Harvest Silos: What You Need To Take Care Of In Advance

2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38

It will be extremely disappointing if, after spending the effort in the summer and collecting an excellent harvest, it will not be possible to preserve it. In order to prevent such losses, it is necessary to worry about the preparation of storage facilities in advance. What needs to be done while the harvest ripens in the beds?

Burts or cellars?

Harvest storage is a whole science. To do this, you can use both basements and sheds, and the adjacent territory on your personal plot. It is quite possible to arrange temporary storage for decaying vegetables. These can be piles and trenches for root crops - radishes, beets, rutabagas, parsnips. However, such conditions are not suitable for less mature root crops. These include carrots and celery, parsley and turnips. They need permanent storage and suitable containers. It is also time to worry about the reserves of sand, clay, which serve as faithful helpers when storing vegetables during the winter period.

But the most important thing to learn is that the optimal storage mode is ensured by maintaining high-quality ventilation, as well as the desired temperature and relative humidity. Different fruits and vegetables have different requirements for the last two parameters.

So, during long-term storage, it is necessary to ensure the relative humidity of the air:

• 95% - cabbage, root vegetables, apples, pears;

• 80% - onions and garlic;

• 75% - pumpkin.

At the same time, the same fruits and vegetables are comfortable at different storage temperatures:

• cabbage and root vegetables - about 0 ° С;

• apples and pears - up to 1 ° С;

• onions - from 0 to 3 ° С;

• garlic - from 1 to 3 ° С;

• pumpkin - from +6 to +8 ° С.

These requirements should be taken into account when providing the storage with air exchange. It is impossible to leave basements and trenches completely without ventilation. Thanks to this process, carbon dioxide and heat, which are released during storage of the crop, are eroded, as well as excess moisture is removed.

Repair, disinfection and whitewashing

In addition to ensuring optimal conditions, the storage must be protected from contamination of the crop with pathogens, the remains of which could lurk here after the stay of the previous batch of vegetables and fruits. For this purpose, cleaning, cleaning of boxes and containers, disinfection of shelves and racks should be carried out.

Garbage and spoiled vegetables are thrown out of the store without regret. Just do not use them for compost, otherwise mold, fungus and other disease-causing microbes will move along with the fertilizer to the beds. Such specimens have a place in a deep pit.

Until the cold weather came, repairs were being carried out in the storage. It is necessary to check whether it is time to replace or strengthen the glass in the windows, how tightly they adhere to the door openings. In addition, the storage area must be ventilated and dried.

When the repair work has been completed, they begin to disinfect the areas. The ventilation ducts must not only be cleaned, but also treated with disinfectants. If you cannot stock up on them in specialized departments of your stores, you can do with a weak aqueous formalin solution. The same solution is used to treat other surfaces to fight the fungus. Fumigation with sulfur dioxide also helps to disinfect the premises.

After disinfection and ventilation, the walls are whitewashed with an aqueous solution of lime with the addition of copper sulfate to it in a ratio of 10: 1. This work is done twice. You need to start it before the mass laying of the crop for storage, since the walls must dry out thoroughly.

You should also take care of the container for storing vegetables. For fruits, tightly knit boxes are prepared, containers made of boards that are loosely adjacent to each other are suitable for vegetables. When you have to transport the crop from afar, you need to stock up on bags and buckets.