How to store zucchini in the cellar?

Every year, gardeners are puzzled by the safety of the grown crop. To successfully solve this problem, you need to choose the right way to store vegetables. In this article, we will look at how you can keep fresh zucchini almost all winter by placing them in the cellar.

Is it possible to store zucchini in the cellar in winter?

Zucchini, like all cucurbits, keep well during the winter months in a cellar. To do this, you need to choose the right variety of zucchini – this is very important, since the characteristics of some varieties simply do not have such a property as good preservation. The next indispensable condition is the observance of the correct temperature in the cellar and the implementation of sanitary storage standards, which include the absence of mold, rodents, wood lice.

Did you know? The energy value of 100 grams of zucchini is about 14 kcal, so this vegetable makes very low-calorie dishes suitable for many types of diets.

Which varieties are best

The varietal variety of zucchini is very large, but only a part of them is suitable for winter storage.

Here are the most suitable varieties:

• zucchini “Starling”, “Zebra” and “Gypsy” – thick-skinned, large-fruited, mid-season, low-seeded, stored for a long time without loss;
• “Aeronaut” – zucchini, cylindrical, with a dark green skin, the fruits ripen in a month and a half, stored until the first decade of January;
• “Arlika” – an early ripening hybrid to be stored in winter, sown at the end of June, the peel of the fruit is light green, upon reaching the maximum size of the fruit, the peel hardens and is well stored;
• “Assets” – early ripe hybrid, almost no seeds, has large fruits that can be stored up to 3,5 months;
• “Yellow-fruited” and “Golden” – slightly ribbed, cylindrical, light, in compliance with the storage conditions, these varieties do not deteriorate up to 90 days;
• “Negro” – the peel is strong, painted in dark green (almost black), vegetables of a classic elongated shape, lie up to 60 days;
• “Anchor” – an early variety with sand-colored skin and pulp, sown for consumption in winter in the middle of summer, stored for 30 days without losing taste.

Preparing the cellar and vegetables

It is necessary to take care of the preparation of the basement or cellar even in the summer. To protect the crop from mold, fungi and pathogens, the room should be well disinfected. The most affordable way to disinfect a cellar is to whitewash the walls with lime. To do this, 1 kg of slaked lime is mixed with two buckets of water. To the resulting solution, you can add 100 grams of copper or iron sulfate.

Sulfur fumigation is another popular disinfection method. This procedure expels pests from the cellar. During the fumigation, the doors of the underground storage are tightly closed, and people are not advised to enter there for several days. At the end of the isolation period, all ventilation openings and cellar doors are opened for through ventilation. All shelves, stands and drawers in the cellar should be disinfected separately.

Important! In the middle of a hot day, it is better not to ventilate the cellar or basement, because the warm air entering the underground room leads to condensation on the walls and ceiling.

To do this, they are treated with a solution of copper or formalin sulfate, which can be purchased at garden centers, and then taken out to dry in the sun. Some owners impregnate the wooden shelves in the cellar with machine oil, which also prevents them from rotting and mold. Before storage, it is necessary to carry out preliminary preparation of zucchini – this is a necessary condition for their long-term preservation.

Steps to prepare for winter storage are taken already at harvest time:

1. It is necessary to remove vegetables from the garden before the first frost – if you clean after the first frost, they will rot during storage. If the zucchini is even slightly affected by freezing, it is impossible to lay them in storage.
2. For long-term preservation, only ripe fruits are suitable, whose skin has already hardened and thickened. Ripeness can be recognized by the characteristic dull sound that appears when you knock on a zucchini. It is also important to carefully check each vegetable for integrity – only those on the skin of which there are no scratches and dents are suitable for storage. Fruits with a damaged skin quickly deteriorate and threaten to rot all stored vegetables.
3. It is important to pay attention to the stem of the fruit. For long-term storage, vegetables growing on a thick and green stem are suitable. Fruits on dried stems have already lost their juicy taste and will not last long.
4. Removing zucchini from the parent whip, they leave the stalk on them, thanks to which the infection will not penetrate under the skin of the vegetable. Also, the stalk contributes to the fact that the pulp of vegetables will remain juicy for a long time. By the stalk, you can judge the safety of each vegetable, if it is dry – the zucchini is perfectly stored, if it rots – it must be immediately isolated from its neighbors, it is best to take it out of the room and use it for cooking.
5. In no case should you wash zucchini intended for long-term storage – they are carefully cleaned of adhering soil and dried in the sun. Under the influence of ultraviolet rays, the skin is strengthened and further protects the pulp better. When separating the vegetable from the stem, it is best not to break it out, but to use a sharp knife.
6. Wherever zucchini are stored in the future (cellar, pantry), they cannot be wrapped in plastic bags – this will promote decay.

Important! Best of all, these vegetables are stored in a dry and cool cellar or basement of a residential building. In the cellar, dried and peeled zucchini are laid so that there is a gap of five centimeters between them. This is necessary so that one rotting zucchini does not infect all the others.

How to store zucchini for the winter in the cellar

During storage, it is important to follow the rules for laying vegetables for the winter and the correct temperature regime in the cellar.

How long do zucchini keep

Early varieties sown in early May are stored for no more than 30 days. But gardeners have found a way out, and, planning the long-term storage of such varieties, they shift the timing of their sowing in the ground a month or a half later than recommended. When laid in the cellar, mid-season varieties do not lose their properties and do not rot for about two months, while late zucchini can survive without loss until the first spring months.

Optimal conditions

For successful and long-term storage of vegetables, it is important to create suitable conditions for this:

1. Rats or mice, as well as insects (woodlice, bugs, midges) should not live in the cellar, so it is reasonable to sanitize before adding vegetables there.
2. To prevent mold from settling on the walls and shelves of the cellar, it is important to provide sufficient ventilation openings and protect the storage floor from groundwater penetration. Under these conditions, the underground room will be dry.
3. The optimal temperature for storing zucchini, as well as carrots, potatoes and cabbage varies from +4°C to +10°C.
4. The optimum air humidity for storing pumpkin crops is about 85%; in an excessively saturated basement, they soon rot. To remove excessive humidity in the cellar, ventilation holes, hoods or sorbents that draw moisture from the air (sulfuric acid, hydrated lime or potassium chloride) help. At the same time, it must be remembered that too dry air is also not useful for vegetables, they can dry out.

Did you know? Sometimes zucchini has a bitter taste – it is caused by the presence of the poisonous substance cucurbitacin, which in large doses can damage the lining of the stomach and intestines. An increased content of the substance may be caused by cross-pollination with other varieties of the gourd family.

What vegetables can be stored nearby?

Not all vegetables stored in the cellar are suitable as neighbors for zucchini. Among them come across inappropriate, even aggressive – it is advisable to avoid such a neighborhood.

Safe neighbors:

• Pumpkins
• squash;
• Bulgarian pepper;
• cucumbers.

Next to these vegetables, zucchini can be stored for a long time without loss – they do not have any negative effect on their neighbors.

Unwanted Neighbors:

• potatoes;
• onion;
• garlic.

These vegetables have an overly aggressive flavor that saturates the zucchini and robs them of their natural taste and smell.

Invalid neighborhood:

• cabbage;
• apples;
• fresh tomatoes.

Cabbage forks release heat and thereby significantly increase the air temperature in the cellar, while tomatoes and apples release ethylene gas, which speeds up the ripening of vegetables.

Basic storage rules

To enjoy fresh zucchini during the winter months, you must follow these rules:

• the cellar must be dry and clean, the temperature in it must not fall below +4°C and rise above +10°C;
• before storing vegetables for storage, it is necessary to carry out sanitary cleaning of the premises from rats, mice, insects, pathogens and mold;
• vegetables must be dry and clean, cleaning must be carried out without the use of water;
• zucchini stored for storage should not touch each other;
• the walls of the storage must be whitewashed with lime, the shelves and drawers should be treated with antiseptics;
• if necessary, a container with a sorbent is installed in the cellar, which will draw excess moisture from the air;
• it is advisable to conduct a weekly visual inspection of the bookmark and remove perishable vegetables from the cellar;
• when choosing a storage area, it is important to consider the desirable and undesirable proximity of other vegetables.

helpful hints

A good solution for winter storage would be a wooden crate with a layer of sawdust on the bottom. If there are no wooden boxes, you can use ordinary cardboard boxes. It is advisable to store full boxes on wooden shelves closer to the ceiling. Before laying vegetables, the shelves are covered with dry straw or paper. Using any of these methods, it is important to remember that zucchini is best stored in the upper part of the cellar (under the ceiling).

Did you know? Zucchini contains much less water than cucumbers, but much more vitamins and minerals. The vegetable contains vitamin C, folic acid, potassium, calcium, manganese, magnesium, phosphorus, selenium and zinc.

For some time, it will be possible to save only uncut fruits, as a whole – this is the main condition for their long-term preservation. A cellar or basement will help extend the season for eating zucchini by a few more months. For the success of this enterprise, it is important to properly place these vegetables in the cellar and, of course, observe the temperature regime for their storage.