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Summer residents have to spend a lot of effort to collect a high-quality harvest of each crop. But this stage is not the last. Plants need to be grown, wait for the harvest, and then store it. Winter storage is important for any region. During the cold season, it is difficult to provide your diet with fresh vegetables and fruits, so summer residents think about storage methods in advance. In this article we will look at the rules for storing winter garlic at home.
Winter garlic is a slightly finicky vegetable, but very healthy.
As soon as at least one parameter is violated during storage, you can be left without it long before the new harvest. But in addition to its nutritional and taste benefits, it also has a strong healing effect. Therefore, we will consider the aspects of proper storage of garlic heads in winter.
Preliminary preparation before storing garlic
High-quality storage of winter garlic at home is only possible with proper harvesting. Gardeners need to do everything according to the rules:
- Follow cleaning deadlines. The main assistants in this are the lunar calendar, weather forecast and external signs of a plant ready for harvesting.
- As soon as the leaves of the plant turn yellow, the stem is soft, and the husks easily fall away from the cloves, then it is time to harvest.
- Ensure proper watering. 3-4 weeks before the expected harvest date, watering is stopped. In this case, the crop is stored better in winter. Therefore, try to dig up the heads before the rains arrive.
- Choose suitable weather conditions. Vegetables harvested in rainy weather are more difficult to preserve - additional drying is required.
- Carefully dig up the heads of garlic for storage. To do this, use a pitchfork, not a shovel. Be sure to step back 5-7 cm from the plant stem so as not to injure the garlic.
The next stages are drying, cleaning, reassembly. Everyone is important and necessary. Summer residents need to wait for the natural cessation of vegetative processes in the plant.
In rainy weather, the harvest is laid out under a canopy for 10 days; in dry weather, it is left in the beds.
Further actions include clearing the soil and trimming the stems and roots. The remaining roots are burned.
Now the bulkhead.
If during the growing season there is an infection with a fungal infection or pest larvae, the product will not last long. Therefore, it is better to discard any doubtful heads for priority use and not leave them for winter use.
Options for storing winter garlic at home
In order for garlic to retain its characteristics and attractive appearance, you need to choose a suitable winter storage method for your conditions. There are only two main methods - warm and cold.
The parameters of the warm method are temperature not higher than 200°C and indoor air humidity from 50% to 70%.More suitable for industrial applications. In the cold version, the temperature is kept from +2°C to +40°C, the humidity percentage is allowed up to 90%. This option is closer to home storage. Most often, gardeners place their crops in the refrigerator. A winter vegetable does not require longer storage; it will still not last more than six months and will begin to deteriorate or sprout.
Among the huge number of ideas, gardeners identify the most convenient ones for winter garlic. Store the harvest using:
- Cold method. A home refrigerator, sterilized glass containers, and a fabric bag treated with saline solution are suitable for it.
- Salt method. In this case, the heads of the winter product are sprinkled with dry salt.
- Flour, sprinkling it over the garlic cloves or heads.
- Onion peels are also used for sprinkling the harvested crop.
- Vegetable oil. Fill the cloves with pre-prepared oil.
- Paraffin. The substance provides long-term storage even at room temperature. With this method, garlic does not lose moisture.
- Braids of garlic stalks.
- Boxes, nets, storage boxes.
Each method has its own nuances, advantages or disadvantages.
Preserving winter garlic at home without any problems
How to store winter garlic at home? The options that have proven themselves well, tested by many housewives, are kitchen, pantry, refrigerator. To place winter crops indoors use:
- Glass jars. They must be sterilized and dried. Then the unpeeled slices of the winter product are placed. But different additional substances are used to preserve the vegetable. If it is not poured with anything, then tightly close the jar with a lid. In another case, the slices are covered with wheat flour.When adding flour, leave the jar open.
- Another ingredient that saves winter garlic from spoilage in winter is table salt.The components are placed in the jar in layers, alternating garlic and salt.
- Baskets are good for slices. They maintain the required ventilation without drafts. If you take cardboard boxes, plastic or wooden boxes, you will have to make holes in them.
- Pendant with pigtail.
A popular way to store winter vegetables since ancient times, they even decorated homes with braids. Such a unique garlic decoration. It is advantageous in that at any time you can inspect your supplies and detect a spoiled or damaged head. For weaving, you need a base - rope, tourniquet, twine and garlic stalks 35 cm long. Therefore, determine the winter method of storing garlic in advance in order to leave the required length of the stalk. One side of the braid is attached to the wall using a loop. - Double bag. You will need two types of shopping bags - canvas and plastic. The canvas one is placed inside the film one, and prepared winter garlic is poured into a double “container”. The advantages of this method are the stability of humidity parameters and good preservation of the crop throughout the winter.
- Vegetable oil. Labor-intensive method. The oil must be boiled for 1 hour, add 3-5 drops of pharmaceutical iodine solution. Uncleaned heads are placed in oil, then removed and cooled. Before storing, the processed winter product is dried. For storage, use any container of the required size.
Important nuances
We looked at ways to properly store winter vegetables in familiar home conditions. If we we store the product in the apartment, then the best option should be considered a glass container with a tight lid.Room temperature does not always contribute to the long-term preservation of garlic crops. Therefore, many housewives do the right thing if they use several different methods at the same time. For a small amount of winter garlic, a kitchen refrigerator is suitable; if there are larger stocks, then choose the most convenient one. Most often by experience, trying the listed options. In any case, don't forget:
- regularly inspect and sort through stored garlic;
- ensure that the product is not stored in light;
- maintain the required humidity so that the heads do not rot or mold;
- remove damaged or diseased bulbs in a timely manner, especially when their color changes;
- pour oil over the sprouting teeth.
Any home method of storing winter garlic will be reliable if you use high-quality material. Pay attention to sorting the bulbs after harvesting, ensuring the required temperature and humidity levels. With this approach, you will preserve the healthy vegetable until the next harvest.
