Po-tay-toes.

[TeeDee]

Potatoes - how long if you keep them in a cool dark place ( say big plastic barrel in a dark garage ) would you anticipate them being useable before going a bit wrong.

 

[Woody girl]

Store them in dry clean sand, as in an old fashoned clamp and they'll be fine for months.
Plastic will turn them to a mushy mess in no time! They need to breath.
Works for all root crops.

 

[Pattree]

A vented clamp outside works for a while.

The old folks of my memory didn’t leave those strips up the side but had vertical tufts of straw sticking up about nine inches apart. They covered the ridge with canvas (from old army tents I think) when it rained.

Edited to add:
You are excused from wearing your de-mob tie when building your clamp if you are wearing your old battle dress.

 

[slowworm]

As has been said, they need a bit of air. My parents used to keep them in a large paper sack although I'd want to keep them in smaller sacks to stop a rotting spud spreading. You also want to store dry and sound tubers.

I have found over the years variety greatly affects long term storage and the longest storing variety I've found is Pink Fir Apple, it'll store ok for 6 months or more without sprouting.

 

[Jonno70]

My stored spuds have been hit and miss over the years but last year was a success. I made sure they were properly dried off, I left them in a cool dark shed for a few weeks prior to storing in a paper sack they were Maris Pipers and lasted well.

 

[British Red]

A vented clamp outside works for a while.

The old folks of my memory didn’t leave those strips up the side but had vertical tufts of straw sticking up about nine inches apart. They covered the ridge with canvas (from old army tents I think) when it rained.

This is how the current old folks make them

 

[TeeDee]

This is how the current old folks make them

Nice.
But say you don't have the space outside or want to keep the outside. Other options?

 

[British Red]

For me potatoes are a little different to other root crops like carrots. A good sand clamp will keep last year's carrots until May.

Potatoes are variety specific. For good ambient storage you want large, dry, thick skinned main crop varieties. Valor or King Edward work. Store dry, out of the light and with good air circulation in paper sacks or straw is good. Earth clamps work (see above) but the spuds will sprout in a warm spring. The cooler and drier you keep them, the longer they will last but May is likely the limit. You cannot store raw potatoes in a warm house, you need an unheated space.

 

[FerlasDave]

Boil ‘em, mash ‘em, stick ‘em in a stew!

 

[TeeDee]

Boil ‘em, mash ‘em, stick ‘em in a stew!

The film has had an obvious impact on me - I can't say the word any other way now.
Bit embarrassing to be honest.

Shopping in Supermarkets . "Darling do we need some.... "

or Restaurants " Can I have a baked.... "

 

[Kadushu]

The blue mushroom trays are good for this. Place the potatoes so they are not touching and the occasional rotter shouldn't take the rest with it. Use any damaged ones first.

 

[Woody girl]

Just got my first potato harvest of the year, I stuck them in a pot, realy deep, and forgot about them, never watered, but then we had a lot of rain this spring, so it didn't matter, didn't fertilise and from 4 little shop bought baby tatties that I planted, I've got just over a kilo of small baby potato's.
Yummy potato salad and cheese and potato pie on the menu this week.
Not exactly dig for victory , but still saving me a few quid. I have some more to dig later on in a few weeks time. They will be more for storage.
(Also found the first wild strawberries of the year today.)