Radish is a root vegetable with a bitter, spicy or sweetish taste. It all depends on the varieties, which differ not only in color but also in shape. Radish can be eaten raw, pickled and even boiled. Not everyone likes to eat it, although they have heard about the usefulness of the vegetable.
Growing a root vegetable is easy, but how to keep it so that all its medicinal properties remain with it, and the labor expended is not lost? It is quite possible to do this; no special effort will be needed.
Storage features of summer varieties
Various types of root crops directly affect their storage. Grow radish:
- year old;
- autumn;
- winter.
First, early-crop (summer) varieties are harvested, including Vienna yellow, Chinese pink and red, long white.
From each torn root need to remove the ground, pruned too long tops and roots. They should not be left, because otherwise the radish will dry out too quickly.
Count on long-term storage of summer radish is not necessary. For this, it is not intended. At home, the fruit does not lie and the week. They begin to deteriorate in five or six days.
The storage time can be extended several times if you put the radish in the refrigerator. Before this vegetables need:
- iterate;
- remove all damaged parts;
- folded in a plastic bag.
Each package must be pierced in several places, providing air through the holes made.
The temperature in the refrigerator should be in the range of one degree of heat to two with a minus sign. Relative humidity is also important. Root vegetables feel good when it is more than 90%.
If you follow the described conditions, you can keep the summer radish in the refrigerator for up to three weeks.
How to save autumn and winter radish varieties
To eat radish in the winter, you need to store its later varieties.
The root crops intended for a long lying, immediately after harvesting, put in small piles and pour with earth. They should dry out, being in this form for up to two weeks.
Suitable for storage of radish:
- cellar;
- basement;
- fridge.
In rural areas, part of the roots is kept in a pit, the depth of which is approximately 60-70 centimeters, and the width is up to a meter. Vegetables are put inside, they are poured with sand and covered with a layer of earth. In severe frosts, the pit is covered with snow. Radish will continue well until spring.
Storage in the basement
Before laying in the basement of radish, you need to sort and select the fruits of the highest quality and intact. This is necessary because a spoiled root crop can easily infect neighboring ones.
The basement should first be prepared. It is necessary to provide:
- Optimum temperature. It should not be below 0, but it should not be allowed to exceed the mark of two degrees.
- Constantly high humidity - 85-90%.
- Ventilation. The basement must be constantly ventilated.
- Fencing radish from rodents. To do this, you need to seal all the cracks, pits and potholes. On the vent holes is to put the grill.
In addition, it does not hurt to sprinkle the floor with dry and clean sand.
For storage of radish harvested wooden boxes.
- Root crops are laid out in tare in layers.
- Moist sand is poured between each layer. It will help the radish not to dry and not to rot.
When the basement is too dry, it is advisable to put a water tank.
In such conditions, the roots will survive well for about nine months. Especially resistant are varieties such as winter radish round white and black.
How to store radish in an apartment
Late radish, as well as summer, can be stored in the refrigerator. She calmly lie there until spring. But there is not enough space for root crops, since other products are also contained in the refrigerator. To store radish, you can use the balcony. If it is airtight and dry, and the temperature on it does not fall below zero, then the roots, packed in large bags of film, overwinter well.
When the balcony is large, it is best to store the radish in wooden boxes, which are placed one on top of the other. Root vegetables placed in any container, you need to pour the wet sand.
Radish will not lose its properties for several months. It can be eaten almost until spring.
Regardless of the method and place of storage, radish should be periodically inspected. If rotten fruit is found, they should be removed immediately. Neighboring vegetables are also desirable to remove or sprinkle with ordinary chalk.
It is undesirable to store radish next to apples and pears. But carrots and potatoes are excellent neighbors.
Save radish is not difficult. It is only important to correctly determine the grade and carry out the preparatory work. It is this that directly affects the safety of the fruit, along with all the beneficial properties hidden under the thick skin.
