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Storage

How to store root vegetables in sand

The short answer

Twist off the leaves, brush off the soil without washing, and lay sound roots in boxes between layers of moist sand or a peat-free substitute, somewhere dark and frost-free such as a shed. The damp packing stops carrots and beetroot shrivelling. On well-drained soil you can also leave most roots in the ground under straw until about March.

Roots lose moisture once they are out of the ground. Every storing method, a box of sand, a clamp or leaving them where they grew, is a way of stopping that without letting them rot.

Boxes of sand, step by step

  1. Check every root is in good condition.(RHS)
  2. Twist off the leaves, and remove excess soil without washing or scrubbing, which can damage the skin.(Garden Organic)
  3. Lay the roots in layers of moist sand or peat-substitute in boxes.(RHS)
  4. Keep the boxes somewhere frost-free and dark, such as a shed or cellar.(RHS)

Or leave them in the ground

  • Most roots on well-drained soil can stay in over winter, but it leaves them open to cold damage and is not recommended on wet soil.(RHS)
  • Carrots under about 15cm of straw or cardboard can be left in the ground until needed.(RHS)
  • Parsnips improve with frost and keep in the ground until spring.(RHS)

A clamp, for a big crop

  1. Make a 20cm base of light, sandy soil or sand, and cover it with straw.(RHS)
  2. Pile the roots on top.(RHS)
  3. Cover the pile with 20cm of straw, then 15cm of soil, leaving a twist of straw at the top as a chimney.(RHS)
  4. Rodents can be a problem.(RHS)

Crop by crop

Storing root vegetables
CropBest wayKeeps
CarrotsIn the ground under straw, or moist sand in boxesUntil about March
BeetrootBoxes of sand, compost or coir; in the ground only where the soil won’t freezeAt least a couple of months in boxes
ParsnipsIn the groundUntil spring
TurnipsTrays of moist coir or sandSeveral weeks
Winter radishLifted in November, somewhere coolUntil March
RHS crop guides and root storage page.

Where the sources differ

When to lift them: carrots, beetroot and parsnips.

Where the sources differ
QuestionRHS beetroot guideRHS root storage page
Sand for beetrootDry sand, potting compost or coir.Moist sand or peat-substitute, to stop it shrivelling.
Beetroot in the groundOnly in mild places where the soil won’t freeze.Under 30cm of straw it lasts until March.

Know what you grew, and what it gave

Log what you pick, and how much, bed by bed. Vercro keeps the record, so next year you know what was worth the space.

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Where this comes from

The growing advice on this page comes from the published sources below, each linked beside the point it supports. Where two good sources disagree, we show both rather than choosing the convenient one. Reviewed 19 September 2026.