Potatoes....

[Linkovich]

I'm digging up my potatoes, and was just wondering the best way to store them now, and over winter. There's no place really cool in my house until winter comes, then the front porch is below freezing. Any suggestions?

[mountainlaurel]

I leave mine in the ground as long as possible because I have the same problem. Of course I can leave them in the ground longer than you can.

[7thswan]

I have to dig mine in Aug. because of a bug/worm that starts on them. I let them dry 1 day then pack in boxes with newspaper over them. Keep as cool as you can. You might want to use more small boxes than large, just so you are not opening the boxes too much and exposeing them to light.

[robinthegeek]

How many do you have? I grew a few this year and put them in a dorm sized fridge on the warmest setting, so they'll stay cool but not too cold. It's my first year growing potatoes though, so I hope it works!

[swollen tongue]

nothing short of a root cellar works about the best...........they like a 45 degree temp and 65-80% humidity...........a crawl space works too if it is the above conditons...........good luck!

[Wisconsin Ann]

LOOOooong time ago we had a house with a finished basement that was heated..so no cool places. BUT we had a hill off one side of the house. My mom dug a deep hole into the side of the hill, then put a 55gallon barrel in it. The top was open. hrmmm..how to describe this...

the hole was a cylinder going into the hill, slightly down angle. Then the barrel fit in it with it's opening 1ft deep into the hillside. We had a foot thick "cover" plug of insulation glued on a round board.

THAT was our root cellar for potatoes and such. She had a separate one for onions.

[TnAndy]

Had the same problem. Got a guy to dig me out a hole on the end of the garage, then I took a block saw to the wall and started on a cure:

[strawhouse]

TNandy, I'm jealous of your root cellar!!! We'll be digging one next year in the side of our hill... no time / money this year.

Linkovich, I'm having the same dilemma. I've always left mine in the ground until it looks after the frost. Not sure where in the good ol' north you are? But I've never had enough to worry about storage too long. This year I do.
I've read / heard that you can layer them in a bushel basket or bin and cover them in sand then keep them indoors. I did this with carrots once, it worked well.
I had a Harrowsmith magazine a few years ago that had plans for a few easy to build front porch root cellars. They were cooler size to fridge size.
I'm ransaking my house looking for the mag for myself, I'll send you the article if I find it / if you want it.