Fresh apples all year round, or how to store fruits in the cellar for the winter
There is no doubt about the benefits of apples. Fruits are rich in vitamins and microelements, which can be obtained all winter, but for this they need to be stored properly.
Gardeners stock up on their harvest in the fall. At the same time, apples are bought by people who are used to planning their budget wisely. During the season they cost 2-3 times cheaper.
Read the article about whether and how to properly store apples in a cellar all winter and minimize losses, and what the storage temperature in the cellar should be.
Content
Is it possible to store fruit in the basement in winter?
You can store apples in the cellar. This room is the best place for “wintering” fruits.. With a properly organized process, you can enjoy juicy and tasty fruits before the weather warms up.
Optimal temperature and humidity
Optimal apple storage temperature - 0 degrees. Lowering it will cause the fruit to freeze.
If it is warmer in the cellar, they will begin to deteriorate quickly. At above-zero temperatures, fruits actively release ethylene. This gas promotes their ripening, which is why the shelf life of the crop is significantly reduced.
The humidity level in the cellar should be kept at 85% -95%. In such conditions, apples will not wrinkle and wither.
Preparation for storage
Before storing the crop, it must be properly prepared. If you ignore this step, the fruit will quickly spoil. Not only the fruits themselves need preparation, but also the cellar.
What varieties are suitable?
Early ripening fruits are not suitable for storage. They are eaten fresh, immediately after harvest. Mid-ripe fruits can be stored for about 2 months, so they are most often not put into the cellar.
There is no need to eat such fruits immediately; they are still too hard and sour. Sweetness appears as it ripens. The skin of the fruit is thick, so the pulp is reliably protected from drying out and getting infected.
The following fruits are best stored: varieties:
Gloucester;- Antonovka;
- Melba;
- Idared;
- Fuji;
- Ligol;
- Gala;
- Simirenko;
- Cortland;
- Gloucester;
- Golden Delicious.
How to properly prepare apples?
Before storing apples, you need to sort them out. Broken, rotten and scratched fruits are sorted out. Only smooth and healthy fruits are put into the cellar.
Different varieties of apples are stored separately from each other. Even one early-ripening fruit that accidentally ends up in the wrong box can harm the entire crop.when it starts to rot.
Premises requirements
Not every cellar is suitable for storing apples. The premises must meet the following requirements:
The ceiling height is from 2.2 m. If it is low, then condensation will accumulate on it, which is an ideal environment for the growth of mold and bacteria. In such conditions, the fruit will quickly rot.- Not concrete floor.It should be lined with bricks or dry boards.
- Whitewashed walls. They are treated with lime and copper sulfate every year. This helps prevent fungus from appearing. For 10 liters of water you will need 1.5 kg of lime and 150 g of vitriol.
- High-quality ventilation. If the hood is weak, you will need to install additional fans.
Before planting the crop, the cellar must be cleaned and all garbage collected. Rotten boards and boxes are replaced with new ones. If this is not possible, then the damaged areas are burned with a soldering iron.
Boxes of salt or coal placed in the corners help cope with high humidity.. They will absorb excess water from the air.
Storage rules
Properly selected containers can increase the shelf life of the crop. You can't just dump apples on the basement floor. They are placed on racks, in boxes or in bags. Fruits will be stored in boxes for 3 to 6 months.
In boxes
Vegetable boxes are one of the most popular options for storing crops. They can be made of plastic or wood. The bottom of the box is lined with paper or cloth.
It is not recommended to put the entire harvested crop in one box. Otherwise, the lower fruits will wrinkle and spoil. The optimal weight is 25 kg.
To save space, you can stack the boxes on top of each other, but not close together.. There should be a gap at the top for air ventilation.
In packages
Gas exchange takes place inside the hermetically sealed bag, due to which the shelf life of apples increases. They ripen slowly, gaining flavor and juiciness. No more than 4 kg of fruit is placed in one bag.
You can’t tie bags right away. They are left uncovered for 7 hours to allow the apples to cool to cellar temperature. Only after this can you pack the fruit.
For ventilation, 4-5 holes are enough. They are made with a toothpick or a match. In bags, apples will remain edible until the weather warms up. Winter varieties can be stored in them for up to 7 months.
On the racks
If the harvest is not too large, then it can be compactly placed on racks. Shelves need to be covered with clean paper. The fruits are laid out in 1 layer, cuttings up.
There should be a gap between the apples so that they do not touch each other. They are covered with cardboard on top and another layer of fruit is laid out..
In paper
To prevent the apples from touching each other and rotting, you can wrap them in paper. Regular white napkins or newspapers are suitable for this purpose.
Each fruit is wrapped in several layers, after which it is placed layer by layer in a suitable container.
The paper will absorb excess water and retain ethylene inside the container. Fruits are perfectly stored in it for 4-6 months.
In the ground or in the sand
Apples packaged in plastic bags can be buried in the ground. The hole is dug to a depth of 0.5 m. Spruce or spruce branches are placed at the bottom. Their smell will repel rodents. The bags are cooled in the cellar, after which they are lowered into the ground, covered with spruce branches and another layer of earth. You can insulate the pit with fallen leaves.
Some gardeners store their crops in sand. It is heated to kill microbes. They fill the bottom of the container with it, lay out the apples in an even layer, on top of each other.
The gaps are filled with sand.In this way, the harvest is stored in barrels, boxes and boxes. Cover the filled container with a lid.
In bags
Apples are stored in bags in the same way as in bags. The only difference is that the bags themselves “breathe”, so there is no need to make additional holes in them.
If a bag is designed for 25 kg, this does not mean that it needs to be filled to the top. There should not be more than 10 kg of apples in one container.
It is better to place the bags on the floor or on shelves, rather than placing them near the wall. This method allows you to extend the shelf life of apples to 4-5 months.
Processing the crop before planting
To increase the resistance of fruits and increase shelf life, before storing in the cellar they are processed one of the following compositions:
- A weak solution of potassium permanganate. Soak the fruits for 2 minutes.
- Glycerin.
- Iodinol solution. It is sold in pharmacies as a gargle. The fruits are soaked in it for 30 minutes.
- Calcium chloride solution 4%. The fruits are kept for no more than a minute.
- Wax. It is melted in a water bath and apples are dipped into it one by one.
- Ultraviolet. Under the BUF-60 lamp, the fruits are kept for about half an hour, laid out in one layer and placed at a distance of up to 1.5 m.
- Alcohol tincture of propolis. For 0.5 liters of alcohol you will need 100 g of propolis. Before processing the fruits, the tincture is heated to 40 degrees.
Regardless of the composition with which the apple was coated, it must be thoroughly washed before eating.All products are safe for human health unless consumed. These substances cannot penetrate into the apple itself. Therefore, before eating it, the fruit must be washed in hot water.
Choosing “neighbors”
You need to place apples in the cellar correctly. Fruits have the ability to absorb odors from other foods.
In addition, they themselves produce ethylene. This plant hormone accelerates the ripening of nearby vegetables..
Apples tolerate proximity only to pears, since they have similar requirements for storage conditions. It is better to keep them away from other crops.
Worst neighbors apples:
Conclusion
Save apples for the winter not difficult. Late-ripening varieties thrive at zero temperatures. There are many storage methods: in bags, in the ground, in boxes, in paper and more. The main thing is to properly prepare the fruits for the upcoming winter..
