Potato storage (not clamps)/Bag suppliers

sussexbaker

Hi all

I'm about to harvest my potato patch and as I'm going to have a glut I need something to store them in. I'd go down the clamp route except that as my garden is evolving I've not got anywhere I could put them (the patch itself is going to get green manured and then turned into raised beds, the spuds were a pioneer crop for more exotic crops). I've been looking at buying some hessian bags for storage but there seems to be quite a range of costs/quality and I wondered if anyone had any suggestions as to a supplier, or an alternative form of storage?

Thanks in advance

Ken68

Potatoes put on maximum weight whilst the haulm is drying off, so don't harvest too early and then it;s a race between you and the slugs.
Lay them out in the sun to thoroughly dry and then store in paper or hessian sacks. Got mine from Freecycle.

KabbaDabbaDoo

I asked at the local fruit and veg shop - they gave me 4 large bags

mansars

pound land have hessian sacks.

wellused

mansars wrote: »

pound land have hessian sacks.

Are they expensive? ;-)

safestored4

I got my hessian sacks for free from a local pet shop who take deliveries of peanuts in them.

jj@8cv

For several years I have used cardboard boxes lined with newspaper. It's easy to spot any potatoes which have rotted etc. without turning out the whole sack.

twiglet98

jj@8cv wrote: »

For several years I have used cardboard boxes lined with newspaper. It's easy to spot any potatoes which have rotted etc. without turning out the whole sack.

I've dug up potatoes today and was wondering how to store the surplus too. They're Lady Christl, meant to be 2nd earlies but have grown really big, and there are more than I thought possible from the little bag of seed potatoes. First time I've grown them in the ground, had dismal results from containers, and I'm absolutely thrilled.

I have a lot of paper sacks that have contained chicken or horse feed and thought of using them, but did wonder about buying hessian ones, or using cardboard boxes. Some questions - whether in a bag or box, does it need to be covered to keep the light out? And where's the best place to keep them - I don't have a shed, but have access to a brick barn with concrete floor (and occasional rodent problems).

They have a fair bit of wet clay soil attached, should I wipe it all off before storage? And finally, how long might they keep, if no rot and no mice?

Ken68

They need to be well dry before storage, and out of the light in sacks or boxes. Away from the frost too, that is the killer.
And mine last until way past the New Year and will develop chits roundabout that time.

lovefullshelves

I'll agree...they HAVE to be frost free. (We cover with straw, and any in paper sacks we cover with old duvets when the temperature drops.) And they must be light free too. Soil on them shouldn't hurt too much as long as they aren't damp or damaged (damage will turn them wet and they'll rot.)
The big growers I know keep them in huge plastic boxes in dark temperature controlled sheds!
I grow about an acre and shed clamp under straw. If stored right they should last till just before the next ones are ready! Though as a second early they will want to grow and shoot sooner than a maincrop would
Save any little ones or green ones for next years seed!!

twiglet98

Thank you for some great advice - I only did a double row about 3 metres long, expecting the slugs to get them all, so there was never going to be a huge amount, but I'm delighted with what there is.

I took advantage of a bright and breezy day to spread them out on pallets to dry, rubbed the worst of the soil off between my gardening-gloved hands, and have put all but the tiny ones into a paper feed sack. It's in the barn for now and I have old duvets that we used to put on the ponies that I can put under and over them when the temperature drops. Some of the smallest, a few only the size of grapes, can go in casseroles. I think there were only three or four green ones.

I know my back couldn't take digging and earthing up any vast area - wow lovefullshelves, I hope you have machinery to deal with an acre of them!