Harvesting beets from the garden for storage: when they are harvested, how many days it grows

Beet harvesting, like other root crops, is extremely important. Properly created conditions and proper care increase the shelf life of beets. If you do not know when you need to collect beets and carry out the procedure much earlier, ignoring the deadlines, there is a chance that you will be left without a harvest in winter. A guarantee of a rich harvest - compliance with all the rules and recommendations when collecting beetroot.

Importance of cleaning

If you know what variety a vegetable belongs to, it is easy to determine the time of digging. On each package with seeds, the manufacturer indicates detailed information. In addition, each gardener should be guided by the main criterion - the hardness of ripe fruits. It's easy to check.

Ignoring the timing of harvesting leads to the fact that the vegetable grows again. Root crops are covered with light stripes. Later, young roots are formed on them, which also have a white color. The final sign of the re-development of the culture is flowering.

The appearance of such factors signals that the vegetable is ready for harvest. Light stripes may not form on the tops, but much lower. A person may not even suspect in what state of maturation the plant is. To see them, you need to pull the root crop out of the soil.

Gardeners are advised to make a careful inspection of the land. Determine if the tops of the fruits are sticking out of the ground. If the vegetable continues to grow, then it is not yet ready for digging. Therefore, the cleaning of the garden is postponed to a more favorable time.

In this case, the soil is loosened and fertilized. It can be potassium s alt, urea or superphosphate. Do not forget also about the systematic watering of the culture.

Collection rules

At first glance, the process is very easy. But, it requires compliance with a number of important nuances and taking into account the peculiarities of culture:

Beets are harvested in dry weather without precipitation. The slightest amount of moisture negatively affects the shelf life of fruits.
Root crops are pulled from the ground with hands, carefully holding on to the tops. This will help prevent damage to the vegetables during picking. High soil density implies the mandatory use of a fork or shovel. Dig the vegetable carefully so as not to cut it. The presence of cracks causes the development of fungus and infection of neighboring he althy fruits.
The dug up beet is freed from the tops. To do this, use a secateurs or ordinary household scissors. It is recommended to leave a small tail, about 1 cm. If the root is long, it is also cut.
The harvested crop is dried, laid out under a canopy in the open air. As the fruit dries, the beets are turned over to the other side.

Before the root crops are placed in storage, they are sorted, laying out separately large and small. Vegetables with signs of illness should be thrown away immediately so that they do not infect neighboring ones. Damaged also set aside separately and use as soon as possible. Storage can be a cellar, basement or pantry.

When to harvest beets: guidelines

To determine the appropriate collection of root vegetables, you should focus on the main points. First of all, this is the time of planting in the ground and the crop variety. Each species has a certain period of maturation. This process is subject to weather conditions.

In recent years, the weather is not stable at the same time. Therefore, cleaning should be done based not on dates, but on the appearance of the vegetable. You can collect beets from the garden in such cases:

The main role is played by the growing season, which is different for each particular variety. This is stated by the manufacturer on the packaging. Early ripe varieties are ready for harvest 65-85 days after planting. As a rule, this falls at the beginning of August. Mid-season and late varieties ripen no earlier than 3.5-4 months.
Signs of maturity can be identified by appearance. If the root ripens, the tops gradually fade. The lower leaves turn yellow and dry out completely after a while.
Harvesting time is determined by the shape of root crops and their size. At the same time, they must correspond to the characteristics of the variety.
The appearance of growths in beets.

The signal for urgent harvesting of beet fruits - frost. The rule is gaining relevance when it comes to late-ripening varieties. At the same time, root crops are dug up even if they are not quite ripe. If the top of the vegetable is frozen, it will not allow it to be stored in the cellar in winter.

It is undesirable to remove vegetables from the garden before the specified time. Cool weather at the end of summer and early autumn promotes active vegetation. As a result, the mass of fruits increases. At this time, the soil allows the root crops to accumulate valuable vitamins and minerals.

When to remove beets from the garden for storage: a guideline for carrots

A suitable benchmark for determining the ripening of beet is carrots. People who know gardening recommend digging up a vegetable before harvesting carrots. Beet fruits are much larger and protrude significantly above the ground. This makes them vulnerable to the first frost.

Early varieties will grow in July. The size of a mature root crop ranges from 5 to 10 cm. Second-class varieties reach 15 cm.

Late varieties

Beetroot tolerates cold without problems. Therefore, a temperature of 2-3 ° C is not an obstacle to full development. Of course, we are talking about late varieties. Table beet has a later digging period, it is harvested in mid-autumn. Late varieties are much tastier than early ones.

In addition to taste, the culture has a good yield. The collection of root crops depends on the size. Small ones are left in the ground until fully ripe, while large ones are picked immediately. It will take some time for the small fruits to grow and be harvested.

You can dig up beets according to the lunar calendar. Fruit harvesting is best done during the waning moon. There is no specific date for each year, as it is constantly changing. This is mostly autumn, closer to mid-October.

Date of harvesting root crops depends on the place of germination. Moderate climatic conditions favor faster crop maturation than dry or cold weather.

Beetroot storage rules

When to dig up beets for storage is not the only question of interest to gardeners. A properly prepared crop may not be stored well in the wrong place. It is important to create the appropriate conditions for this:

Beets harvested from the garden can be stored in the refrigerator for a short period of time. Thus, a fresh vegetable is always kept on hand.
Root crops that germinate in the open field are usually stored in the basement or cellar. The place should be cool and dry. Temperature range from 0 to 3 °C. In no case should the indicator fall below.
The floor and walls in the room should prevent the penetration of moisture. Make sure that rodents do not start and exterminate them in time.
Root crops can be packaged in boxes, baskets or bags. For better storage, they are sprinkled with sand or sawdust.
In the absence of special containers, vegetables are distributed over the entire surface of the rack.

Mistresses for all the years of growing root crops use their own proven tricks for storage. They recommend putting potatoes and beets in the same box. And the last one should be on top. How many days can vegetables be stored at the same time? Until mid-spring or longer.

Cleaning is a simple process, however, it requires compliance with the main points. Special attention is also paid to cultivation - care, watering and fertilization. If you follow the basic rules of collection and storage, you can enjoy fresh vegetables for a long time. Namely, before planting the seed for a new crop.