Growing a crop is half the battle; you also need to preserve it in order to enjoy the fruits of your labor from autumn to spring. If you remove radishes from the garden on time, the root crop will last until the next harvest and will remain strong and juicy. Fresh fruits make up for the lack of vitamins, fiber, and potassium during the winter, when the immune system is especially weakened.
When to harvest black, white, red radish
Sweet radish with white and red skin is grown for consumption in summer or autumn. Its delicate pulp does not withstand long-term storage. Even late varieties can remain juicy for only 2 months.Therefore, white and pink daikon fruits are collected throughout the summer and eaten fresh. If the root crop is kept in the ground, then voids will form inside it, and the pulp will become hard and tasteless.
Later varieties of white radish are left until September-October. In areas where frosts begin early, you need to have time to dig it up before the cold snaps.
The degree of maturity of the radish is determined by the large size of the root crop and the drying of the tops.
The black vegetable product is planted in June-July, so it reaches technical maturity in mid to late autumn. Dig it up before the first frost.
Any type of radish must be harvested on time. Harvested ahead of time, the crop will wither or germinate faster. There is little benefit from such a product.
Harvesting the summer harvest
To consume root crops in the summer, early ripening varieties are chosen, which are planted in open ground or under film covers in April - early May. After 1.5-2 months, the fruits will reach technical ripeness and can be dug up.
The harvest should not be done immediately, but gradually by pulling the radish out of the ground. They start with large root vegetables, which have already become juicy and tasty. After two weeks, the rest are collected. If they lie in the ground, they will become hollow, with dried out pulp.
Specific harvesting dates are determined based on the time of sowing and the variety of vegetable. To make sure that the root vegetable is ready to eat, you need to take 2-3 copies from the garden and taste it. The condition of the fruits is monitored regularly, then the harvest will be harvested on time.
Harvesting autumn varieties
Mid-season radish is a short-day vegetable. She doesn't need a lot of sun.Therefore, you should not plant the seeds early, otherwise the formation of the root crop will occur on hot days. From this, growth stops, and the vegetable produces arrows with flowers. The correct selection of plant variety is important. Growing too long in areas with early frosts will result in crop loss. Early ripening varieties that can be harvested by September are also suitable for autumn if planted in July.
Harvesting winter varieties
For winter storage, black radishes are usually left, less often daikon or green. It is collected depending on the growing region. In the middle zone, in the Urals, in Siberia, the last date for harvesting is mid-October. If regular drops in temperature begin, then you need to do this earlier. Although the vegetable is not afraid of frost, if it freezes, the fruit will lose some of its valuable properties.
Root crops are always dug up not immediately, but selectively. They extract the crop from the ground by pulling it out with their hands or digging it up with a shovel or pitchfork.
For harvesting, you need to choose a fine day to leave the fruits in the garden to dry. Carefully dig out the product without damaging it. After clearing the soil, remove the tops, leaving a stump 1.5-2 centimeters in size. When cutting the stem, you must not damage the skin, otherwise pathogenic microorganisms will enter through the wound and destroy the product.
Preparation for storage
Root crops harvested in time must be prepared for storage:
- They start by sorting through the crop, putting aside small and slightly damaged radishes.
- For final drying, place the collected product in a room where it is well ventilated and not exposed to sunlight.
Cellars or basements also need preparation for storing fresh vegetables:
- To do this, clean the premises of debris, disinfect wooden surfaces with special solutions, and whitewash them with copper sulfate diluted with lime in a ratio of 1:20.
- It is necessary to thoroughly dry the basement before planting the root crops.
- Do not forget about sealing cracks that can become passages for rodents.
All work must be completed 2 weeks before the radish harvest is planted.
Storage in autumn-winter period
Before placing the collected root crops in storage, they are sorted again. Small vegetables with a diameter of 3-4 centimeters are best left for consumption and put in the refrigerator. The rest of the crop is laid stalk down, sprinkling each row with sand.
If there is a small amount of radish, you can put it in dry wooden boxes, sprinkled with wet sand, or in plastic bags. Containers must not be closed; the product must be allowed to breathe. The optimal storage temperature is 2-3 degrees Celsius with a humidity of 85%. Beets placed nearby protect radishes well.
All winter you need to regularly monitor the vegetable, selecting damaged, rotten fruits. Radishes that begin to wilt are immediately removed, trying to be consumed first.
Make sure that the fruits do not freeze. To do this, the cellar lids are insulated, covering them with layers of burlap during severe frosts. If the root crop freezes, it will become unsuitable for consumption.
