Any gardener strives to preserve the harvest, especially if the fruit has grown well. Even if there is no plot of their own, many are not averse to stocking up on local apples. It is good if there is a cellar, storage room, garage, or at least a cool loggia. And how to keep apples fresh for the winter at home, when there are no special rooms? There are various ways to extend the life of the fruit in the store and apartment.
Selection of varieties
To keep apples in an apartment or a special room, first of all, you need to choose a mature variety. How much the fruits will not deteriorate in autumn and winter depends on the conditions of detention. Usually this period ranges from three to four months to six months and even from autumn to summer.
According to the experience of summer residents, in the middle lane for storing apples at home, you can choose the following varieties:
- "Slavyanka";
- "Antaeus Pozdnezimny";
- "Antonovka";
- "Renet Simirenko" and champagne;
- "North Synap";
- "Golden Erayma";
- "Macintosh";
- "Pepin Saffron" and London;
- "Snowy Calvil"
- "Idared Late Winter";
- Golden Delicious and some others.
Fruit picking
To collect apples for storage for the winter should be in dry weather, while each must be scrolled and removed from the branch with the stalk. Fruit pulp of other fruits should not be injured on it. First, it is recommended to harvest from the bottom of the crown, then climb up.
It has been noticed that fruits grown on the outside of the crown of an adult apple tree are more stable. In buckets, baskets, boxes, boxes, crops must be stored extremely carefully so as not to beat or damage.
Sorting
Keeping apples fresh for the winter will not work if the harvest was damaged during harvesting or transportation. Before storing, it is necessary to sort the fruits. Apples will last longer:
- no dents;
- bruises;
- wormholes;
- scratches;
- damaged skin;
- with a stalk;
- not wiped, covered with natural wax ("fat" fruits).
The crop should be calibrated. Large apples, releasing the plant gas ethylene, will spoil faster and help small apples to overripe.
Storing apples at home: tips and tricks
- Due to the release of ethylene, apples should be stored separately from other fruits for the winter, otherwise the latter will lose keeping quality. If fruit is placed next to potatoes for a long time, the apple flavor will deteriorate.
- The optimum temperature for storing apples at home is about 0 ° C, the maximum temperature is + 5 ° C; humidity - no more than 90%.
- If you have a special storage for the fruit, you can keep the apples fresh for many months by pre-treating the surfaces of the room. Whitewash the walls (3 kg of slaked lime per bucket of water), spray the floors with lime milk and ventilate.
- If desired, each fruit can be dipped in a special impregnation, which lengthens the shelf life of apples in winter. Among them:
- 2% solution of calcium chloride;
- alcohol solution of propolis (100 g of raw materials for half a liter of alcohol);
- fused beeswax:
-
After washing, the fruits must be dried.
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Organization of apple storage
Ideally, apples are best placed in wooden plank boxes with cracks of only a few millimeters. It is good if the container stands in the sun for a couple of hours, it will heat up. You need to lay the fruits in one or two layers so that they do not touch each other, and the stalks descend into the space between the lower apples.
It is very good if there is a special rack. Gaskets and sprinkles will also help, which can serve as:
- paper (for example, toilet paper, napkins);
- cardboard;
- sawdust;
- dry foliage of maple, oak, fern;
- straw;
- dry sphagnum moss;
- peat crumb;
- lemon balm;
- sand.
You can also save apples in an apartment or garage in plastic food bags with a capacity of one to three kilograms. After sorting, the crop should be cooled in a cellar or refrigerator, then half-fill the container with fruits and tie tightly. Make a hole on the bag - a cut with a length of 8-10 cm.
The packaging creates an environment favorable for long-term storage of the crop: at high humidity, drops will appear on the inner surface, at low humidity, they will be absorbed by the fruit. As a result, it is possible to keep apples fresh and firm for the winter.
Packages can be placed in a refrigerator, cool closet, insulated loggia or balcony. From time to time, it is recommended to sort the crop, selecting fruits with initial signs of spoilage. Whole fruits will lie still.
