Storing my "taters

[gettinaclue]

I'll be planting taters here before to long, and I would really like to plant a whole lot of them. I've heard nothing but bad about commercial potatoes...but if I plant lots and lots of them...how do I store them?

Dehydrating is an option...does anyone can them? If so, how?

How else would I be able to keep them over winter?

 

[miss_thenorth]

How cold do your winters get? I buy 150 lbs of potatoes from a neighbour, and I store them in the grade entrance of my garage. It stays a constant temp--above freezing all winter. they last until it starts warming up and getting humid.

 

[The YardFarmers]

I'll be interested in hearing how others do this too. We stored ours in a cool closet, wrapped in newspaper in a box. They were good, but sprouted in just 4-6 wks. They were still edible of course, but I want to have more for next year too. Our sweet potatoes stored better than the white potatoes. I've read that they treat grocery store potatoes to keep them from sprouting.

YardFarmer Julie

 

[gettinaclue]

We get down in the single digits in the winter. We say "1 F" this winter before windchill (there is no way I'll ever move farther north LOL - that is COOOOLD)

Storing them that way isn't an option for me - they would all freeze.

I was trying to remember an old school way to store them...didn't they stick them in a pile of hay in the barn? I can't remember and can't find any references on how they were stored "way back when".

 

[SKR8PN]

We can some, we mash and then freeze some, and we store some. Ever option works out well for us.

 

[me&thegals]

We store them in our garage until that freezes. Then, they go to our cellar, which is getting cold enough by that time. Most are starting to sprout now (dug in Nov), but we can still get some good ones for eating.

 

[johnElarue]

I store them in the crawlspace under the house in a plastic storage bin lined with newspaper and a sturdy bbq grill (like hardware cloth?) on top, weighted down with a rock.

Once a week when I take a basketful out I mix them up.
It doesn't get below freezing down there and they last from June/July till now. They're pushing the edibility envelope as I type.

I plant the sprouting ones now. This worked well last year.

 

[Beekissed]

In the absence of a cellar, some folks dig a hole in the ground, line with straw and place there taters. Deep straw on top and a waterproof cover like a piece of tin. Some folks even bury a plastic trash can and use it in the same way.

My folks haven't had a cellar where they live for some time and always bury their potatoes. They swear that the potatoes stay crisp and sweeter than being stored in a cellar.

 

[Farmfresh]

I clean them well, wash them then allow them to air dry in a shady spot not touching each other for several days BEFORE I store them. Currently I am laying them out in my sewing room on a sheet on the floor for the drying.

ANY defective or cut ones and the ones that I poked with the garden fork are cleaned and scrubbed and sliced on my mandolin then dehydrated.

The rest are gently bagged in mesh laundry bags biggest on the bottom and hung from a nail in the basement where it is cool and dark. I use the littlest ones first as they tend to spoil the fastest. Works for me.

 

[old fashioned]

In the absence of a cellar, Some folks even bury a plastic trash can and use it in the same way.

I was going to try this next season....my plastic trash can USED to hold my chicken feed, until the nasty rats ate a hole in the bottom. I didn't want to throw it away, so I figured if I could cover that bottom hole somehow it would work for in ground storage. Not just taters, but others like onions, carrots, apples, pears, etc.

In my "Back to Basics" book, it shows using barrels or ? half buried in the ground and using straw, sawdust, etc as an insulator (inside & outside) then piling up dirt, more straw & boards over it all.
Also using bales of hay or straw to create a protected area and covering with more bales.

I'd suggest most anywhere that stays very cool and humid, without freezing or getting wet. But I don't know for sure.