
A little bit about secrets ...
This root is best used in salads and there is just so
Another sign, by which it is easy to determine when to remove carrots - the presence of small roots. If it is covered by them, then it's time to start harvesting. If not, you can wait another two weeks.
Srednespelaya - ripens in three to four months. This is from eighty to one hundred and ten days. With matured carrots of this kind, the lower leaves turn yellow. But, if they are completely turned yellow, then the carrots are "sick" and can not be eaten. If you dig out middle-ripened carrots after a period, it becomes stiff and tasteless.
Late ripening - can stay in the ground until the middle of September. This is the ideal time to harvest carrots. As soon as the temperature drops to four degrees, root growth stops.
At the very first frosts, the edible part is covered with a gray bloom. Until they come, the harvest must be harvested. Overexposed root crops are susceptible to various diseases. Very early collected carrots of medium and late varieties - very small, unsweet and without juice. It quickly fades and spoils during storage.
Beginner farmers are sometimes interested in when to start harvesting carrots and what the weather conditions should be at the same time:
- it should not be a rainy day, around the third week of September;
- the air temperature should be about 10 degrees, in fact being in the soil, the root crop can tolerate a low temperature.
- if the outside is already cold, then, getting from warm soil to a cold environment, carrots start to rot quickly.
Thus, the root crop gradually ceases to grow, but does not lose its taste qualities, but instead acquires sweetness. But harvesting the carrot later does not work. The root crop no longer receives growth material from the leaves.
As you can see the timing of the collection of carrots, they can fluctuate. Therefore, it is worthwhile to be careful when choosing a variety and to take into account the peculiarities of your climatic conditions. Choosing the right time to harvest carrots, you will get a rich and useful harvest.
Choosing the right time to harvest carrots, you will get a rich and healthy harvest
Secrets of digging out carrots
Did you know that it's important not only when digging out carrots, but how. You should learn to do it right to conserve vegetables.
The maturation of carrots is quite long. And gardeners always have a question, and when is it time to clean carrots from the beds? After all, the harvested harvest is the key to obtaining a quality vegetable that can lie throughout the winter.
It's time to harvest: what to focus on
Here are some useful tips:
· The optimal period for harvesting carrots planted in late spring - August 25 ... .25 September. According to the rules, she must "spend in the land" no less than eighty days. But the more carrots are removed, the longer it will be stored.
· It is necessary to monitor the weather. If the temperature on the street is about +8, then you can wait some more time, because the roots continue to actively accumulate nutrients. Remove carrots after the air temperature drops below +5. The first frost is not worth waiting for.
One of the signs that the carrots have to be removed is the yellowing of the lower leaves.
• Dig up the carrots. If there are small white roots on the root crops, then you can start harvesting.
· If, with a control digging, you get a carrot with a crack, then the harvest should be cleaned immediately.
Carrots must be removed before the pouring autumn rains begin. Otherwise, the roots will turn watery, and will not be stored very long.
For digging out carrots you can use both garden forks and a conventional shovel. In any case, you must dig carefully, so as not to damage root crops. Take the carrots out of the ground, holding them by the tops.
Dug up carrots must be spread on the surface of the earth in a single layer. So it can dry up.
The earth, which is stuck to the root crops, can not be removed with the help of a knife (scraping). It is not necessary and knocking them one on the other to knock the ground. So the thin skin of carrots gets damaged, and for a long time the vegetable can not be stored.
After harvesting, you need to remove the tops. Remember that left for even a few hours, it causes the wilting of root crops. That's why you need to immediately prune. The crop is cut off, retreating about a centimeter from the base. Then the slices are allowed to dry a little.
Before storing the carrots must be sorted. For storage, only unaffected and fully healthy root crops are suitable. The rest of the crop can be used for processing.
Shafransky V.G. | | 2015-08-24
Carrots so useful, the longer it remains on the bed, because it is in the autumn days, it intensively accumulates nutrients and vitamins. But, at the same time, it should be remembered that carrots, more than other vegetables, on how well the harvesting period is chosen, the magnitude, quality, and safety of root vegetables depend on the period of winter storage.
To solve this issue - it's time remove carrots or leave in the ground for another 10-15 days, you must dig one or more roots from the ground. If the carrot is overgrown with small roots, then it's time, otherwise the rodents will reach it before us.
Early ripe carrot
Early ripening carrots clean usually selectively as needed. At the same time, larger roots are first pulled out to improve the growth conditions of neighboring plants. At the same time, it is necessary to immediately fill the earth with all the voids formed after the pulled out plant to protect the "neighbors" in the garden from the carrot fly.
But many gardeners early maturing carrots cleaned immediately to make room for repeated crops of other vegetables. After the early carrots successfully grow bush beans, cabbage salad, cauliflower, kohlrabi and broccoli.
Mid- and late-ripening varieties
The folk wisdom says: "On Kornilia (September 24), the root in the earth does not grow, but it chills." In accordance with this sign, we must act, i.e. remove the main crop of carrots of medium and late-ripening varieties in late September, focusing on weather conditions.
You already know that carrots are a cold-resistant crop and that it gives the most intensive crop increase (up to 40-45%) at the end of August and in September, during a gradual decrease in the average daily temperature. This is facilitated by a rapid outflow of nutrients from the leaves into the roots at a temperature of 7-8 ° C.
Biological ripeness of root crops occurs after the end of intensive growth when the shape and color are typical for a given variety. But under unfavorable conditions, at a very high or low temperature during the formation of root crops, the biological ripeness of carrots may not occur, and then root crops must be removed in the stage of technical ripeness.
For various reasons, it is sometimes necessary to clean carrots on the site in the first half of September. But, as you already understood, this leads to a large shortage carrot crop and the production of small, not fully ripened root crops, which quickly fade and are poorly stored.
The most favorable cleaning period
The most favorable time for harvesting carrots on our sites should be considered the end of September. When cleaning at this time, you will get the maximum harvest of carrots, which will be well kept in winter.
Further prolonged delay with cleaning of the positive effect does not give, because if the daytime air temperature does not rise above 4-5 ° C heat, the outflow of nutrients from the leaves to the roots practically ceases and the carrot ceases to grow. Root crops of carrots in the soil, a short-term temperature reduction of -3 ... -5 ° C is tolerated. But if you dig them out of the ground, they do not tolerate even the weakest frosts.
Technology of harvesting carrots
Harvest carrots only in good weather. Varieties with short and semi-long root crops are easily pulled from the ground with their hands, but when harvesting long root crops without forks or shovels is indispensable.
At the same time, we must not forget that carrot is very sensitive to mechanical damage. Therefore, when harvesting carrots, transporting and storing it is necessary to carefully observe the generally accepted rules: do not allow shocks, kinks, scratches and other mechanical damage to carrots. root crops poorly heal such damage, through which enter the roots of rot and disease.
It is impossible to leave uncultivated leaves for a long time - leaves quickly evaporating moisture, will cause wilting of root crops, which will sharply reduce their resistance to diseases when stored. Do not completely clean roots from the ground. Do not also wash them, as this can speed up the development of diseases. Collected carrots can not be kept in heaps for a long time, because root crops quickly fade and become unfit for winter storage.
How to remove the tops
How to remove the tops? Do not cut it off, twisting your arms. Just cut with a knife. If you leave small petioles at this, then the tops will begin to grow on root crops closer to spring, which will not only reduce the mass of carrots, but also sharply worsen its nutritional value. Therefore, cut the root crops with a knife along the line of sleeping eyes; Cut the tip 1-2 mm. In this case, when storing, the tops will not germinate.
Completion of cleaning and storage
Immediately after pruning the tops, the root crops must be removed under a canopy and slightly ventilated before laying in boxes. Then the roots are sorted, removing the sick, damaged and soft. They are consumed immediately for food or for processing, without leaving them for winter storage. Then, the carrots selected for winter storage should be kept in a dark and cool place for 5-6 days, so that it can cool well, and only then the chilled carrots can be stored in the basement.
Who did not hear the stories of old people about delicious carrot tea! And how many fairy tales and sayings the people composed about the "red maiden" - carrots! In the spring, the townspeople look forward to the appearance of a bundle product in the markets and sweep it off the shelves in literally hours, and villagers never throw out even the smallest "ovary", thinning out the thick rims of this plant. Many pets and birds enjoy eating orange roots in any form. And why? Yes, because in the early carrots a lot of vitamins, which so missed the body during the winter.
Special problems with the cultivation of carrots from truck farmers, even beginners, usually does not arise. Almost all those who in time have closed seeds in the ground, watered, properly looked after the beds, are pleased with the harvest. But, that's bad luck, not every owner manages to keep it - carrots often rot, it is ruined by pests or it simply withers, dries up in winter. But keeping half depends on how and when roots were removed from the garden. Therefore, we offer you fourteen tips, following which you will comprehend the secrets of the "red maiden", who has a green braid on the street, and the character is still that!
Council first.Do not sow all the carrots at the same time, but break this process into several periods, considering the early ones are grades, medium or late, and anticipating, naturally, with the timing of sowing, watering and weather. Then you have trouble-free working carrot conveyor, supplying products and on the table, and for sale, and on the winter lezhku. By the way, many summer residents use the conveyor method, when they grow other vegetables, not just root crops.
The second council.Always clean this vegetable on the second day, as it rained or watering - then there will be significantly less nitrates in the product, which is important not only for food, but also for storage.
The third advice.Medium and late varieties dig in the winter as late as possible - when the vegetable roots are fully ripe. Their diameter reaches three to six centimeters, and the tops are strong and already dried from above. DO NOT PULL! Just dig through gently forked fork, and then pull out of the earth for the "braids". Do not leave root crops with the tops for a long time in the garden, otherwise they will wither. The faster you cut the greens, the better. Leave "penyachek" no more than a half centimeters.
The fourth advice.Given that carrots - a vegetable cold-resistant and actively growing in the fall, do not rush to harvest - let it stand until the very cold. But not before the frost! The frozen product will not last long storage. Focus on the timing of your climatic zone. For cleaning, choose clear dry days in late September - early October (the air temperature at this time should be about eight to five degrees of heat). But if the rain is promised, it is possible earlier. Rainy and cold weather for cleaning is undesirable.
The council is the fifth.Plants for growing root crops, which will be stored in winter, should become a kind of taboo for gardener. Without business there is nothing to go, and especially to pick carrots for beam products, for a family table or just to boast before a neighbor beautiful and strong roots. Forget about this, because tearing out individual specimens, the best ones, you trample down the earth, compact it, and the roots of neighboring plants are damaged. This will have a bad effect on the future crop, the remaining carrots will start to lag behind in growth. It is believed that the "winter" area, where carrots broke through with the above goals, the harvest is one and a half to two times lower.
Council of the sixth.Do not "row" in the basement all in a row and right from the garden! The harvest is sorted out and without any regrets, part with the damaged root crops (they are allowed for food, for processing, for animal feed, and so on). Store small and carrots with defects separately. Cut out the batch necessarily dry for two hours in an open area, you can and on the beds, if the weather favors, and then keep a few days in a cool place.
The seventh council.Dried products, with which you have to shake off the lumps of earth, put them in shallow boxes and lightly sprinkle with damp sand (you can also use top peat). Often carrots are stored in plastic bags, but then they are not tied tightly, but leave a hole for ventilation. Good ventilation is also needed in the basement itself, where you will store the harvest. The air temperature should be from 2 degrees Celsius to zero, but not lower! Do not store the crop in bulk, in the coats!
Council of the eighth. Try, if there is time and desire, to make a dense clay chattle, dip a part of the crop into it, dry each root on special racks or bars, and then lay it in the basement. Clay will make root crops inaccessible to mice and other pests and help to keep the delicious vegetables juicy and crispy. In the clay, some vegetable growers add crushed garlic to scare off pests. On our site you will find the names and other root crops that can be protected with clay shell.
The council is the ninth.Bunch carrots begin to receive in June-July, when the root vegetables in diameter are not less than a centimeter and a half. Usually, the leaves are cut off, leaving two centimeters of petioles. Naturally, with podzimnem sowing or early spring carrots and ripen before. It is consumed and sold in summer and autumn, but it is not taken for storage.
The tenth advice.Pick the early carrots in mid-July. Until then, digging up the roots in part, do not forget to fill all the voids with earth and trample down, otherwise the neighboring root crops will easily hit the carrot fly. Unfold the garden zaseit precocious vegetable or plant the seedlings.
Council eleventh.Any carrot, except for bunch carrots, clean at the end of development, because it is during this period that the root vegetables accumulate sugars. Especially delicious is the carrot, when the nights are cool, and the days are sunny. For the harvesting of late varieties wait for such conditions that the air temperature is established within eight to five degrees of heat (end September - early October). If the root crops "nailed" the frost, even three degrees, they can not be stored.
Council twelfth.To save not too large carrots until the spring will help a pit depth of 30-35 cm. Fill the bottom of the pit with sand, there they put the crops in rows, interlacing the roots with the same sand (see the photo on our website). Top of the pit covered with earth, covered with fir branches, leaves, slate, and later - with snow. The pit is not touched until spring, and in the spring it is possible to open and use root crops, which are fresh enough, as if recently from a bed.
The council is the thirteenth.Another storage place is a refrigerator in the vegetable compartment. If each root is wrapped in paper, then the carrot will long be juicy and intact. For a long storage (several months), this vegetable is placed in a freezer, and it does not lose its qualities.
Council fourteenth.And now the "grandmother's" recipe: dried carrots. The one that can be brewed like tea, or put in soup. For drying, suitable as a special cabinet, and a conventional oven. Carrots are placed in boiling water and kept there for twenty minutes (the water should not boil). The next step is to remove it from the boiling water and put it in cold water. Then peel and cut into thin (3-4 mm) circles. It will take 5-6 hours to dry at a temperature of 70-75 ° C. The oven door must be opened slightly, otherwise the carrot will be baked, but not dried. Store the product in banks of dark glass.
Harvesting carrots is a moot point. Some believe that you can harvest the root crop at any time until the middle of autumn. Others remain supporters of the collection of the vegetable in a timely manner. They believe that otherwise the root crops will lose juiciness and begin to rot.
On the timing of the harvest, disputes between truck farmers are still being carried out. Each summer resident has his own views on this matter.
Before deciding when to remove carrots from the garden, you need to consider the following:
- features of the variety. After all, maturing of early varieties differs significantly from late maturation;
- specificity of development of cultivated plants;
- state of culture;
- climatic and weather conditions;
- purpose of cultivation.
From these characteristics, the maturation period of the plant fruits directly depends, and, accordingly, the time of their removal from the soil.
It has long been believed that the optimal period for the removal of carrots and other root crops from the soil ended on September 13. After this day, nothing should remain in the beds. This can be explained by the fact that when the temperature drops to 4 ° C, the growth of vegetables stops, and when the temperature is lowered to -3 ° C, the plant is affected by gray rot, which negatively affects its shelf life. Therefore, it is necessary to remove the plant from the soil before the onset of constant autumn frosts (no later than the end of September). However, do not remove vegetables from the ground before the time. This will also shorten the duration of their storage.
Correctly determining when to dig out carrots, you can grow a quality beautiful with a pleasant taste of the harvest. Timely harvesting of carrots will positively affect the shelf life of root vegetables.
Features of collecting early and late carrots
Some truck farmers plant a crop for the winter or cultivate early ripening varieties to eat a sweet harvest already in the middle of summer. However, such a vegetable is usually poorly stored. If the early fruits are harvested after a period of time, they will begin to crack, being in the ground, and will lose their juiciness. Accordingly, its taste will also change. However, such a variety can be successfully grown to produce small bundle fruits. Collect this plant is necessary when the diameter of its "root" reaches a centimeter.
Collect carrots of medium-sized varieties is not earlier than 80-110 days after planting. A sign of the ripening of the vegetable may be the yellowing of its lower leaves. You should try to harvest the root in time, otherwise it will lose its taste and become loose. Some mistakenly consider yellowing and wilting of the entire foliage a sign of ripeness. This phenomenon usually signals not about ripeness, but about the disease of the plant.
The fruits of late ripening should be collected in the first half of September. The day in which the collection takes place must be a good time. The rain on this day will negatively affect the quality of the fruit.
Some gardeners believe that harvesting the crop should be done after the first minor frosts. However, such an opinion can not be taken as truth. In fact, the minus temperature promotes the appearance of gray rot on root crops. In this regard, during storage, you can lose the entire crop.
When deciding when to dig out carrots, it is worth considering that removing the vegetable from the soil ahead of time is also detrimental to the fruits of the crop. Negative impact on crop and temperature difference. If the collection was conducted at a temperature of 20 ° and above, do not immediately move the crop to the cellar. In this case, you need to wait until the culture stops growing. In addition, the coolness promotes the accumulation of sugar in the root.
Harvesting rules
After you have decided when to remove carrots, you can start the harvest itself. Short and medium length vegetables can be collected by hand, grabbing the tops. Long root vegetables should be harvested, carefully digging with forks or a shovel. The procedure should be as carefully as possible so as not to injure or break them. Raising the upper layer of the soil, it is necessary to pull the fruit out of it from the tops.
Some truck farmers mistakenly believe that it is necessary to leave the crop with the tops on the bed for several days. Ostensibly, thus, useful substances from a green part of a plant will pass in underground. However, in reality everything is not so. Leaves pull on themselves all the useful substances from the fruit. Therefore it is desirable to remove the tops almost immediately after the harvesting is carried out. The main thing is to wait until the soil, which has remained on the collected fruits, will dry up. Leaves can not be removed on a bunch vegetable, but it is better to prune them to a couple of centimeters.
The plant can not only be cut off, but also twisted. Removing the leaves will help extend the shelf life of the crop. After all, if you leave the tops, it will, upon germination, provoke the drying of the vegetable and reduce its nutritional properties.
If you doubt whether it is possible to collect root crops, pull out a couple of plants from the ground and inspect or even try them. If you are satisfied with the maturity and size of the fruit - safely collect the remaining roots.
So, it is right to harvest carrots - to provide it with long-term storage. It is desirable to place in the cellar only those vegetables that are sufficiently ripe and have time to accumulate carotene and other biological substances. Negative for the shelf life is affected by root crop damage, so remove it from the soil you need as accurately as possible.
If you can not correctly determine when to harvest, the first time - do not despair. All comes with experience.
Video "When to clean carrots"
From this video you will learn about when to clean carrots.