Okay REALLY dumb question concerning potatoes..

[dbarjacres]

How does one store potatoes so they don't get wrinkled/sprout/soggy? I know people harvest these darn things and can store them thru the year, but I'm at a loss and I buy them at the store and have problems w/in a month!

I come from a mother who makes all things from boxes, cans, frozen foods or fast food. I'm hoping to maybe even can some stuff this year!

[Pat]

There is a thread called curing potatoes on the Gardening subform. I know you have to cure them before storage. We used to put them in a bin in the unheated part of the basement and was able to eat until almost time to harvest.

Didn't really clean them as such before curing nor storage... just knocked of the big chuncks of dirt. (the store bought ones have been severely cleaned... )

Pat

[TurnerHill]

Originally Posted by dbarjminis

How does one store potatoes so they don't get wrinkled/sprout/soggy? I know people harvest these darn things and can store them thru the year, but I'm at a loss and I buy them at the store and have problems w/in a month!

I come from a mother who makes all things from boxes, cans, frozen foods or fast food. I'm hoping to maybe even can some stuff this year!

Not a dumb question. People have had trouble with this for centuries, after all.

What you need is a space that is cool and DARK. Dark is really important.

[Cindy in NY]

Potatoes like it cool and dark and with just a bit of humidity. We store ours near the washer and dryer.

[Oldcountryboy]

If you don't have a basement/cellar, dig a big hole in your back yard and bury a barrel in it. Store your root crops inside and just bring in what you need for a few days at a time.

[Pat]

Y'all are right, that bin had a cover over it.


I still think that curing before, and not really cleaning them before storage is part of it also though.

Pat

[HermitJohn]

where I live best way to store potatoes is to leave them in the garden and just dig them as you need them. If you dont dig them by spring, they will sprout and grow, but otherwise they remain nice and firm and far tastier than the boughten potatoes. I have plowed up some very nice potatoes in spring when rototilling garden that I had missed earlier.

[ronbre]

cool temps..NO LIGHT....absolutely no light...do not wash..leave plenty of dirt on them..if possible store them in damp sand....and did i say NO LIGHT !!

[godsgapeach]

I store mine in the utility room off the garage in one of those big mesh laundry bags from Walmart. I just hang it on nails so plenty of air circulates around the potatoes. And don't wash them first--if you do, they'll get yucky brown spots.

[sgl42]

here in tx, "cool" is a little hard to come by. but at someone's suggestion on here, i tried wrapping potatoes in newspaper, and that seemed to make them last a little longer before spoiling. mostly, i buy smaller batches, and eat more rice and pasta instead. (i'm sure the irish side of my ancestry is rolling over in their graves at that tho--rice and pasta instead of potatoes?!)

--sgl

[dbarjacres]

Thanks for all the tips!

I don't have a garden - no time for one and DH knows I'll neglect it so doesn't allow one (altho I do have a tomato plant and some peas planted in pots this year!!) so I can't leave the potatos in the garden, plus think that's a real bad idea in WI when it freezes by October.

[hillbillly]

yeah, digging potatoes out of frozen soil is no fun,
esp. if you're hungry.

[geo in mi]

If you are buying your potatoes from a store, keep in mind that they probably have been stored for up to a year before you get them. They may have been treated with growth retardants so they won't sprout in storage. Once you get them and expose them to light and higher temperatures, their natural biology awakens and they do what all potatoes do, they try to sprout, and they wither up from using up their own moisture and sugars in doing so.

Home grown potatoes will just barely make it until next growing season if they are kept under ideal conditions of darkness and humidity. Potatoes left underground all winter will be somewhat sweet, but usable, in the following Spring, since they are beginning to convert their starches into sugars to restart the sprouting process.

[LFRJ]

I understand you can use a dehydrator and dry them. Not sure how,or if it appeals to you, but I'm going to try this fall. I'll be aiming for something like home made potato flakes.

[Yvonne's hubby]

Taters like the dark, and that means NO light whatsoever. They also like cool and need to be somewhat ventilated. I have had real good luck with boxing off one corner of a basement, and just dumping them in, covering with sawdust about a foot thick. that lets a little air flow through, but keeps them cool and light proof.