We preserve grapes at home until the New Year

2024 Author: James Gerald | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 14:00

After you have harvested a rich grape harvest, it is important to know how to preserve it at home until the New Year. Here are some tips from professional gardeners who know exactly what to do to keep it fresh until the New Year.

Choosing a storage location

How to preserve grapes at home is a question that worries gardeners. There are many ways, so everyone can choose the option that suits him best. If you decide to keep the grapes until spring, you need to pay attention to the following factors, without which it will not be possible to save the bunches:

• be sure to know what grapes you have grown in your garden. The grapes, which are usually attributed to the variety that ripen later, are well preserved;
• the grapes themselves should be thick-skinned;
• self-cultivation cannot be carried out without observing the rules of agricultural technology. If they are not observed, then the grapes in the future will be impossible to preserve for a long time;
• when removing bunches from branches, you need to be extremely careful not to damage the wax coating;
• when transferring grapes for storage, it is worth separating those berries that have become soft or crumpled;
• harvested berries must not be washed before storage.

Important! The maximum shelf life is up to six months. The long-lasting varieties include: Kutuzovsky, Osenny black, December, Isabella.

In order for the grapes to be preserved for a long time, it is necessary not only to choose the right variety, but also to create the necessary conditions.

There are many options for saving, so you can choose the one that suits you.

Cellar storage

If you do not know how to preserve grapes before the New Year at home and you have an unused cellar, then you can safely opt for it. The temperature regime in the cellar should be in the range from +1 to +8 degrees. If the cellar is wet, then it's okay. Maximum humidity that can be 80%. If the humidity is higher, then the grapes will begin to rot and mold will begin to form on it.

In order to maintain the necessary humidity, the room should be ventilated. If there is no way to ventilate, then it is best to put a bucket of charcoal next to it, which will absorb all excess moisture.

After the grapes are stored in the cellar, it is necessary to inspect the fruits for safety at least once a week. If you notice that the berries have begun to deteriorate, it is better to remove them from the total mass.

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Hanging storage

This storage option is suitable for a small amount of grapes. For this type of storage, you need to cut the grapes correctly. It is cut with a vine, so that in the future it will be possible to hang it on specially prepared hooks. You can put the cut vine in a bottle of water, to which an activated charcoal tablet will be added. But in this case, the grapes will be kept in good condition for no more than 2 months.

Important! When storing grapes using a water bottle, you need to periodically trim the edge of the branch so that the grapes are saturated with water.

Storage in boxes

When choosing a storage box, you should opt for wooden boxes or tubs. But before you put the grapes inside, be sure to make sure the wood is dry. At the bottom of the box you need to pour dry sawdust, straw. After that, grapes are laid out, the branches of which should not touch each other. Regardless of how many grapes there will be, each layer should be sprinkled with a layer of sawdust or hay.

Important! When choosing sawdust, you cannot stop your choice on pine or spruce. Considering that sawdust smells like pine needles, this will affect the taste of the grapes.

How to store in the refrigerator

You can keep the grapes in the refrigerator. The best option would be freezing, which will preserve all the taste of the berries.

Storage is done as follows:

• after harvesting, it is necessary to clean the grapes from damaged berries. Then they are washed and dried in a natural way;
• spread the brushes on a tray so that they do not touch each other, and then send them to the refrigerator for two hours;
• then the tray is sent to the freezer for half an hour;
• after that, the grapes are laid out in portions into containers and sent for freezing and storage. The air temperature in the chamber should be -24 degrees.

Choosing the right storage conditions for grapes will allow you to keep the berries until next spring.