Do you grow more carrots than you could eat ? Hey , that ’s a safe problem to have . But you ’re going to need a resolution to keep all those carrot fresh and crunchy for as long as potential .
I would suppose that most of us do n’t have a ascendent cellar forstoring a surplus of fall vegetables over wintertime . And where I live in Central Oregon , storing carrot correctly where they ’re growing — in the priming coat — for the intact winter is n’t workable because :
Fortunately , there ’s a simple answer that does n’t involve root cellaring or storing carrot in a box of damp Baroness Dudevant or peat moss , and from personal experience , it will keep your carrots crisp and flavorful for up tosix month ! It ’s unbelievable because if done correctly , they wo n’t mold and they wo n’t get soft and wilted .
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My carrot storage method
Here ’s what you ’ll call for :
Step 1: Harvest after a few frosts.
Wait until there have been a few frosts in your area before reap your carrot . When exposed to frost , carrots naturally accumulate spare refined sugar to protect their cell from freezing . This results in superbly sweetened carrot that are a far cry from the earthy , bitter carrots you often get from the stock .
By November , we ’ve typically had a few random night of lows in the mid to high 20s Fahrenheit , so that ’s when I bug out harvest home .
Step 2: Remove the greens.
reduce the leafy vegetable off and either use them as mulch for winter plants ( what I commonly do ) or compost them . Leaving the green on your carrot will allow them to continue drawing moisture from the roots , making them lenient , so you definitely want to remove them .
If the Robert Frost has n’t strike your carrot too hard and the greens are still vibrant , you could even move around them intocarrot top salsa .
Step 3: Lightly rinse the carrots.
To wash or not to launder ? The selection is yours , but the important thing is notscrubbingyour carrots before storing . Doing so can get around the cutis , which risks the carrots going bad prematurely .
I prefer to hose them down in the garden to remove the majority of the territory that ’s clinging to the root . I do n’t want all that territory rifle down the drain in my kitchen sink , and I do n’t really want it lingering in storage either .
So I give a quick rinse — this harvest basket is one of my must - havesbecause it doubles as a colander and has foldable legs . I have these handbasket in all sizes and utilise every unmarried one in the garden twelvemonth - round .
Once you ’ve brought the carrots back inside the firm , spread them out on a kitchen towel to dry off slightly . You do n’t want all the moisture to vaporize ; you just want to absorb the excess water . I usually get out my carrots on the counter like this for about 15 minutes before packing them .
Step 4: Prep your storage bags.
I use unconstipated zip - top storage bags . With your metallic element skewer ( or another standardized tool ) , poke about 20 holes in each grip , going directly through both English . I ’ve found that this provides just enough external respiration to prevent mold while mimicking the 90 percent to 95 percent humidness of a origin cellar .
Step 5: Sort carrots and fill your bags.
Sort your carrot and set aside any that are damaged , crack , or split . These are the ones you should apply first , so put them in their own bagful or hive away them with your current week ’s produce .
( If yourcarrots look deformedbut are otherwise undamaged , no concern — they will still stack away well . )
Fill your bag with the residue of the carrots and seal them up . That ’s it ! I can generally fit about 4 pound of carrot in each bag .
stack away the udder in the fridge ( with the temperature set between 32 ° degree Fahrenheit and 40 ° F ) and your carrot will last up to six calendar month this way without losing flavor or brittleness .
We have a 2d electric refrigerator that we keep in the garage for swallow and well over produce , but you could also just store these bags in the back of your regular electric refrigerator . If you have a non - antagonistic depth version , this can help you organize your nutrient so it does n’t get mislay in the back ( which used to befall in our onetime electric refrigerator — we’d often encounter slimy garden truck or quondam leftovers that got push to the back every hebdomad ) .
If you do n’t have a full - sized fridge with elbow room to part with , you’re able to also use a mini fridge . Just because you know in a small space does n’t mean you have to give up storage for excess produce !
Periodically insure your bags through winter and spring , and forthwith murder any carrots that look like they ’re on the wand of decay .
Downloadable pamphlet
Don’t let good food go to waste
memorise how to properly store all the vegetables you grow or buy with my in - depth usher on fruit and vegetable storage . admit easy - to - read chart you’re able to print and give ear for reference !
