How to store leeks is a pressing question. This vegetable is popular among gardeners. It is grown in summer cottages. Compliance with the rules of agricultural technology allows you to get a good harvest.
But you won’t be able to eat the spicy vegetable right away. In its natural form, the wonder is not stored for long. It’s a pity to deprive your family of a vitamin supplement due to ignorance of simple things. With a little effort, the seasoning will be on the gardener’s table throughout the winter season.
The consistency of the vegetable, the content of micro- and macroelements, and vitamins depend on when to harvest and how to preserve the crop. It is unlikely that a gardener will be pleased with limp greens of incomprehensible taste. There is no benefit from such preparation.
The difficulty is the impossibility of canning leeks.The vegetable harvest is stored fresh, frozen or dried. Properly cleaning and ensuring marketable appearance is a feasible task for any gardener.
Outlandish onion
Not so long ago, summer residents did not know what leeks were and how to grow them. Related plants were planted in the plots: turnips, garlic, goose onions. Now it’s hard to imagine a menu without the original spicy vegetable.
The value of the plant is the thick white leg of the vegetable (modified bulb). Its taste is less spicy, slightly sweet. There is no bitterness felt when eating. Onions are pleasant in salads. It adds flavor to fried or stewed dishes. Children willingly eat new food.
But the taste changes depending on when the leeks are harvested. The pungency and amount of vitamins in a vegetable are affected by the weather. It is impossible to correct it. But the gardener can choose the harvest time and take into account the period of the maximum amount of nutrients.
The taste of autumn, winter and spring dishes depends on how leeks are stored. Proper arrangement of the room, temperature and humidity conditions will provide the gardener with gratitude from his family for the deliciously prepared food.
Where does the miracle vegetable grow?
Until the beginning of the twentieth century, Russia did not know about the existence of a wonderful vegetable. Then it turned out: the plant is heat-loving, takes a long time to mature, but can be planted through seedlings. Now it is growing in the southern regions, the central part, and the northwestern regions. Leeks are not uncommon in Siberia. But early varieties of vegetables are cultivated there.
The vegetable ripens 3–4 months after germination. Summer residents of the south grow it through seedlings in a greenhouse. After the earth has warmed up, the feathers are placed in a permanent place.
In the central zone, gardeners have succeeded in growing vegetables: in January they sow in boxes, in February they dive. Illuminate with a phytolamp and ventilate. In April they are placed in a permanent place.Plants ripen in August-September.
In the north and northwest, gardeners plant only early varieties and hybrids. The seedling method is used. Outdoor placement time is May. The first harvest from the garden is harvested in the first ten days of September.
Some summer residents allocate a place for the onion in an unheated greenhouse. This measure allows us to solve the problem of excessive precipitation. With properly prepared soils, onion plants produce increased yields.
The vegetable tolerates low temperatures, variable light levels, and prolonged precipitation. If the sowing time is observed, the plant will ripen in any region of gardening.
Cleaning rules
The value of the vegetable is the bleached leg of a light (sometimes yellowish) color. To ensure that it grows long, thick and juicy, gardeners earth up the plant 2-3 times per season. As a result, the root system is immersed in the soil to a depth of 70 cm.
How to properly remove a miracle plant from the ground:
- Harvesting should be done after the vegetable has fully ripened. This is indicated by drooping, slightly yellowed leaves.
- Tender young greens of the vegetable are also used for cooking. But you should not cut it off from plants intended for storage: the leg will not gain the required thickness.
- A pitchfork will help the gardener harvest vegetables without loss. They are less traumatic than a shovel.
- Before choosing leeks, it is recommended to unplant the bushes. The operation is carried out a day before digging the vegetable.
- The gardener should pay attention to the air temperature and amount of precipitation. In cool, rainy summers, the ripening time of the plant is delayed by 2–3 weeks.
- It is recommended to finally complete digging up the vegetable before the first frost. Leek is a cold-resistant crop. It can withstand temperatures down to sub-zero levels.But the keeping quality of frozen feet worsens.
- Collection should be carried out in dry weather. This will keep your feet clean. The plant also accumulates the maximum amount of vitamins at this time.
- Place the dug plants out on the ridge for ventilation for 2 hours. In cloudy weather (if there is a threat of rain), move the crop under a canopy.
- It is recommended to collect all the onion legs in one go. This is necessary for storing evenly dried plants. For large plantings, the collected lots should be kept separately.
Green feathers should not be removed from dug-out plants at this stage. During storage, useful substances from them will enter the white part - the leg.
How long to dry the crop depends on the weather and location. In sunny times, it is enough to keep it outside for 5–7 days. In cloudy weather, the gardener needs to wilt the plants in the attic or shed. Ventilation time is 10–14 days.
Harvesting and storing leeks is a simple task. Compliance with all the rules will provide gardeners with vitamin products throughout the year..
Recommendations for storing vegetables
It is impossible to prepare vegetables for future use using the canning method (pickling, pickling). It is kept in basements, lower compartments of refrigerators or frozen.
Recommendations for storing leeks in the basement:
- trim the roots of a mature, dried bush (leave 1 cm);
- carefully shorten the tops by a third (this is enough to preserve vitamins in the leg);
- pour calcined coarse sand into the box in a layer of 2–3 cm;
- place the bushes vertically, sprinkled with moistened soil;
- the backfill should rise to the length of the plant's leg.
Should be kept in the dark at an air humidity of 65%. A hygrometer should be used for monitoring.
Some gardeners prefer storing the harvested crops in beds. Before a steady cold snap, the plantings are hilled up again, covered with a layer of 20–30 cm of fallen leaves, then with a layer of snow. The plant overwinters. In the spring, after the soil has thawed, you should rake off the leaves and carefully dig out the required number of plants. The summer resident has the earliest, freshest greens on the menu.
Leek is a biennial plant. The remaining 2-3 bushes can be left in the garden bed. They will give you an arrow with seeds. The gardener will receive his own planting material. This operation can only be performed with varieties: hybrids do not retain their characteristics.
Leeks do not lose vitamins when frozen. Gardeners without a basement prefer to store it in the refrigerator. Remove green leaves from the plant. The foot is washed and dried. Then they are cut into rings and placed in a plastic bag or tray. Prepare immediately after defrosting.
Some gardeners are in no hurry to send cut green leek feathers to the compost. They are passed through a meat grinder or crushed in a blender. Then mix with table salt (to taste) and freeze. The vitamin dressing for soups and borscht is ready.
If there is free space in the refrigerator, the collected leeks are stored there. The plant is carefully cleaned of damaged leaves, the soil is shaken off the roots and placed in plastic bags or wrapped in cling film. The layer of greenery should not exceed 5–7 cm.
Legs stored in the vegetable compartment should be consumed within 4–5 months. At the same time, air access should be provided into the bags (perforation should be made).
The old drying method has not exhausted itself. The leg is cut into rings 1–1.5 cm thick and placed in an electric dryer for 4–6 hours. The air temperature when blowing is 40 degrees Celsius.This preserves vitamins. Keep the semi-finished product in a glass container with a ground-in lid in a dry place.
If the gardener does not have the equipment, you can dry the raw materials in an oven with the door open. Place parchment on a baking sheet. Spread the chopped onion in a 3 cm layer. The temperature should be set to 50 degrees Celsius. You need to stir the rings every 15 minutes.
You can prepare miracle onions for future use in different ways. Labor costs when processing the plant are insignificant. They will pay for themselves when it comes time to get the prepared supplies.
Following the rules will preserve the spicy-pungent taste. Vitamin products from our own dacha will diversify the winter menu of gardeners.
