Not only experienced landowners, but also amateur gardeners, there may be a question how to preserve grapes for the winter. Contrary to popular belief, it is quite possible to implement and at home, just approach the process you need right.
However, the standard apartment here does not fit, for a long period to save the product in its original form can only be in a room with special conditions. They include a stable temperature within +2. . + 8ºС, humidity not higher than 60-70%, darkness, absence of insects and mold, good ventilation or regular airing.
Important moments of vine preparation for storage of
To keep grapes for the winter, it is necessary to prepare it correctly for this process. It is necessary not only to choose a suitable grade, product, but also to carry out a number of auxiliary manipulations:
- The more abundant the grapes are poured, the faster it will deteriorate. The last watering is best done a month and a half before the planned harvest.
- Bunches with congested bushes are difficult to save for a long time. From time to time the vine needs to be thinned out.
- Special attention should be paid to fertilizer application. Too active top dressing adversely affects the shelf life of the product. In turn, phosphate-potassium fertilizers increase the level of berries, so they last longer.
- Grapes affected by diseases will not survive after being removed from the vine for longer than a few days, so the treatment of the plant needs to be done in a timely manner.
- Before storing grapes for the winter, you need to make sure that it has reached the optimum level of maturity. Green and overripe berries can not be saved in the right kind.
Tip: Long maturing varieties with a tough waxy skin and dense flesh are ideal for preserving grapes for a long time. The longest of its nutritional and taste qualities are the following varieties: Tahir, Light, Chocolate, Original, Autumn black, Liana, Nistru, Moldova and some others.
- Grapes should be collected only in special gloves, otherwise the wax coating will be removed from the surface of the berries, which plays an important role in storing grapes at home.
- Removed bunches can not be left in the sun to dry, this will reduce the quality of the product.
- All excess berries( overripe, unripe, dried, rotten, damaged) must be removed from the bunch. The length of the stalk leg should be about 4-5 cm.
The chosen room also needs preparation. In addition to eliminating all signs of mold, rot and insects, you need to get rid of foreign smells by ventilating the room. Eliminate high humidity by using quicklime. If the room is fumed with sulfur, the mold will not appear in it.
Techniques for storing fresh grapes at home
To know how to preserve grapes for the winter, you need to familiarize yourself with the most accessible, but effective approach techniques and choose the optimal one:
- In a box. The main thing is the correct processing of the boxes. Their inner and outer surfaces must be cleaned with a soft cloth soaked in a 5% solution of soda. After that, the containers are dried in the sun. Grapes are stacked in bunches in one layer, while storing together two varieties and is no longer recommended. After laying out the products, we fumigate each tank with sulfur. To do this, place the lit wick inside the boxes and close the lid for a few minutes. After this, we take out the device, we close the boxes and put it away for storage. Every two weeks they will have to be checked, removing the spoiled berries if necessary. Thus, grapes can be stored for 4-5 months.
- In sawdust. The bottom of the cleaned box is laid out with three centimeters of dry sawdust without any signs of moisture. Layout is made in one row. If the bunches are small, you can make the second row, but only after laying out another layer of sawdust. We fall asleep with another five centimeters of sawdust, close the box and lightly knock on its walls, so that the sawdust is well distributed among the berries.
- Suspension. The simplest method, which suits the owners of the attic or attic. Bunches are suspended on a wire or a rope, thus they should not adjoin each other. Grapes for this method are cut with a vine, the cut of which is sealed with wax or covered with potatoes. In this condition, the berries will retain their freshness until 2-3 months.
- In bottles. Together with the bunch cut off an impressive stretch of vines. Its end is lowered into a bottle of boiled water, and the bunch is suspended. The presence of liquid must be checked regularly, it is recommended to add charcoal to its best preservation in a bottle. The disadvantage of the technique is that for each cluster it is necessary to select a separate bottle.
- Freezing. In a modern freezer, grapes can be kept for several months, and after their defrosting it will not be possible to complain about the deterioration of the taste of the product. Only first the products must be thoroughly rinsed and dried, spread in packages with whole bunches or individual berries and freeze at a temperature of no higher than -22 ° C.
Fresh grapes can be stored in the refrigerator, but not simple, but special, with the ability to adjust the internal gas environment. The purchase of such a device may seem costly, but grapes for a long time will preserve the purest original taste and freshness. Grapes in such a refrigerator are stacked with crests upward, the temperature is kept strictly within -1. . + 2ºС.Then the quality product will last for 5-6 months.
