More potato questions

[Jared77]

Ive seen some folks harvesting potatoes in the snow and its got me wondering....how do you do it? Is it a variety? Planting late? When do you know they are ready?

We go through a fair amount of them and Id LOVE to be able to clear back some snow here in MI and go dig up some fresh potatoes.

Also if they are dug up early enough could I replant that area with more potatoes if I prepped the soil?

Obviously this is my first time growing them but Ive got the room now and I'm VERY psyched about this idea. I know it would be a BIG money saver around our house.

Thanks in advance!

 

[lesa]

When you see people with their potatoes buried in the dirt/snow- that is kind of a way of storing them. I doubt I could do it, in my climate, because the ground would be too frozen to dig. How much would I have to want a potato to snowshoe out to my garden, shovel snow, pick ax dirt... etc.
Many potatoes store well inside in a cool, dark area. I had the best luck using my pressure canner for potatoes. There is nothing cooler than grabbing a jar of delicious potatoes right off the shelf- ready to go into your recipe...
You will really enjoy growing your own potatoes- it is like digging for gold, when you harvest. It is always best to plant potatoes in a different place each year. They often fail to late blight. Rotating is always a good idea. I planted garlic where I had my potatoes last year. Good luck!

 

[digitS']

If not late blight, some variety of mosaic, early blight, scab, scurf, or something will probably find 'em! Some of these things, you can't hide them from easily. Still, it is best not to tempt fate by leaving them in the same place from 1 season to the next.

I have always brought my potatoes into a basement or root cellar. The carrots have been stored this way but I haven't been happy with the results.

For 5 years or so, I've moved the carrots closer to the backdoor and lined them up cheek-to-jowl in a pit:

These were covered with about 8" of soil and then about 10" of pine needles. Another pit was covered with the soil and then 2 of those big, 2-handled buckets of leaves. The last bucketful was left in the container and it was just upended on top the soil. The carrots in that pit have all migrated indoors to the fridge now, what is left of them .

I have been wondering if storing the potatoes wouldn't work just as well. Here is information on what is called a "clamp" in the UK (click).

My storage room in the basement is a little too dry for carrots and too warm for potatoes :/. Yeah, I don't like going out and shoveling snow to get at the vegetables but I just don't get the spuds to the end of January the way it is. If I was to grow anymore than a hundred pounds, my basement storage wouldn't work.

I consider the potatoes riskier than the carrots like this and will grow a late-maturing variety to see if it doesn't take storage better next winter. But, I just might try "clamping" them down near the backdoor.

Steve

 

[Jared77]

I do rotate my garden, but wasn't sure what to do with potatos. This is my first go round with them. I've finally got the space to try them and at the rate of consumption around our place I know it will save us money.

The ground all around here will freeze too. I didnt realize it was "cold storage". Ill have to watch the temps in our attached garage. It doesn't get THAT cold in there Ill have to see if I could keep them in there. Maybe in a rubbermaid storage bin, up off the cement. Hmmm gonna have to look into my options then. In our old house we had a root cellar. Never thought Id miss ANYTHING about that place. Ah well.

 

[thistlebloom]

I don't have a cellar for potato storage and our garage does freeze, so what I do is insulate a few large rubbermaid type bins with the rigid foam to store my spuds in. It has worked well for me, but like Steve, our potatoes don't ever last us past January. Nancy Bubel has a book called"Root Cellaring" where she describes several options for those of us unfortunate souls who don't have a "real" root cellar.

 

[digitS']

. . . I didnt realize it was "cold storage". Ill have to watch the temps in our attached garage. It doesn't get THAT cold in there Ill have to see if I could keep them in there. Maybe in a rubbermaid storage bin, up off the cement. Hmmm gonna have to look into my options then. In our old house we had a root cellar. Never thought Id miss ANYTHING about that place. Ah well.

"Ideal conditions would include a long dormancy variety stored at cool storage temperatures (39-42F) with the ability to humidify air to 90% or greater and provide fresh air. . . . Russet Burbank will break dormancy after 180 days when stored at 42F compared to 130 days at 48F." (Organic Potato Production and Storage) I actually know Dr. Olsen and try not to miss the opportunity to mention it . Hey! It is my only claim to the fame of Idaho potatoes.

I get about 120 days to 150 days from Yukon Gold and Russet Norkotah in a basement room that can be above 50 and below 40, with whatever humidity. But, I can continue using them for a good month after they have broken dormancy and the sprouts have begun to grow.

Steve

 

[Jared77]

I get about 120 days to 150 days from Yukon Gold and Russet Norkotah in a basement room that can be above 50 and below 40, with whatever humidity. But, I can continue using them for a good month after they have broken dormancy and the sprouts have begun to grow.

That's good to hear. I feel a lot better about growing 2 full rows of potatoes now. One row of red skins and one row of Yukon Golds or something like that.

 

[LVVCHAP]

Jared,
I am the one who posted the pics of potatoes in the snow. Yes this is my way of storage. The ground in my yard although covered with snow is frozen, in the garden however I plant my potatoes in two areas that are 4 ft x 8 ft. each. After they die off in the fall they are covered with about 12 to 18 inches of leaves. The leaves do the insulating and the only potatoes I lose to freezing are along the edges. This year I haven't lost any. I do rotate also, each year is a different place in the garden.

 

[Jared77]

Very cool thank you for the insight. Its something I might look into for the following season.

 

[obsessed]

WOW! that is a way to store carrots steve. Do they lose any of their sugary sweetness? The ones I grew this year (my first time where I actually let them grow an didn't get impatient on the) were so sweet. nothing like I had ever had i the market.