When you've spent a lot of time and effort into growing potatoes, and the time comes to harvest them, you want to make sure that you get the most mileage from your crop.
Clearly, you wont be able to eat them all in one go, so it makes sense to store them properly so they last long enough for you and your family to enjoy them at their best.
NEWPORT
Here are 6 tips to ensure that you can store your potatoes for as long as possible.
Mature the Skins When you first harvest your potatoes, leave them somewhere cool and dark for 2-3 days. This will help the skins to mature and will serve to provide better protection when they go into storage. Cool and dark Your potatoes need to be stored somewhere cool and dark. A temperature of between 45-50 degrees Fahrenheit is the ideal to maintain the dormancy period, and delay sprouting for as long as possible. Any sunlight will cause the potatoes to go green. Green potatoes are toxic potatoes and not nice. Plenty of air When you store your potatoes, they need the air to be able to circulate freely around each vegetable as much as possible. Some people store their potatoes in tights or pantyhose and suspend them over a washing line in the cellar. Store your potatoes in a hessian or brown paper sack with holes in to help with the airflow. Inspect each one Before you place each potato into storage, inspect each and every one. Dispose of anything that is green, shrivelled, sprouting, and damaged or with any soft or rotten parts. The baddies will ruin the goodies! Do Nots Do not wash your potatoes, but gently rub off the mud. Washing them can allow mildew to set in and the damp skin can let bacteria to gain entry and rot the potato. Do not store them in polythene bags-the condensation build up will cause rotting to start. Do not store them with onions or fruit- they all produce gases and hormones which can spoil them all. Do not store your potatoes in the fridge. Yes, it is cold and dark, once the door is shut, but the temperature is too cold. This will cause the starch in the potato to turn to sugar and will cause it to taste sweet once cooked and will also cause the potato to turn a dark nasty looking colour when you cook it. Check on Progress When you store your potatoes correctly it is possible to get them to last from 3-6 months. Throughout the storage period you will need to check on the progress of your spuds from time to time. Get rid of anything shrivelled, green or rotten before it gets a change to damage the others.
So there you are, 6 points to follow to help you get the most out of your efforts in the garden.
Storing Your Home Grown Potatoes - 6 Tips For the Best Results NEWPORT
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