In what conditions is it permissible to store vegetables on the balcony in winter?

The traditional winter vegetables are beets, carrots, onions, garlic and potatoes. Having arranged a box for storing vegetables on the balcony, you can enjoy fresh root vegetables all winter. They lie for a long time, preserving vitamins and minerals. Winter is unpredictable, but without frost it is extremely rare. There are ways to help keep vegetables on the loggia, even if the window is cold.

If you live with an unglazed balcony, you can immediately abandon attempts to equip it for storing vegetables. When the temperature drops to at least -1 ° C, the potato becomes unusable - it acquires a sweetish taste and becomes soft to the touch. If you have taken care of the warmth of the house and your balcony is glazed, you can plan the arrangement of a special box for storing root crops.

It is impossible to accurately calculate the temperature difference outside and inside the loggia, since the coefficient depends on many factors:

• quality of windows (plastic windows boast the best thermal insulation);
• glass unit thickness;
• glass unit area;
• loggia size;
• temperature inside the apartment, etc.

Storage conditions for vegetables and certain fruits

To decide whether you can store vegetables and even some fruits in the winter on the balcony, put a thermometer there and monitor the temperature. Compare the results with the table below.

If the thermometer’s mark often drops below 0 ° C, you should consider installing a special box for storing food in the winter. It can be done independently, without costly expenses. Enough to make a little physical and mental effort.

To store vegetables, you can use:

• heating cabinet;
• flexible cellar;
• plastic box;
• a wooden box with a layer of sawdust;
• homemade box with heating;
• old fridge.

Thermal cabinet

This is a variant of the purchased device for preserving the harvest in winter. It costs a lot, but its price is justified, since it saves the landlord from unnecessary trouble and the risk of being left without winter supplies. Cabinets are of any size (individually for each loggia). They work from the network, so you should take care of the electrical wiring on the balcony.

Thermal cabinet not only independently regulates the temperature, it is equipped with a ventilation system. You will not need to constantly air bags with root crops. The risk of food spoiling is greatly reduced. The temperature in the container usually ranges from +2 to +7 ° C, which prevents the fruit from decaying.

Flexible cellar

"Balcony Cellar" - a budget version of the heating cabinet. Outwardly, it looks like a large backpack, folded light and compact. It is made of a three-layer moisture-proof fabric and synthetic winterizer, equipped with a thermoregulation sensor and also works from an electric network. Its advantages:

• in summer it can be folded and hidden on a shelf so that it does not clutter up half the loggia;
• he "pulls" no more electricity than an ordinary light bulb.

Plastic box

Storing vegetables in plastic boxes is a method for those who are too lazy to deal with a device of a more serious construction. However, if the climate in your area is not too harsh, you can use such containers. They need to be installed not on the floor, but on racks so that they are 15 cm from the floor and walls.Vegetables should be aired. Stacked bags of potatoes or other vegetables should be sprinkled with sawdust. If the temperature on the balcony drops below 0 ° C, insulate the drawers with blankets, old jackets or polystyrene.

Wooden box with a layer of sawdust

For the manufacture of such a container does not need special skills. All you need is two boxes of different sizes and a bag of sawdust. One box should be larger, the second smaller. A sheet of thick cardboard or fabric is laid at the bottom of a large wooden container and a layer of wood shavings of 10 cm is poured. A smaller box is placed on top of the sawdust and holes between the side walls of the dense are covered with sawdust (the distance between the walls of both boxes should be at least 10 cm).

Tip

Potatoes can be stored in the same department as beets: it perfectly absorbs excess moisture.

Vegetables must be covered during storage. If the loggia is not insulated and the temperature is often below freezing, the box should be covered with insulation materials. However, experts say that such equipment is able to preserve crops in winter even at a temperature of -15 ° C.

Homemade heated drawer

Such an invention is necessary for people with an insulated loggia, on which frosts often flutter. Its manufacture requires some effort and ingenuity. Heating can be equipped in two ways: a hairdryer with a small power or 40 W lamps. The hairdryer will turn on automatically, heating the contents of the drawer while simultaneously ventilating the air.

From wooden bars you need to make the frame of the required volume. Attach sheets of plywood to the walls and do not forget about the hole for the pipe through which the warm air from the hair dryer will go. Inside, sheathe the walls with insulating foil material. Insert a pipe into the cut hole and make holes in it so that the air in the box spreads evenly.

The second option is to attach a tin pipe inside the box and place an incandescent lamp inside it. The heat of one light bulb is enough to maintain the required temperature inside the container, even in cold weather.

Old fridge

If you are too lazy to make home-made cabinets, and there are no funds to buy “cellars”, you can use the old Soviet refrigerator (if the size of the loggia and the refrigerator itself allows). Place it on the floor with the door up, turning it into a "chest." He will be able to protect the crop from frost. However, do not forget to periodically ventilate potatoes or onions, because condensation will collect inside the refrigerator.

Knowing the storage conditions of vegetables on the balcony and all possible ways to protect them from frost, you can save the crop until spring. The most convenient are considered a flexible cellar and a heating cabinet. But if you do not have the opportunity to purchase such a device, you can build a home-made wooden cabinet that will bring you a lot of benefits and help to save a lot.