Moss can be used to keep your beetroots fresh.

Photo: Grøn Kommunikation

 

Moss is not just a Christmas ornament; it can be used to keep your beetroots and other vegetables fresh during the winter

In northern Norway, the summer is short, and the winter is long, so it is important to be able to store your vegetables, especially when the harvest has been good.

The Norwegian gardener Anders Nordum wrote on his horticulture blog Datsja that 2016 was an excellent year for beetroots, while 2017 was not so good.

Luckily, he had saved a part of his harvest from 2016, so he could eat beetroots in the winter of 2017. On his blog, he shares his experiences.

Beetroots can stay fresh at a temperature of 3-4 degrees combined with high humidity. You can find the low temperature in a fridge and the humidity if you put the beetroots in a plastic bag. Anders Nordum has a basement where the temperature during the winter is approximately 4 degrees, so he keeps his beetroots there until the temperature rises and they need to be moved to the fridge again.

When the beetroots are in the basement they are wrapped in moss, which should be an amazing material for storing all kinds of root crops. Finally, the moss from the lawn can be used for something. Beetroots might start growing while being stored, but the Norwegian blogger stops the growth by cutting off the top and end. That should stop the growth.

Anders Nordum has learned that the long beetroots last longer than the round ones. His favourite sort is the F1 hybrid called Taunus.