Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Eating and Drinking => Cooking, Storing and Preserving => Topic started by: mikegm on August 12, 2013, 14:25
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Pulled a fair few beetroots this morning, really to free up some space in my raised beds. What advice for storing these beetroots until needed and how to store?
Also whilst on the subject of storing, how to best store rhubarb.
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I don't grow beets so can't help - but rhubarb can be frozen, but comes out a bit mushy. It can also be made into chutney :)
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Beetroots can be stored in sand similar to carrots. If you are unfamiliar with the method then put a layer of sand in a container and then put some beetroots on the sand. Ensure the beets are not touching each other. Then cover them completely with sand and repeat until the container is full. Finally store the container in a cool, dry and frost-free environment.
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Any particular sand Rytek?
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We've used the "orange" building sand and successfully kept beetroot until January. It may have actually kept longer but there were only 20 roots so we actually used them up. The containers we used are the plastic stackable storage boxes that you can get from most DIY places, some GC's or Wilko etc. I read somewhere (possibly on the RHS website) that it's best to use moist sand because if it's dry it can actually dry the moisture out of the veg.
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I've used bagged playsand effectively. As said, the key is keeping the soil lightly moist at all times. Do regular weekly checks of the moisture and the beets should keep for quite a while. Also, keep them dark but not in a tightly lidded container that can't breathe.
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I will sow a last crop of beet next week in the PT ! I have pickled that is 2 years old and still fine :D