How to store a pumpkin for the winter in a cellar: create favorable conditions to avoid spoiling the vegetable
Pumpkin is a healthy and tasty product that adults and children love. The plant is unpretentious in care, even a beginner can cope with its cultivation. After harvesting a rich harvest, the problem of its storage becomes urgent.
From the article you will learn how to store a pumpkin for the winter in a cellar, how to prepare the room and the fruits themselves, under what conditions the harvest will last until spring.
The content of the article
Is it possible to store a pumpkin in a cellar
Pumpkin is a versatile product used to prepare first and second courses and desserts. The crop harvested from your garden is especially tasty and healthy. But can the fruits be preserved for a long time?
For this purpose, choose dry, cool and dark rooms. Owners of private houses use a cellar for storage, residents of megalopolises have to be content with balconies and basements.
Points for and against"
It is good if the gardener has a cellar for storing vegetables. However, having a suitable room does not mean that you can fold the crop and forget about it for a long time. Storage rules must be observed.
Despite the fact that pumpkin seeds can be stored until spring, under unfavorable conditions they quickly deteriorate. In order to enjoy fresh vegetables in winter, you will need to work hard to prepare the room.
In addition to the costs of processing and disinfection, it is necessary to make good ventilation, as well as take care of the purchase of shelves and shelves.
Optimal storage conditions
Most basements are suitable for long-term storage of crops. Violation of temperature indicators leads to a loss of taste, freezing and damage to the pumpkin.
Cellar requirements
Optimal conditions for storing pumpkin seeds are air temperature + 5 ° C (+ 10 ° C for some varieties) and humidity - 70-75%. Keep in mind that the indicators differ at different heights relative to the floor: the lower, the colder. Temperature measurements are recommended at the lower level.
If the temperature there is 0 ... + 2 ° C, the crop is transferred to shelves or racks.
In severe frosts, the pumpkin may freeze. In winter, it is necessary to monitor the change in temperature indicators in the cellar. As soon as the mark drops below 0 ° C, the fruits are wrapped in straw, old fur coats or blankets.
Suitable varieties
Not all pumpkin varieties are suitable for long-term storage. In the cellar, late-ripening fruits with a strong peel and rich orange pulp winter safely.
Among these varieties:
- Vitamin;
- Zhdana;
- Pearl;
- Arbatskaya;
- Muscat;
- Gymnosperm;
- Interception;
- Vita;
- Butternut;
- Father-in-law Delipe.
How to prepare pumpkin for storage in the cellar
For long-term storage only whole, unspoiled fruits are selected. If the pumpkin has dark spots or other damage, it is best to process it right away.
Important! A pumpkin with moldy spots must be disposed of - just cutting off the damage is not enough.
When harvesting, it is important for gardeners to leave a 10 cm long stalk on the fruits. Such pumpkins are stored longer. The tail is not torn off with bare hands, but a knife is used. If the stalk was cut off completely, this opens up access to the inside for bacteria and infections. The tail should be green and not damaged.
Strong and fully ripe pumpkins are sent to the cellar.Fruits that are too small or large are not suitable for home storage - it is better to process or freeze them.
The collected fruits are cleaned of dirt with a dry towel. If the harvest took place in rainy weather, the pumpkins are completely dried in a dry, dark place before storing.
Room preparation
Preparing the cellar for storing the harvest is an important event, without which it is impossible to ensure the safety of vegetables until winter. Landscaping work begins one month before harvesting.
Stages of preparation of the premises:
- Get rid of dampness and mold... The cellar is ventilated, the racks and shelves are processed and dried, the ventilation system is installed.
- Disinfect from infections and parasites. In the fall, before laying vegetables, the room is treated with sulfuric checkers or lime.
- Clear debris. All last year's harvest is taken out of the cellar. Vegetables are thrown away or processed. Canned jars are left on the shelves.
- Prepare shelving. The shelves are lined in several layers with paper or straw.
Acceptable neighborhood
Not all vegetables can be stored with pumpkin. She easily absorbs odors, which spoils her taste. Fruits can be stored with zucchini, eggplant and radish. It is better not to overlap with the rest of the pumpkin crops.
Important! Apples and pears are not the best pumpkin neighbors. Fruits release ethylene, which reduces the shelf life of the fruit.
If the room is small and you need to store several types of vegetables, the crops are placed at different levels in height.
Pumpkin storage methods
When stored properly, pumpkin stays fresh and does not lose its flavor. Fruits with traces of rot or an unpleasant odor are not suitable for consumption.
To keep the pumpkin fresh, it is better to store it whole. However, in urban conditions, most owners prefer to use the area sparingly, so they cut it into pieces.
Whole fruits
In order for the pumpkin to survive until spring, it is necessary to lay it correctly:
- The fruits are not stored on bare shelves - the racks are covered with straw or paper.
- The pumpkin should not touch the walls of the room. Due to the temperature difference, condensation and mold form on them.
- The fruits are placed with the stalks up. By the tail you can see that the vegetable has begun to deteriorate.
- The pumpkin should not come into contact with its "neighbors". If one fruit decays, the whole crop will deteriorate.
- Vegetables are not stored in a pyramid or piled on the floor.
- Check your inventory status once a month or more.
A regular visit to the cellar will allow you to notice problems in time. If condensation begins to form on the fruits, this is a sign of an increase in air humidity. The situation requires immediate action, otherwise the plaque will eventually turn into dark spots and the crop will be spoiled.
To reduce humidity, the room is regularly ventilated. You can also put a bucket of quicklime in the cellar - it absorbs moisture well.
If there are no shelves in the cellar, the pumpkin is stored in boxes or boxes. It is important to fill the gaps between the vegetables with straw or newspapers so that they do not touch the sides.
Chopped into pieces
To save space, the pumpkin is cut into pieces, frozen and placed in the refrigerator. When stored properly, it will retain its freshness for a year.
How to prepare a pumpkin forfreeze:
- Wash the vegetable and peel it.
- Remove pumpkin seeds.
- Cut into pieces.
- Divide in portions into containers or plastic bags.
- Place the workpiece in the freezer.
Feature. Frozen pumpkin is used for cooking various dishes, with the exception of juice.
Storage period
The shelf life of pumpkin depends on the characteristics of the variety. Forage species withstand several months, nutmeg - six months, the most persistent table varieties - more than 6 months.
Do not exceed the permissible shelf life, even if the fruit looks intact, without damage.
Tips & Tricks
To keep your crop lossless, follow these expert tips:
- To disinfect the cellar, in addition to lime, copper sulfate and a 2% solution of sodium chloride are used.
- After using the sulfur checkers, the cellar is ventilated for at least 2 days.
- To absorb moisture in the room, boxes with dry sawdust and ash are placed.
- As soon as the paper backing is damp, it is replaced.
- You can protect the fruits from freezing by covering them with a thick cloth.
- A common mistake of gardeners is collecting unripe fruits, because of which they begin to deteriorate.
- The pumpkin has a natural protective layer, which, due to inexperience, the gardener can wash off. Before sending the fruit for storage, it is enough to wipe it with a dry cloth.
Conclusion
Pumpkin is ideal for long-term storage. In the cellar or basement, the fruits will remain fresh until spring. If you prepare the room for the laying of the harvest, monitor the temperature and humidity indicators, and also fold the fruits correctly, you can feast on fresh pumpkin all year round.