Mistakes In Storing Potatoes

2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38

At first glance, potatoes are one of the most unpretentious vegetables to store. But here, too, there are some wisdom. When sifting through potatoes that have wintered in the cellar in the spring, it is important to analyze the main storage errors

Let's imagine that you have harvested an excellent crop of potatoes, dried them thoroughly and stored them. But after a certain period of time, part of the crop suddenly begins to deteriorate. What could have happened? It is possible that errors were made in its storage. Let's try to figure it out. Here are some important points.

1. Not all potato varieties are ready for the winter

Many people are mistaken leaving early ripening varieties of potatoes in storage. Such varieties are not stored for a long time - even in excellent conditions, only until the beginning of winter. After that, they begin to actively rot and germinate. The taste of such potatoes is lost and it becomes unsuitable for consumption. Therefore, it is important to know that for a long shelf life it is better to use late-ripened potatoes.

2. Correct neighborhood in the cellar

As a rule, they try to separate different vegetables. But this is not always possible due to the limited space in the cellar. But can potatoes be stacked next to other vegetables? It turns out that this is perfectly acceptable. For example, potatoes will survive well if you put beets on top of them. This eliminates two difficulties - saving space and protecting potatoes from excessive moisture. After all, moisture is good for beets, and potatoes are protected.

3. It is impossible to save potatoes of inadequate quality

In not very productive years, many gardeners leave poor quality potatoes in the hope of successful storage. It is unacceptable! Therefore, before laying in the cellar, it must be thoroughly dried, cleaned of the earth. It is also necessary to sort the potatoes, removing spoiled tubers aside. Despite the ideal conditions in your storage, only well-prepared, healthy potatoes can fully survive the winter.

4. Inspection of potatoes at the storage site

Many people believe that it is undesirable to sort the potatoes right in the cellar and must be taken out into the air. But it is not so. Indeed, during storage, some tubers still deteriorate. As soon as at least one such spoiled tuber has appeared, it is important to remove it from the common box as soon as possible in order to prevent infection with rot of its other fellows. If suddenly midges (usually Drosophila) and an unpleasant smell appear in the cellar or storage room for potatoes, then this is a clear signal about the need to sort out all the potatoes.

5. Potatoes need certain storage conditions

For a successful wintering of potatoes, gardeners often use the cellar or basements of residential buildings, underground. The townspeople have to store vegetables in the apartment. Basically, with a competent approach, problems in storing potatoes rarely arise. However, leaving the crop for the whole winter on a balcony or loggia, you risk spoiling most of it. In this case, you must follow certain rules and stock up on special devices. For example, you cannot leave an uncovered sack of potatoes for a long time in the hope that it will be perfectly preserved.

As protective containers from the cold, you can use simple storage facilities that can be easily built with your own hands. For example, a regular potato storage box. It is best to make it from boards. Even better, if you make a couple of boxes, one of which is smaller in size than the other, and insert one into the other, like a nesting doll. The gap between the walls should be 4-5 cm. You can put foam plastic or fill in sawdust in the gaps between the walls. The outside of the box is painted or covered with a waterproof material.

If there are difficulties in making a box, then you can use a ready-made container ("Balcony Cellar"). It is a bag consisting of two walls and sewn from strong fabric (tent). A synthetic winterizer was used as a heater and is additionally equipped with electric heating.

In this wonderful container, all vegetables are preserved at extreme temperatures (up to -35 or -40 C). A comfortable temperature for potatoes is maintained automatically from 1-7 degrees Celsius. A convenient screen is used to control the temperature. An ordinary lightning is used as a lock. It is very easy to clean - just wash it. It is produced in different shades and sizes - for one, two, or three bags of potatoes.

We really hope that our tips will help you keep your potato crop safe and sound!