Help! How do I store potatoes?

Ted_Hutchinson

I always buy potatoes by the sack. I share the sack with 3 neighbours so actually we don't usually have a storage problem. But this year it looks like tates are going to be in short supply so while they are cheap I bought 8 sacks which are now in the garage. They should be fine providing the temperature doesn't get below freezing for days at a time. I think the supermarket ones go off if they are washed. Mine are dirty and that helps them keep longer. Also you don't know with supermarket tates if they've been in a cold store for a while. If you get them straight from the farm they are less likely to have been messed around with.

I paid £4 a bag but there are still plenty of people round here selling bags of tates for £5 a bag.

patchwork_cat

I heard put an apple in the bag. Make sure they can breath - don't buy special bags an old cotton pillowcase will do or brown paper bag and that there are no rotten ones already. Plastic makes them rot and sunlight makes them turn green.

Uncle_Cuddles

My mum always told me the reason why spud go off so quick these days is because they are washed. She said the dirt helps keep them fresh. I remember having to wash and peel them under the tap as a kid - the sink was like a mud bath and my hands were freezing!!!

Debt_Free_Chick

Agree with others - cool & dark. But also, they must be in a breathable bag - absolutely not plastic of any description (it's one of the reasons that supermarket pots go off so quickly!).

If you are buying them in the paper sack, leave them in that. Make sure that the floor of the shed/garage is absolutely dry too. If it's not, then raise the sack off the floor using a few dry bricks or construct a simply platform with a couple of bits of wood resting on bricks.

The pots need air to circulate - so a breathable bag and a dry floor/storage area is a must.

Last year, we stored our own home-grown potatoes from Sep/Oct right through to February - by which time, we'd eaten them all

Gingham_Ribbon

There is a thread on storing potatoes that is pretty good. I'll merge this to it to keep all the answers together.

mandy_moo_1

i've read loads on here about buying potatoes by the sack load, but how do you keep em fresh?

whenever i buy potatoes, they go off after a few days, so i'm reluctant to buy a sackfull :rolleyes:

Psykicpup

They need to be kept dry, dark & cold - so take them out of any plastic bag (inc those paper ones with the plasticc viewing panel) as it makes them sweat & put them in a paper or strong fabric bag. Then store them somewhere like an outdoor shed or the coolest darkest place you can find - maybe even the fridge if you have room (yes its true the light really does go out when you shut the door lol)

artic_fox_2

so that what im doing wrong (hahaha) mine are(were now) kept next to the boiler in kitchen in plastic bag in daylight(oh dear) have moved to cupbord under stairs and will get cloth or paper bag asap

DawnW

I keep mine in the paper sack they come in, in the garage. It is too warm in the house (unless you have a cellar or an unheated spare bedroom or something). You have to remember to fold down the top of the bag when you get some out every time though, to avoid them going green and spoiling. In the winter, they keep fine, but unless you have a really big family I wouldn't buy big quantities in the Spring, as they tend to sprout and go mouldy quite quickly then.

Raspberry_Swirl

i keep mine in the cupboard under my sink in the kitchen. the wind rattles through there enough to keep them nice and cool