Potatoe storage

Small Farmer

I want to store a crop of potatoes that i have just dug at my house and not in the field where i grew them. I was wondering if i could get some advice as to how best I could do this as this is my first year to grow them:)

glanman

DO you have a large crop?

things to remember is to let them dry for a while, few hours in the open, remove wet soil, discard damaged/rotten potatoes. If you can use them do ASAP, otherwise throw them away.. Pototoes need to be kept in a cool place, constant temp and very importantly in the dark. paper bags, cloth bags or wooden boxes are good. do not use plastic bags because they will ccreate moisture. check them every month or so for any spoiling, remove them then

Qprmeath

If you have space get a few bales of straw and make a pit and put them in to it. Put loose straw on top of them as this will draw the moisture out of them.

bk1991

Qprmeath wrote: »

If you have space get a few bales of straw and make a pit and put them in to it. Put loose straw on top of them as this will draw the moisture out of them.

we do this in a shead the walls is insulated we tip them up put square bales up the front and the top use loose straw inbetween bales we use mesh netting to stop straw getting mixed up with the potatoes ....
dont let frost get em anyway

spoutwell

I sowed some of the 'blight resistant' Sarpo Mira potatoes this year. They may be resistant but they're not blight proof. I dug them out at the end of September and they weren't too bad of a crop. Some of them did blight but it didn't seem to affect the tubers.
I didn't spray them once and there is a great taste off them.
My problem is that they are not storing well at all.
I keep them in a wooden boxes in a back room we don't use, in the dark, the same way I have stored other potatoes in previous years.
I look at them every couple of weeks and there are more of them gone rotten every time. It starts with a distinctive white mould which, if left, turns to mush and rots the ones around them. At this rate they won't last till the end of january. Is this blight?
I never had the problem before but I always sprayed the potatoes any other year. I'm wondering does the spraying help to keep the blight away when they're being stored?

Rujib1

spoutwell wrote: »

I sowed some of the 'blight resistant' Sarpo Mira potatoes this year. They may be resistant but they're not blight proof. I dug them out at the end of September and they weren't too bad of a crop. Some of them did blight but it didn't seem to affect the tubers.
I didn't spray them once and there is a great taste off them.
My problem is that they are not storing well at all.
I keep them in a wooden boxes in a back room we don't use, in the dark, the same way I have stored other potatoes in previous years.
I look at them every couple of weeks and there are more of them gone rotten every time. It starts with a distinctive white mould which, if left, turns to mush and rots the ones around them. At this rate they won't last till the end of january. Is this blight?
I never had the problem before but I always sprayed the potatoes any other year. I'm wondering does the spraying help to keep the blight away when they're being stored?

Yes, I must say I seem to be suffering a few losses this year in spuds in storage. I grew Rooster main crop. Sprayed regularly, but did seem to get late foliar blight. Dug them early October, and had a few with blight. Picked them carefully, and stored in boxes, with straw underneath and on top. Went through the boxes this week end and had a few rotten ones in there. It is blight I think. According to Teagasc this year, there are new strains of blight going around now, which are becoming more resistant to sprays etc,.

R