Available techniques, thanks to which grapes can be stored at home for the winter

Not only experienced landowners, but also amateur gardeners may wonder how to preserve grapes for the winter. Contrary to popular belief, it is quite possible to do this at home, you just need to approach the process correctly.

True, a standard apartment is not suitable here, for a long period you can save the product in its original form only in a room with special conditions. They include a stable temperature within +2 .. + 8ºС, humidity not higher than 60-70%, darkness, the absence of insects and mold, good ventilation or regular ventilation.

Important points for preparing grapes for storage

To save grapes for the winter, you need to properly prepare it for this process. It is necessary not only to choose a suitable variety, product, but also to carry out a number of auxiliary manipulations:

The more grapes are watered, the faster it will deteriorate. The last watering is best done one and a half months before the planned harvest.
Bunches from overloaded bushes are difficult to maintain for a long time. From time to time, the vine needs to be thinned out.
Particular attention should be paid to fertilizer application. Too active top dressing negatively affects the shelf life of the product. In turn, phosphate-potassium fertilizers increase the content in berries, so they last longer.
Grapes affected by diseases will not be preserved after removal from the vine for more than a few days, so treatment of the plant must be carried out in a timely manner.
Before you save the grapes for the winter, you need to make sure that it has reached the optimum level of maturity. Green and overripe berries to save in the right form will not work.

Tip: To preserve grapes for a long time, late-ripening varieties with a hard wax skin and dense pulp are ideal. The following varieties retain their nutritional and taste qualities the most: Tahir, Svetly, Chocolate, Original, Autumn Black, Liana, Nistru, Moldova and some others.

The grapes must be harvested only with special gloves, otherwise the wax coating will be removed from the surface of the berries, which plays an important role in the storage of grapes at home.
The removed clusters cannot be left to dry in the sun, this will reduce the quality of the product.
All excess berries (overripe, immature, dried up, rotten, damaged) must be removed from the bunch. The length of the leg of the twig should be about 4-5 cm.

The selected room also needs preparation. In addition to eliminating all signs of mold, rot and insects, you need to get rid of extraneous odors by airing the room. You can eliminate high humidity with quicklime. If you fumigate the room with sulfur, then mold will not appear in it.

Methods for storing fresh grapes at home

To know how to save grapes for the winter, you need to familiarize yourself with the most affordable, but effective methods of approach and choose the best:

In the box. The main point is the correct handling of the boxes. Their inner and outer surfaces must be cleaned with a soft cloth dipped in a 5% soda solution. After this, the containers are dried in the sun. Grapes are stacked in clusters in one layer, while storing together two varieties or more is not recommended. Having laid out the products, we fumigate each container with sulfur. To do this, place a lighted wick inside the boxes and close the lid for several minutes. After that we take out the device, close the boxes and put them away for storage. Every two weeks they will have to be checked, removing if necessary spoiled berries.Thus, grapes can be stored for 4-5 months.

In the sawdust. Spread the bottom of the cleaned box with three centimeters of dry sawdust without any signs of moisture. The calculation is made in one row. If the clusters are small, you can make a second row, but only after laying out another layer of sawdust. We fill the design with another five centimeters of sawdust, close the box and lightly tap on its walls so that the sawdust is well distributed between the berries.
Suspension. The simplest method that is suitable for attic or attic owners. Bunches are suspended on a wire or rope, and they should not be in contact with each other. Grapes for this method are cut together with a vine, a slice of which is sealed with wax or covered with potato. In this state, the berries will retain their freshness for up to 2-3 months.

In the bottles. Together with the bunch, an impressive section of the vine is cut off. Its end is lowered into a bottle of boiled water, and the bunch is suspended. The presence of liquid should be checked regularly; for its best preservation, it is recommended to add charcoal to the bottle. The inconvenience of the technique is that for each bunch it is necessary to select a separate bottle.
Freezing In a modern freezer, grapes can be held for several months, and after thawing them, it will not be possible to complain of a deterioration in the taste of the product. Only at first the products need to be thoroughly washed and dried, laid out in bags with whole clusters or individual berries and frozen at a temperature not exceeding -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 acquisition of such a device may seem costly, but the grapes for a long time will retain the cleanest original taste and freshness. The clusters are stacked upside down in such a refrigerator; the temperature is kept strictly within -1 .. + 2ºС. Then a quality product will last for 5-6 months.