How to determine the optimal time when to dig up carrots? When to harvest carrots and beets? When to harvest carrots in the Urals

In ancient Russia September 13 considered the last day when to harvest carrots for storage.

And there is a simple justification for this principle - if temperature drops to +4 degrees Celsius, then the carrots no longer grow. If it happens down to -3 degrees Celsius, then gray rot appears on the plant. Therefore, it is recommended to dig up carrots before the first frost.

However, early digging is also not necessary.

Experienced gardeners explain this by the fact that carrots have been in warm soil and if it is suddenly transferred to cold room, the yield losses will be significant.

But this moment is attributed mainly to late-ripening varieties. The term of mid-season varieties is about 80-110 days.

Lower leaves may turn yellow- and this will be an additional sign that the carrots are ripe. The term must be calculated correctly, because if this plant is overexposed in the ground, then its taste can deteriorate significantly.

There are also varieties of carrots that ripen early. They are harvested already in the middle of summer. From this plant you can cook delicious and healthy vitamin salads.

When to harvest carrots and beets for the winter? Expert advice according to the timing of harvesting carrots and beets for storage in this video:

Also of interest is a method known as coating. There are two options:

wet way. In this case, the roots should be dipped into the chalk solution. After that they are dried.
Dry way. It involves dusting root crops with powdered chalk. Thus, the risk of harmful microorganisms on carrots is reduced.

Before putting the carrots in the cellar, they are thoroughly washed and briefly immersed in infusion consisting of onion peel. You can pre-place the plant.

You can also store carrots in clay shell. It is very simple to make it - just dip the root crop in clay mass. After that, it is taken out and dried thoroughly.

clay shell must not be violated when the carrots will be placed in wooden crates.

Of course, you can try, what our article will help you with.

So, proper cleaning and storage of carrots significantly prolong its useful properties. After you learn all the simple tricks, you can get big, healthy and tasty crops.

Harvesting carrots for storage by hand and her rules in this video:

If you find an error, please highlight a piece of text and click Ctrl+Enter.

In October, summer residents have no less trouble: before the onset of frost, you still need to whitewash the trees, plant winter garlic, dig up root crops.

beets must be harvested before the first frost. The tops of its root crops protrude above the ground, and therefore may be frostbitten. Such vegetables will be stored poorly. But you should not rush to harvest beets intended for long-term storage.

Terms by month

The optimal time when you can dig up beets for storage in the Moscow region and Central Russia: second half of September - beginning of October. In the south of the country, they are harvested a little later, and in the north - a little earlier.

Before frost beets must be dug up. It is believed that low temperatures are not terrible for carrots. But beets that have fallen under frost will be stored very poorly.

Small beets can be left in the ground until the end of October. By this time, the root crops have time to grow a little more and increase to 5-14 cm in diameter. And this is quite enough to prepare a fresh salad or fragrant borscht. Mmm…

They say that rounded, medium-sized beets (not less than 7-8 cm) are best stored.

And for those who are used to focusing on the Lunar calendar of the gardener and gardener, the next chapter of our article will be of interest.

What will the lunar calendar 2018 say...

In September 2018, it is recommended to dig up beets for storage:

September 2 from 11:02,
September 3
September 4 until 15:04,
September 6 from 16:54,
September 7, 8, 9, 10, 11,
September 12 until 21:15,

Source: Homestead Farm magazine

The dates listed correspond to the phases of the waning moon and the new moon. It is believed that at this time all nutrients rush to the roots of plants, saturating them as much as possible. Beetroot is a root crop, which means that these days are the best suited for harvesting it.

At the end of the month, favorable dates for beet harvesting are as follows:

The main thing is to try to harvest when the Moon is in fiery, air or earth signs - then the crop will rot less. You can’t dig up beets when the Moon is in water signs - such a crop will not be stored for a long time. These dates are favorable for harvesting.

Source: magazine "1000 tips for summer residents"

Cleaning Secrets

The beets are pulled out of the ground and left to lie in heaps in the sun for several hours.
Then the leaves are cut, retreating from the head of the root crop 1-2 cm.
The beets are cleaned from the ground, trying not to damage it, it is not necessary to wash.
You can not cut off the tops with your hands and wash the beets before storing them.
Only healthy specimens are suitable for winter storage, without signs of damage.

Secrets of storage

Beets are recommended to be stored at a temperature of 0 to +2 degrees and a humidity of 90 - 95%.
For storage, a basement, cellar or any other ventilated room is suitable.
Beets can be spread out in large plastic bags and kept open so that there is an influx of fresh air.
Root crops can also be placed in boxes or containers, sprinkled with dry sand, sawdust or ash (lightly powdered).

We will be glad if readers of the Babushkina Dacha blog share their experience when it is better to dig up beets: at the beginning or end of September. Or maybe in October? Write a comment to the article, we will be glad! 😉

When to remove carrots from the garden for storage?

Many hostesses, as well as owners, are faced with the fact that root crops grown with love do not survive the winter period. And it also happens that half of the crop is not even able to reach the frost. What's the matter? There may be several reasons for this. First, there are different maturation periods for different varieties. Secondly - ignorance of when to remove carrots from the garden. Thirdly, the very technological side of preserving root crops may be violated. And finally, the last, fourth reason is unsuitable weather conditions.

When to remove beets and carrots from the garden

Although carrots, as well as beets, are considered frost-resistant root crops, it is still better to collect them before regular frosts come. The plants should not be allowed to be covered with snow even in the beds. And do not look that the tops are still green and beautiful. So when to remove beets and carrots from the garden? The best time for this is the end of September or October. Usually, harvesting begins as soon as all the potatoes are harvested. But too early to dig up root crops is also not worth it. After all, you will deprive them of a large amount of useful substances in this way.

Harvest time for early varieties

Those carrots, varieties of which ripen very early, are not suitable for long-term storage. It is planted, as a rule, in order to obtain bunched carrots. The young sweet root crop is ready to eat already in the middle of summer and is used for salads or baby food.
If you don’t know when to remove carrots from the garden, you can skip this moment, and then it will crack right in the ground and lose its juiciness. If you notice that the diameter of the carrot has reached a centimeter, then it's time to start digging it up. This is the most delicious and healthy carrot to eat raw. Do not forget to bury the holes formed after digging up individual carrots. This will help prevent the carrot fly from infecting the remaining root crops.

When to remove carrots from the garden for storage, if the ripening time is average

When growing varieties on your site that have an average ripening time, you must remember that such vegetables should be grown from eighty to one hundred and ten days. Watch your site. If you notice that the lower leaves are turning yellow, then the time has come when you can remove the carrots from the garden. If you do not remove the root crops on time, then their flesh will become friable, and the taste will become much worse.
The opinion that all leaves should turn yellow and wither is extremely erroneous. This indicates more that the plant is sick than about its maturity.

When to harvest carrots if they are late varieties

Let's talk about late varieties. Their maturation lasts more than one hundred and ten days. These varieties are called autumn varieties and are harvested in the first half of September. It is during the autumn period that carrots accumulate in large quantities of vitamins and nutrients.
The most important thing is that the day on which the harvest is to be harvested should not be rainy. Before frost, contrary to popular belief, it is not worth leaving root crops in the ground. If you do this, then very often they are defeated by gray rot. In this case, the entire crop may be lost during storage. But it is not recommended to dig up root crops early. A large temperature difference will not bring anything good. If the crop has already been harvested, and the air temperature is still above twenty degrees, then it should not be placed immediately in the cellar, where, of course, the temperature is much lower. So after all, when to remove carrots from the garden? Based on everything described above in this section, we can conclude that as soon as the air temperature becomes lower (about four degrees Celsius), but the weather is still good, you can safely start digging up carrots.

When to harvest carrots - terms and signs of ripening, harvesting and storage

The first thing to ensure for the storage of carrots is a temperature in the range of 0°C + 3°C, high humidity of about 90% (especially at the beginning of storage) and no light. At lower humidity, carrots wither, losing elasticity. Similar humidity can be provided by storing root crops in plastic bags, in sand or sawdust.

Before storage, carrots are kept for 10 days in quarantine in a dark place at a temperature of 10-12°C. After this procedure, only healthy vegetables are selected for long-term storage. The rest are used for current needs.

When stored in plastic bags, carrots are washed and dried well. Then put in bags and tie. Several small holes are made in bags for ventilation.

Sand holds moisture well. It is pre-moistened - about 1 liter of water per 10 - 12 kg. When stored in boxes, a layer of sand is poured on its bottom, two centimeters thick, root crops are laid so that they do not come into contact with their neighbors. From above they fall asleep with a centimeter layer of sand and the next layer of carrots is laid on it. The top layer of root crops should be covered with sand. Similarly, coniferous sawdust is used instead of sand. This method is used when storing crops in the cellar.

Before laying vegetables, it is advisable to disinfect the storage, for example, with a sulfur checker.

Carrots are stored in the cellar or at the bottom of the refrigerator.

Tips for when to harvest carrots and beets and how to keep the harvest until spring

1 What to look for when choosing the time of harvest 2 When to dig carrots and beets? 3 Preparing beets for storage

What to look for when choosing a harvest time

Incorrectly chosen harvest time can threaten not only quantitative, but also qualitative loss: what a carrot, what a beetroot can be too small, too large, and completely tasteless.

However, it is rather difficult to single out the time for harvesting carrots and beets as such, since it depends on several factors at once:

The above factors are not an axiom, but their combination may indicate that the time has come, and soon you will have to work hard in order to provide yourself with tasty and healthy root crops.

The behavior of rodents can tell you when to harvest beets and carrots: in summer their activity is moderate, but by the time the root crops ripen, they begin to intensively stock up on food, so your crop is ripe. If you hesitate, you can simply lose the grown root crops - the rodents will take care of it.

When to dig carrots and beets?

It is worth remembering an important rule: carrots can be dug up after the first frost, and beets - before.

This is explained by the fact that the carrot root easily tolerates a drop in temperature to negative values, that is, even a slight freezing of the soil. At the same time, its properties are not lost at all, and according to many gardeners, it generally acquires its original taste only after it grabs the earth for the first time.

Harvesting carrots from under the snow (but only if the ground has not had time to freeze, and you managed to crush the tops) is not only acceptable, but even useful, since it significantly improves its “keeping quality” in the cellar. The orange beauty undergoes a kind of preparation - cooling, does not rot for a long time.

And yet, how do you know that it is time to harvest carrots? Watch the weather closely:

begins to freeze the soil at night slightly “grabs” with frost, but by noon it “departs” the first snow falls, but the temperature is mostly positive.

And most importantly, remember: if you decide to wait for frosts and the first snow, then bend the tops to the ground. This way you save a little heat, enough to prevent freezing of root crops.

When harvesting, carrots can not be dried, but almost immediately, when the tops are removed, they can be sorted into boxes or baskets, because excess moisture due to the presence of a fairly coarse peel is almost not terrible and the root crop will rot only if there is no ventilation. If cleaning takes place under snow or rain, then the bottom of the boxes should have ventilation holes to remove water and air exchange.

Beets, on the other hand, do not tolerate temperature drops below zero and high soil moisture. Waterlogged and frostbitten beets begin to rot almost immediately.

The time when you need to dig up beets is the period from mid-September to, at most, until mid-October.

Therefore, beets are usually not delayed and the collection begins already in mid-late September, but on condition of relatively good weather (the temperature is constantly positive, precipitation is minimal, or is a rare occurrence, there are no growths characteristic of ripening on the fruits and tops). But in no case is it worth rushing things, because it is precisely Since the end of August, sugar begins to accumulate in the beet pulp.: first, the appearance of glucose and fructose, then the percentage of raffinose increases, and, finally, sucrose begins to be deposited five to seven days before maturity, the proportion of which in mature beets is the highest.

Although, recently varieties of beets have appeared on sale that tolerate frost relatively well. But even in this case, you should not delay cleaning until the snow falls, because in any case, temperatures below zero adversely affect the taste properties of this juicy gift of nature.

To understand that the time has come when to dig out the beets, the formation of tubercles on their surface will help you. Similar formations will be on the root crop itself. This is the main factor indicating maturation. And you can only postpone the harvest if the days are fine and it is warm enough outside. After all beets are stored in the ground much better than in the cellar and especially in the fridge.

So when to dig beets? With the following factors:

cold, but the temperature does not fall below +5 degrees C; the weather forecast indicates the onset of a rainy season; tubercles and growths appear on the surface of the root crop and its tops; the lower part of the haulm may begin to wilt.

Harvested beets should be dried to remove moisture from their surface, and then stacked in boxes or baskets. The bottom is not covered, only sometimes sprinkled with sand. Also, the beetroot can be dipped in liquid clay before cleaning in boxes - this way it will be better preserved.

Preparing beets for storage

Harvesting beets and carrots is a troublesome business, and it should be approached very responsibly. When harvesting, it is important to monitor the cleanliness of the root crops (contamination can cause rot), the integrity of the peel (without it, the fruits deteriorate), and, most importantly, to cut the tops correctly. The tops are cut off in such a way that in no case can the gifts of nature extracted from the earth be damaged. Usually, it is left at a height of half a finger, or carefully cut off with a knife “at the root”. You can not break it out, as there is a high probability of damage to the fruit.

If you do everything and observe the harvesting deadlines, then if you have the appropriate storage conditions and properly prepare them for it, then your crop will be safe and sound not only throughout the winter-spring period, but by next autumn it will practically not deteriorate.

Rate the article: 54321(0 votes, average: 0 out of 5) Share with your friends! Related posts: When to harvest beets, how to understand that they are ripe and what kind of harvest can you expect? When is it better to harvest carrots and how to understand that it is ripe? When to remove cabbage from the garden so that the heads are dense and juicy?

When to Harvest Carrots, Signs of Ripening and When to Harvest Carrots

The longer the carrot sits in the ground, the more nutritious and tastier the root crop becomes, the rule applies to all carrot varieties. Several factors influence the timing of digging: carrot varieties, biological characteristics, planting time, cultivation goals, the condition of fruits and plants in general, weather conditions. Fruits in a state of technical ripeness do not have a high keeping quality, but are suitable for fresh consumption, therefore, depending on the purpose of cultivation, carrot harvesting occurs at different times.

Harvest early carrots In the middle of summer, focusing on the characteristics of the variety and the need for use. It is important to remove the root crops no later than the period specified by the seed manufacturer, otherwise, instead of tasty carrots, you can get cracked root crops with poor taste. As a rule, early carrots are dug up selectively for fresh consumption as needed. To prevent the appearance and spread of the carrot fly, the resulting pits are covered with earth.

Carrots of mid-season and late-ripening varieties are best removed from the garden in the fall, From the second half of September. It is with a decrease in temperature that an intensive outflow of nutrients from the tops into the root crop begins, as a result of which the carrots become juicy and gain weight. According to scientists and agronomists, the increase in yield can be significant (35-45%).
At a temperature less than +4 ºС, biological processes are greatly slowed down, the vegetable practically does not grow. It is necessary to take into account this feature, therefore, the timing of harvesting carrots in the Urals, Siberia, in the middle lane and other regions is different. The time of harvesting carrots is also influenced by weather conditions. If prolonged rains set in, there will be constant dampness at the time of maturity, then even when digging carrots on time, the keeping quality of such root crops will be low, since the risk of developing putrefactive diseases is high. In bad weather, it makes sense to harvest carrots ahead of schedule in order to somehow preserve the crop.

Beetroot signs of maturity and harvest time

Beets: signs of maturity and harvesting time It is necessary to harvest root crops based on the planted variety. Varieties, in turn, are divided into 3 groups.

Early ripe:

'Winter', 'Gribov flat A-473′, ‘Egyptian flat ', 'Leningrad round 221/17 ′, ‘Nokhovsky', ‘Round dark red’, ‘Red ball improved ', 'Skvirsky gift ', 'SCarlet Supreme’ (Scarlet Supreme), ‘Boltardy’ (Boltardi), ‘Detroit’ (Detroit), ‘Detroit Dark Red’ (Detroit Duck Red), ‘Detroit Rubidus’ (Detroit Rubidus).

The maturity of these varieties: 50-80 days. Therefore, such beets need to be harvested in July-early August. I know that there are also ultra-early varieties, but they are not very tasty. So, if you want real borscht, be patient.

Early ripe varieties of beets

Mid-season

‘Crimson ball’, ‘Cold-resistant ', 'Bravo', 'Globe', ‘ Ideal ', 'Double-seed TSCA’, ‘RedCylindrical’, ‘Mulatto', ‘Incomparable A 463’, ‘ Russian one-seeded ', 'Darkie', 'Khavskaya’, ‘Bordeaux', 'BIkores’ (Bikores), ‘Bolivare’ (Bolivar), ‘Detroit Nero’ (Detroit Nero), ‘ Cornell' (Cornell), ‘ Larka F1′ (Larka), ‘Libero F1’ (Libero), ‘Mona’ (Mona), ‘Opolsky '(Opolski), 'Pablo' (Pablo), 'Pronto '(Pronto), 'Red Cloud F1′ (Red Cloud), ‘Redondo F1′ (Redondo), ‘Sonata’ (Sonata).

Perhaps the most popular group of varieties. Ripening period: 80-100 days. Such beets need to be harvested in mid-late August. If planted at the end of May, then you can hold until September. Keeps well all winter.

Mid-season varieties of beets

Late ripening:

'Torpedo', 'Cylinder', 'Single-growth' And others.

Ripening period: 100-135 days. Such varieties, as a rule, are stored for a very long time - right until spring. My sister had a lot of these beets last year, and she didn't really eat them. They climbed into the cellar in the spring, and the root crops seem to have just come from the garden)). Whole box!

Why is it undesirable to harvest beets ahead of time

First, closer to autumn, when the temperature gradually drops, beets grow well. And secondly, most of the useful substances in it accumulate already in the last stage of growth.

However, delaying harvesting until freezing is also wrong. The protruding “butts” can be caught by frost, and the root crops will quickly deteriorate during storage.

Beets in the garden

We focus on weather conditions

Autumn is too warm. In this case, it is better not to keep the beets for a long time in the garden - it can become fibrous and even slightly woody. Rainy autumn. Also, do not put off cleaning for a long time. Excess moisture in the soil will negatively affect the taste of the crop. Yes, and too juicy beets are not stored for long. By the way, if you overexpose it in the garden in rainy weather, the root crops can rot and crack. Dry autumn. Very favorable weather. If the autumn is dry and moderately warm, it is much better to keep the beets in the ground than in the cellar. It will accumulate a lot of vitamins and will be well stored.

delicious beets

External signs of beet ripeness

Root size

lower leaves

Beets are usually pulled out of the ground with a pitchfork. So that the root crop is not damaged, and the earth is well raked. By the way, there is one important point: you need to cut the tops carefully, leaving petioles no more than 1 cm. If more, the beets will begin to grow closer to winter, and this is unacceptable. Here, perhaps, and all the subtleties.

When do you harvest beets?

When is the best time to harvest carrots?

So who is right? When should you harvest carrots? The following factors influence the cleaning time:

what varieties of carrots grow in your beds - early ripe, mid-ripening or varieties intended for winter storage; biological features of cultivated varieties; cultivation purposes; plant condition; weather.

By correctly determining the appropriate time when you need to harvest carrots, you will get high-quality root crops with a pleasant taste and attractive appearance. Timely harvesting will also favorably affect the nutritional value and keeping quality of root crops.

Early and late carrots - when to collect different varieties of root crops?

For a long time in Russia it was believed that the best time to harvest carrots and other root crops ended on September 13th. After this date, the beds should have remained clean. This makes a certain sense: when the temperature drops to +4 degrees, the root crops stop growing, and at a temperature of -3 degrees, there is a high risk of damage to the carrot by gray rot, as a result of which its keeping quality will deteriorate greatly. Therefore, it is better to dig up carrots even before the onset of stable autumn frosts, until the end of September at the most. But it is not recommended to pull the root crops out of the ground too early, because they have been in fairly warm soil for a long time - a sudden move to a cool cellar or basement can lead to significant storage losses.

Of course, this applies only to varieties of late ripening. When to collect carrots of mid-ripening varieties, you can calculate for yourself - its ripening period lasts from 80 to 110 days. Additional signs of ripening root crops will be yellowed lower leaves. It is not worth keeping mid-ripening carrots in the ground; its taste can only worsen from this.

Carrots with early ripening, as well as those that were planted before winter, begin to be harvested in the middle of summer, making vitamin salads out of it and eating it fresh - it is very tasty and juicy. To obtain beam carrots, you can collect root crops when they reach a diameter of more than 1 cm. If you skip the period when you need to harvest early ripeness carrots, leaving it in the ground for a long time, it will lose its bright taste and attractive appearance: root crops may crack.

How to properly harvest?

So, you have determined for yourself when it is better to harvest carrots. Now you can proceed directly to the process of harvesting. Short and medium root crops are harvested by hand: holding the carrots in the ground with one hand, and firmly grasping the tops with the other. Long carrots should be carefully dug up with a fork or a shovel so as not to injure or break the root crops. Raising the top layer of earth with carrots, remove it, holding it by the tops.

There is an erroneous opinion that carrots, along with the tops, should be left on the field for several days, so that all the nutrients from the above-ground part of the plants pass into the underground part. In reality, everything happens just the opposite: the tops pull all the juices and nutrients from the root crop, from which it begins to dry out. Therefore, when harvesting carrots, without delay, cut off the tops as soon as the ground on the root crops dries out a little. Leaves can only be left on bunch carrots, but it is better to leave petioles no more than two cm.

The tops can be twisted by hand or cut off together with the top of the carrot head up to 2 mm. This will help to significantly increase the shelf life of carrots, since the tops will not begin to germinate, causing the root to dry out and reduce its nutritional value.

Now you know when to remove carrots from the garden, and how to properly clean. Remember that sufficiently mature carrots should be sent for storage so that important biological components and carotene can accumulate in it. It is also important to prevent mechanical damage to root crops during harvesting, otherwise they will be stored poorly.

If you still have doubts about when to harvest carrots from your beds, try pulling out a few root vegetables and visually assess their maturity or taste them. Let not the first time, but soon you will learn to reliably determine the most optimal time when to harvest carrots!

AND THIS IS ANOTHER OPINION

Experienced vegetable growers advise not to rush to harvest carrots, since the largest increase in root crops (in central Russia) is observed in September in the second half of the month. In the north of the country, frosts are early, so carrots are harvested there in early September. The fact is that it must be removed before the onset of frost on the soil. To decide whether to remove it or not, or maybe leave it in the ground for 2-3 weeks, they dig one carrot out of the ground.

If she began to grow on the sides with small roots - it's time to dig.

It is better to dig up these root crops with a garden pitchfork, and not with a shovel. They are dug up, and then pulled out of the ground, holding the tops, while making sure that the tip of the carrot does not break off, because otherwise it will not withstand long-term storage, and it will need to be used as food as soon as possible. It is advisable to shake off the earth from root crops with your hands to avoid mechanical damage.

The carrots removed from the garden are washed, the leaves (tops) are carefully cut off, because if it grows, it will suck out all the juices, and left to dry: it can be on the table or on a film. Carrots are stored perfectly in boxes, sprinkled with sand mixed with lime - 10 parts of sand and 1 part of slaked lime. You can dip them in a clay "talker" and dry thoroughly.

First of all, beets are removed from the root crops.

This vegetable is extremely rich in vitamins and minerals, and also underlies quite effective diets. Well, the winter table can not do without it. The timing of beet harvesting plays an important role.

Typically, this is September. It should be noted that in regions where autumn is long and warm, beets can be harvested until mid-October. You can also leave small root crops in the ground. The most important thing is to remove the beets before the onset of frost, otherwise it will be poorly stored, wrinkle, start to rot, but the most important thing is that it will lose its rather pleasant taste.

And before the first frosts, it is not worth digging it out, and the lower yellowed leaves do not mean at all that the beets have stopped growing, since they dry constantly when new ones appear. It is desirable to clean it in dry weather. Root crops that have grown by digging with a shovel are removed from the soil, cleaned of the remains of leaves (tops) and earth on them. Here it is, ready for storage. Suitable for storage sand or sawdust

Why can't you leave beets in the garden for a long time?

The timing of beet harvesting depends not only on physiological reasons, that is, ripening, the size of root crops, but also on the weather conditions of the area where it is grown. This is especially true of late varieties intended for winter storage. Therefore, when deciding to postpone or start harvesting this healthy vegetable, it is necessary to take into account its features:

- beets are more sensitive to cold than other root crops and, at too low an average daily temperature, practically ceases to pour;
- when the beets remain in the ground for too long, lighter rings can form in the pulp of the root crop, which does not at all contribute to increasing its quality;
- in overgrown beets, the content of betaine and sugars often decreases, and voids of various sizes may appear inside;
- even slightly frozen root crops become unsuitable for long-term storage, regardless of the degree of ripeness - they become infected with various bacterial infections and quickly rot ..

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

When all the trouble is already behind, 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 are beets and carrots harvested?”, “How to properly collect root crops?” or “How to properly store the harvested crop?”. For each of them you will find the answer in this article.

Why You Shouldn't Dig Up Carrots and Beets Too Early

When deciding when to harvest carrots and beets from your garden, it is important to know that these root crops compare favorably with other crops in their frost resistance. This makes them able to successfully survive the cold, and if you also create a special substrate of peat and sand, you can leave the vegetables in the ground for the whole winter.

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

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

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 such conditions that it is better to harvest carrots and beets). If the air temperature rises above +15 ° C, there is a rapid accumulation of dry substances, carotene, enzymes and sugars in vegetables.

What factors influence the harvesting 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 the variety of vegetables growing in your garden (early ripening, mid-ripening or varieties intended for winter storage), the biological characteristics of growing plants, growing purposes, plant condition and, of course, weather conditions.

Important! In no case should you dig up beets or other root crops in the rain, when it is wet and unpleasant outside, because if you remove carrots from the garden in such conditions, it will not be stored well and will quickly rot.

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

When to remove 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 13th. After this date, the beds should remain completely clean and prepared for the winter season.

This rule makes a certain sense, because when the air temperature drops to + 4 ° C, the root crops stop growing, and at temperatures of -3 ° C, there is a high risk of gray rot damage, so it makes no sense to dig carrots in order to throw them out later . Know about this and modern gardeners who harvest before the onset of stable autumn frosts.

Of course, this rule applies more to late ripening varieties, but when you dig up beets and carrots of medium ripening varieties, you can easily calculate yourself: for example, the full ripening period of carrots lasts from 80 to 110 days. Additional signs indicating the completion of the formation of root crops are their yellowed lower leaves. Mid-season carrots should not be overexposed in the ground, because this will only worsen their taste.

Harvesting carrots with early ripening dates, 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 it fresh (it is already very juicy and tasty) .

Did you know? To get a good crop of bunch carrots, you can start harvesting root crops when they reach a diameter of more than 1 cm. If you skip this period and leave the crop in the ground for a long time, it will lose its bright taste and attractive appearance (often the fruits crack).

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

Rules for harvesting carrots and beets in the garden

If you know exactly when to harvest carrots and beets, this is, of course, good, but you also need to understand exactly how carrots or other root crops are harvested. The success of further storage of the crop largely depends on the correctness of the collection.

Experienced gardeners recommend harvesting root crops by hand, using a shovel or pitchfork only in extreme cases, when there is not enough strength to harvest carrots for storage, simply pulling them out of the ground. However, in this case, it is necessary to try to dig the soil very carefully, since garden tools can easily damage the crop, from which it will be worse stored and will soon begin to rot.

The tops of beets and carrots must be removed immediately so that they do not draw nutrients from the roots and they do not dry out. Leaves can only be left on bunched carrots, but it is better to leave petioles no more than 2 cm in this case. If in the latter case this part of the plant can simply be “unscrewed”, then when digging beets, the tops must be cut off with scissors or secateurs.

It is noteworthy that some gardeners, on the contrary, advise leaving greens along with root crops so that nutrients move from the top to the bottom. However, it has long been proven that everything goes in exactly the opposite order.

Important! Experienced gardeners advise cutting off the tops at a distance of about 3 mm from the head, then with the advent of spring it will not begin to grow and will not dry out the vegetables. If you cut it along with the top of the carrot head to 2 mm, this will help extend the shelf life of the crop.

From the dug up crop, it is necessary to carefully wipe off the clods of earth with a dry cloth, and after the root crops dry a little in the garden under the autumn sun, they can be stored away.

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

Features of storage of root crops

We have already figured out when to dig up beets and carrots for storage, 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 rooms that the most suitable temperature is set for long-term storage. It is undesirable to leave root crops on the balcony, especially if it is not glazed, because in such conditions the harvested crop will freeze sooner or later, and all your work will be in vain.

Carrots, like other vegetable crops, should be harvested on time so that they can be stored well all winter.

Most likely, the question of when to harvest carrots from the garden, in general, would not have arisen if the weather conditions were bad: in cold and rainy weather, any gardener seeks to harvest as quickly as possible so that the root crops do not start to rot on the vine.

On the one hand, with a decrease in air temperature in the first autumn month, September, the growth of the aerial part slows down or completely stops, and the vegetable crop concentrates all its forces on the ripening of the root crop: it increases its size, while accumulating vitamins and microelements. It seems that I want to give carrots such an opportunity - to grow bigger and sweeter.

On the other hand, if you are late with harvesting, then the carrots will begin to grow again: they will release new roots. Probably, you have already met with such a phenomenon: you dig up carrots, and it is shaggy from the roots. This is not good, because during the secondary growth wave, carrots take strength from the root, which worsens its vitamin properties, and the quality of storage is sharply reduced.

Usually, re-growth is observed in fairly warm weather, but moderately humid: when the gentle sun warms during the day, rains dose the soil, and night temperatures do not fall below 10 degrees.

Here, just in such weather, there is a risk of overexposure of carrots in the garden.

When to Harvest Carrots

When do you need to harvest carrots so that on time and without deterioration in quality due to weather conditions?

If the carrot is large, then this is not even discussed: by this criterion, for sure, part of the garden you have is already devastated (for salads or blanks).

When do you need to harvest carrots and what signs of maturity should you be guided by?

But, there are several more good signs or reasons when you should remove carrots from the garden immediately or focus on a specific date:

one or two leaves from the bush have already turned yellow and this indicates that the root ripening process has ended. Such a carrot can be pulled out without hesitation. Carrots are not potatoes: you can’t wait until all the tops turn yellow and wither, then it will be too late to just throw them away.
pull out a couple of root crops in the garden and if the carrots are hairy from the roots, then immediately remove them: as mentioned earlier, this is a sign of re-growth that needs to be stopped immediately.
if the pulled out carrot is cracked, then this happens not only from excessive moisture, which is also not good, but also from the overripeness of the root
on a pack of carrot seeds that you have sown, they usually write that from germination to technical maturity 80-100 days. If you sowed on May 15, seedlings sprouted on June 2, then you can aim to harvest the carrot bed on September 2-12.
collect carrots of mid-season and late varieties (intended for cultivation for storage) should be a month before the onset of frost. You can approximate this period. For example, if in your area night temperatures drop to zero at the end of September, then, accordingly, you need to harvest carrots at the end of August. You can’t wait for frosts, like carrots will be sweeter, because this is not true: a frozen vegetable will not be stored, it will rot very quickly and must be immediately put on blanks or on the table.
Since ancient times, it has been believed that carrots should be harvested before September 13, the day Kupriyan or Crane Veche-the beginning of the flight of cranes to warmer climes. Previously, September was called the “food supply”, because until September 13, not only carrots were harvested, but also other vegetables (potatoes, beets, turnips, rutabaga, pumpkins, zucchini) and fruits (apples, pears).

It is not clear how relevant it is in the current conditions of unforeseen climate change to focus on old dates and folk signs, but try to fix the day of the cranes' departure in order to correct the shift in weather conditions in your region. In our country, for example, in central Russia, for the second year already, all the seasons (spring, summer, autumn, winter) have moved forward a month. Maybe everything will return to normal?

When to Harvest Carrots in 2018

What astrologers say when to harvest carrots in 2018 according to the lunar calendar:

cleaning cannot be done on the days of the full moon and on the new moon. These days, a person should not interfere and interrupt the life of vegetable crops, which causes stress in plants and they begin to lose their vitality in the shortest possible time. In ordinary language: they will not be stored, but will wither and dry out very quickly.
in 2018, such days in August are August 11 (New Moon) and August 26 (Full Moon), and in September: September 9 (New Moon) and September 25 (Full Moon).
for long-term storage of root crops, you need to choose days for the waning moon. The growing moon is favorable only for inches. Not all days on the waning moon are suitable for harvesting carrots for various reasons, including September 13, 2018.
Astrologers recommend at the end of August -29 and 31 August, and in September, specifically, only on September 3 in the sign of Gemini (23 lunar day) the collection of fruits that are in the ground: carrots, potatoes, beets, rutabagas, turnips. And also, don't mind September 7th (in the sign of Leo).
In the second half of September, we can recommend the days of the waning moon: September 26, 29, 30. If you have late carrots and a favorable climate, then at the end of September you can harvest a wonderful harvest of carrots, given that in your region the first frosts will be only at the end of October. And also, it is appropriate to harvest at the end of September early varieties of carrots planted in the second term (in June and July), even in the regions of central Russia, but taking into account the weather: according to meteorologists (in our region), the temperature will be below zero at night for the first time ( -2 degrees) just on September 29.30, and daytime on October 21.

Summing up the question of when to remove carrots from the garden, you need to focus on the carrot variety, planting date, climate, weather conditions, weather forecast for the next month, and obvious signs of carrot ripening.