Help! How do I store potatoes?

annie-c

I made a drawstring bag, made from a cotten outer layer and a liner of blackout curtain lining. It is amazing - I forgot about it and 4 weeks later all mys puds/sweet potatoes were just as fresh as when I put them in there. Now I just need to remember to eat them.....

moozikgal

If you can buy dirty potatoes as they tend to last longer than washed. Also if you have a local farm shop, see if they will deliver a sack of potatoes to you for cheap in a veg order. Sacked pots last longer too. We got a 7.5 kg bag of maris piper from our farm shop for £3.20 and they have done us 5 weeks so far and still not sprouting. only a handful left now tho!

beedeedee

I go with the Lakeland bag mentioned earlier, because I only want to get a bagful that I can carry, not a sack.............I keep spuds for weeks nowadays with it.
I didn't realise that maybe a farm shop would deliver ? I'll look into the cost of a sack - maybe get another Lakeland bag or two if they will !

Gingham_Ribbon

We had an older thread about this so I've merged them to keep the answers together. You may want to check out this excellent site from the potato council too!

lil_me

Ordered myself a bag, no room in the shed plus don't want to attract anything

Dotmatic

Just read on the Potato council website that potatoes shouldn't be stored in the fridge but it doesn't say why, mine keep fine in there, I hate it when I read that something shouldn't be done but they don't tell you why :rolleyes: Does anyone know why?

I like the idea of the Lakeland bag.

lil_me

http://www.potatoesforschools.org.uk/FFT/Explore/packaging.html

Has info on there. Ordered mine off eBay, found one that was £2.99 with 55p postage on buy now, no Lakeland near by saying that the one they do is about £6 anyway.

emma396

u can probably get free potato bags from a chip shop that is chucking them out. my parents own a shop and one of our customers takes the bags off our hands to store his wood or something. if u have a regular, u can ask them to keep them for you. i doubt they;ll mind, it means less rubbish for them.

my parents own an allotment so they store theirs in potato bags in the shed in the dark in the cool.

rosieben

I usually buy a sack from the local farm shop, costs about £6; I store them in the paper sack, in a cool corner of the house. I share a few with my Aunt and I find I usually get through them before they start to go off. The last few may be a bit wrinkly but I just put lots of mash or shepherds pie, cheese and potato pie etc on the menu!

Great idea to use blackout curtain lining inside a cotton storage bag, off to make one for my new potatoes. :T

Muppet81

Putting an apple/s (wrap in newspaper) in with your potatoes does work and there is a scientific explanation. The apples produce ethylene which acts to stop potatoes going soft as quickly or sprouting.
I work for a company who specialise in potato storage systems and they do this by injecting ethylene into the storage area. An apple does the same but on a more 'domestic'scale.