Storing Carrots and P*****ps

[snohare]

So, I have my drawers, and I have a bag full of sand. I'm about to pour said sand into my drawers (restrain yourself, veggiechicken ! ) but what I'm wondering is, how much sand do the carrots need around them to keep them intact in storage ? What temperature does the sand need to be kept at ? (The most convenient place is under the sideboard in the living room, but occasionally the temperature might go as far as 65 - 70 degrees in that room, it's the only one I heat.)
Also, does this work for p*****ps ?
And last but not last, why do my carrots have narrowed "waists" ?

[veggiechicken]

Really, Snohare, you're just trying to get me in a stew. I have the strangest image of your abode and you for that matter!). Carrots in your drawers which you keep under the sideboard? Not just any old carrots either but wasp-waisted ones, and, as we all know, there should be no waste with carrots.
Could you hang the p*****ps in the wardrobe, stuffed in the legs of trousers?
Without wishing to sound serious - shouldn't you keep your drawers somewhere cool? I would think the heat would make your carrots shrivel.

[lottie dolly]

why do my carrots have narrowed "waists" ?

getting into shape for the beauty contest

[binley100]

As I'm moving lottie I've just dug up all my 'snips , peeled 'em, chopped into pieces and thrown them in the freezer . I'm thinking under your sideboard may be a little too warm for storage.
A

[Aberdeenplotter]

cool but frost free matey. If you can't manage that best to bury them under a layer of straw and soil in the garden. i.e. in a clamp/pit. I know it makes it difficult to access them when needed that way but it is how it was done by our ancestors.

[Aberdeenplotter]

As for narrow waisted carrots, what variety are they? If it isn't down to the variety, is there any sign of insect damage?

[Florence Fennel]

My parsnips are still in the ground to be lifted Christmas Day (if the ground is not frozen like last year when I was glad they were just outside the back door because I had to relay kettles of boiling water to get them out). After that I'm with Binley, wash chop and freeze. As for carrots with a waist, have you got a picture? They sound interesting.

[Fruit&2veg]

Always leave mine in the ground, if severe weather is forcast, i just dig enough for a few days and put them in the shed, prefer everything as fresh as possible.

[Alison]

Always leave mine in the ground, if severe weather is forcast, i just dig enough for a few days and put them in the shed, prefer everything as fresh as possible.

That's what I do too, just not got enough space to store them in sand etc. However, according to a book I have you need to keep them on the cold side but frost free so I'd say the dining room would be rather too hot. Re sand, think you just need enough to keep them separate but not too sure, it's always seemed like a bit of a phaff to me when you can just keep them in the ground and even in the depths of last winter it was only the top few inches of soil that was frozen so if you broke that away they were easy to pull out and nice and fresh.

[snohare]

Hmm, not sure you guys are getting an accurate picture here. My living room is heated by a single panel heater, for a maximum of three hours a day. The rest of the time it gets only heat from sunshine through a large view window, or waste heat from the kitchen. At this time of year I typically wear four layers while at the computer, two of them fleece, if it gets tropically warm I might take a fleece or two off ! (And maybe even the hat.)
Don't have a shed in which to keep the carrots, don't even have a patch of ground here that I can bury things in. Tiny wee pensioners housing complex, the best I can hope for outside is a box in the tool locker I am building, but that it a work in progress, nowhere near finished. So I visit the lottie once a week a la Fruit&2Veg, come home with a bagful of veg, and need storage...
Couldn't tell you the variety of carrot. Some of them seem to be stump rooted, which rather confused me - I didn't intend to buy any stump rooted, I thought they were Berlikumer, maybe Autumn King !
There are some signs of carrot fly, not much - I didn't have netting earlier in the season, and I know I lost some to the blighters; wherever there is a "waist", there is a narrow black strip on the skin of the carrot. Just the surface, easily scraped off, no obvious change in texture except it might be a little bit smoother perhaps...the carrot fly damage is separate and minor, apparently not present on all waisted carrots.
Really will have to take some photos. I'll see what I can do tomorrow - weather and transport permitting, I'm off into town to get emergency dental treatment, with a bit of luck at the hospital next to the lottie, and I can dig some veggies up in a blizzard. (Getting to be a Christmas tradition with me.)

[Florence Fennel]

Ah, now I know what you mean about waists with a black line, some of mine are usually like that, but it scrapes off so no worries. If your living room is as cool as that, your parsnips and carrots should be fine, but I'm a bit worried about you. Keep that hat on, or turf the veg outside and turn the heating up.

[veggiechicken]

Thank you for this Snohare, you have "padded" out my mental image of you even more now! If you can dig your veg weekly do you need to think about storage? Most root veg would keep that long with ease.
I just know you'll misinterpret this but, is there any room under your bed?
Good luck at the hospital. Don't forget to say Fangs to the dentist.

[Alison]

If you're only keeping for a week or so then no need to bother with sand. At this time of year I can only get to the plot at the weekend due to work committments and dig up enough veggies for the following week. I store in paper bags in the cupboard under the stairs and never have any problems at this time of year, just make sure you let them dry first or they can rot. I misunderstood in that I thought you meant digging up now to eat in 3 months time.

[snohare]

I misunderstood in that I thought you meant digging up now to eat in 3 months time.

Oh, I wasn't actually organised enough to have even thought consciously about how long they were to be stored for ! For some items such as the parsnips, which the supermarkets have only occasionally, I am likely to store them for up to a couple of months. (Hopefully.)
Carrots, I used to store in a hallway cupboard, pretty much the coolest place in the house (other than my bedroom, which is damp) but they never lasted more than a week at the most, and some weeks I just cannot get into town. Or if they are purchased, I can't use that many in a week. Being Aberdonian, it is of course against my religion to waste anything I have bought - if I buy a second copy of a book by accident, I read it again !
The other thing is, carrots are a kind of first aid for me. The juicier the better; if my ulcers flare up, then (presumably) carotenes from sweet potatoes, squash and carrots are what I use to damp the inflammation down. In my experience, dried out carrots are no good for this. Nutrition is absolutely central to my daily wellbeing, so I'm also hoping that storage in sand will better preserve many "ephemeral" B Complex nutrients in stuff like salsify, scorzonera, hamburg parsley, etc, even if only for a week.
Veggie, I looked into the drawers under my divan bed for the first time in months recently. "Great !" I thought, "Another sleeping bag I can put on top of my usual one over the wintertime" (My usual one has a broken zip, pretty ancient.) No, sadly it turns out the whole inner lining was sticky with mould.... As were a good few other items stored in my bedroom.
After the next electricity bill I might decide to heat the room for a few days in order to air things a bit, meantime I am having a clear out...I think my bedroom would be better suited for growing mushrooms !

[veggiechicken]

Well at least we have achieved something - you're having a clear out and the activity will keep you warm without using electricity. I know you're an Aberdonian, but I think the time has come when you should air your bedroom a bit, for the sake of your health. Don't wait for the next electricity bill, please!!