HOW TO STORE FRESH APPLES IN THE WINTER IN THE CELLAR OR BASEMENT?

The most delicious, healthy, fragrant apple is the one that grown at their own cottage.

Apples sold in winter in stores are not at all what we expect from these fruits, because, firstly, they do not have such a sweet, pleasant taste and aroma, and secondly, often stuffed with all sorts of chemistry, therefore, such apples can even harm health.

Therefore, the best stock up on your own apples for the winter, properly collecting them and placing them in the basement or cellar.

Temperature and humidity requirements

How to store apples in the winter in the cellar?

Ideal temperature to save these fruits can range from -1 to +3 degrees.

At this temperature, the ethylene that is released from the apples will not be so intense from the fruit, and the harvest will lie much longer.

Optimum humidity: this indicator should be in the range of 85-95%. Such a high percentage of moisture in the basement will save apples from drying out and wrinkling.

How to prepare the cellar?

The cellar in which the apples will be preserved must meet the following requirements:

Room height - 2.2-2.3 m no less. If the cellar is lower, then condensate will appear on the ceiling, affecting humidity and, as a result, the duration of fruit storage.
Cellar floor must be made of bricks or dry boards. Concreting it should not be.
Room walls need to lime. If the basement is too raw, then you need to decompose potassium chloride or fine lime, these substances will absorb unnecessary moisture.
Before you put fruit in the basement, the room must be disinfected. To do this, apply a solution to the walls of such components as lime, copper sulfate with water (for 10 liters of liquid, 1.5 kg of lime and approximately 150 g of vitriol are needed). Namely: whiten the walls with freshly lime (1.5 kg) with blue vitriol (150 g) and water (10 l).
It is important to ensure in the cellar natural or forced ventilation.

Can I freeze apples at home? The answer is in our article.

To learn how to wriggle apple "not standard", read here.

Useful and disastrous neighborhood

How to store apples in the cellar in winter with potatoes? Saving apples with potatoes can't. This is not necessary because apples produce ethylenewhich, falling on the potato, causes him harmresulting in a potato germinates. And apples at the same time gaining unpleasant starchy taste, and also very quickly ripen.

Also, you can not store apples with cabbage, onions or garlic can not. As a result of this neighborhood apples will acquire an unpleasant smell and taste. In general, such fruits should not be saved with vegetables.

A useful neighborhood for apples is pears. These fruits feel comfortable being nearby. There is no unpleasant odor and aftertaste after such a neighborhood.

How to prepare apples?

For storage of fruits for the winter they need to select. You need to make sure that the fruit had no dents, squeezed places, worms. Apples should be selected those in which there is a stem.

If some apple is without it, then soon it will start to deteriorate due to fungal diseases. You also need to choose those fruits that still have natural wax coating.

Should sort out fruits in size and variety.

Small apples should be kept in a separate box from large and medium.

This calibration is necessary because finding large apples that have lots of ethylene, together with small ones will promote faster ripening of small fruits.

And because of this, large apples will start to deteriorate, which in the end will to large crop losses. It is also important to sort the apples by varieties. After all, apples of different varieties have individual shelf life. Therefore, to keep such different fruits need in separate boxes.

How to sort the apples for storage, you will learn by watching this video:

What packaging is required?

Tare for winter saving apples can be varied, however, it must meet such basic requirements as strength and purity.

What to store apples in the cellar? Most often, people store apples in the following containers:

AT wooden boxes. When choosing such a container it is important to ensure that the upper boxes do not press down the lower ones. Apples in wooden boxes can not be clogged to the top, otherwise the top layer of the fruit will definitely suffer.
AT cardboard boxes. Such a container must be properly glue tape, in order to prevent rupture of the box.
AT latticed plastic chests. Since there is a gap in such a container, it is necessary to lay paper on the bottom and sides of the chests and to put apples on top.
On shelving. If the racks are in the basement with retractable drawers, then this is generally excellent. This is a very convenient storage method that allows you to see the status of the entire crop. Before identifying apples in the basement, the racks must first be dried and covered with sacking or paper.

How to put fruit?

It is desirable that each fruit somehow separated from the rest.

To do this, you can try to wrap the apples one by one paperor pour them sand, maple leaves.

If apples are stored in boxes, then the fruits should be placed in rows and diagonally, and not just pour out. And if the apples are saved on the shelves, the fruit can be sprinkled oiled shavings.

Saving apples in plastic films also appropriate. In this case, the apples should be placed like this: first, put 2 layers of film in the box, the first one along the length, the second along the width of the box. Then the apples are laid evenly. At the end of the film is placed on top and closes the top layer of apples.

How to store apples at home? The answer is in our article.

Which varieties of apples are suitable for compote drying? Find out right now.

Read about preparing apples before drying here //rusfermer.net/forlady/hranenie/yabloki/sushka-y/podgotovka.html

Terms of savings

The storage time for apples in the basement or cellar is largely depends on apple variety. For example, summer varieties of apples are not suitable for long-term savings, because the skin in them is very thin and delicate. But the autumn, and even better winter varieties, characterized by rough sandpaper will be able to lie for a long time:

autumn varieties - about 2 months under all necessary conditions;
winter varieties - from 4 to 7 months.

The best varieties for long-term storage are Antonovka, Antey, Calvil Snow, Bogatyr.

When storing apples in the winter in the basement or cellar, you should periodically conduct an audit. That is, in each box, pallet, bag should choose rotten or blackened fruit and remove them so that the process of decay does not pass on to other apples.

Strictly adhering to all the recommendations described in the article, you can be content with the taste of your own apples throughout the winter. The main thing is to prepare the winter or autumn fruits correctly, put them in containers appropriately and identify the boxes, pallets or boxes in the basement or cellar.

The rules for preparing and storing apples in this video: