# WHAT is best way to STORE POTATOES for the long term.......???



## Sourdough (Dec 28, 2011)

Potatoes are cheap in Alaska, local potatoes are cheap. I figure to purchase 200 pounds of potatoes this fall, for emergency-back up SHTF food reserve. And bear bait if they rot.

So what is the best way to store potatoes over the winter..........and preferably in the smallest possible space.

I have a lot of dry straw and a mountain of sawdust from the sawmill, How can I use these to assist with storage.......???

Ditto onions......???


----------



## JH-Q (Jan 6, 2014)

Root cellar, especially in the cold climate you have! Just keep it above freezing or the potatoes will go bad.
And I think the potatoes should be properly prepared for storage. They should be kept in the ground with the stalks cut for some time to toughen the skin for storage. A lot depends of the variety as well!

A simpler version of a root cellar would be a potato pit. Dig a hole in the ground and brace it up with wood, barrel or whatever you have. Add some insulation on top to keep it from freezing. It's more difficult to get proper moisture, temperature and ventilation this way, but i heard the old timers have been succesful with this method when a root cellar wasn't avaitable.

I think onions will rot easily in moist root cellar, not sure about how to store them...
I've made a bunch of vinegar pickled onions, they store for years well but i really couldn't eat so much of them...


----------



## CajunSunshine (Apr 24, 2007)

I like to dehydrate them. Lightweight, portable, takes up very little space, lasts nearly forever...and can be used in so many ways that it is ridiculous. 

https://www.motherearthnews.com/real-food/drying/dehydrate-potatoes-for-various-uses-zbcz1507

http://povertyprepping.blogspot.com/2013/01/dehydrating-potatoes_13.html


----------



## Sourdough (Dec 28, 2011)

JH-Q said:


> A simpler version of a root cellar would be a potato pit. Dig a hole in the ground and brace it up with wood, barrel or whatever you have. Add some insulation on top to keep it from freezing. It's more difficult to get proper moisture, temperature and ventilation this way, but i heard the old timers have been succesful with this method when a root cellar wasn't available.


This is more along the lines of the type ideas I am looking for. My small potato patch is always a failure. The potatoes are small, the seed potatoes are expensive, bla-bla-bla.

But I notice each spring when turning the soil, that there are a few potatoes that I missed collecting the previous fall. And they were firm, not mushy. I am going to try burying some store bought potatoes late this coming fall.

NOT as seed, but to see if they can be stored that way.


----------



## IMFoghorn (Jan 28, 2012)

We dug a hole and buried an old washing machine shell and piled square bales of hay on top to keep from freezing. I don't see why you couldn't use saw dust or straw in place of the hay.


----------



## muleskinner2 (Oct 7, 2007)

The cheapest way is in a pit below the freeze line. However if you are in Alaska, you have to worry about permafrost.


----------



## CajunSunshine (Apr 24, 2007)

...and bears.

(Unless the food is canned or dehydrated and stored in glass jars.)


----------



## CajunSunshine (Apr 24, 2007)

Nebbermind on the canned stuff for year 'round storage in freezing temps...they will bust. 

But the dehydrated stuff will be OK.


----------



## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

Canning is more "long term" than any methods used to store plain raw potatoes.

Both ways require protecting them from freezing, and raw strorage requires protecting them from moisture and pests too.


----------



## muleskinner2 (Oct 7, 2007)

Canning would be your best bet. Canned and stored where they won't freeze, they will last for years. Freeze dried and protected from moisture and rodents, they will last for decades.


----------



## weaselfire (Feb 7, 2018)

Where in Alaska? Storage in Nome will be a little different than storage in Prince of Wales. 

Root cellar. Wherever you are. Just build accordingly.

Jeff


----------



## Sourdough (Dec 28, 2011)

weaselfire said:


> Wherever you are. Just build accordingly.
> 
> Jeff


Hmmm.............ok


----------



## shawnlee (Apr 13, 2010)

I vote dehydrated, in 5 gallon buckets if this is for a long term thing......smaller if you plan to regularly dip into them. I think you would be shocked how much will fit in 2, 5 gallon buckets when dehydrated. The other aspect is SHTF, they would be highly portable, opposed to in their 200 pound state and buried. Much more usable too.


Keep us updated on how the pit works …….


----------



## montysky (Aug 21, 2006)

We use a root cellar for carrot, onions and potatoes, plus items we can works well here. In our area of Montana it can reach -45 without adding wind chill, don't know how much colder you get.


----------



## Sourdough (Dec 28, 2011)

montysky said:


> In our area of Montana it can reach -45 without adding wind chill, don't know how much colder you get.


It rarely gets to zero here. It might go two or three years and never get down to zero even once. In fact it rarely gets to 15 degrees above here. Most of the winter it is 25 above to 35 above.


----------



## weaselfire (Feb 7, 2018)

Sourdough said:


> Hmmm.............ok


Moist but not wet, cool but not freezing. Where you are and your ground conditions will determine how you can build. Again, Alaska is a rather large, and diverse, state. What works in one area may not in another.

Jeff


----------



## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

The *best* way to store potatoes is turn them into Vodka.


----------



## goatsareus (Jun 23, 2007)

Can them. They are great in potato soup or as an addition to any soup.


----------



## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

The best way to store them in the ground is to dig a trench below the frost line and in a dry area. Line it with a layer of straw, then a layer of potatoes, making sure they don't touch.

Repeat as needed then cover with a final layer of straw, then dirt and a waterproof cover.

The straw allows air circulation and helps insulate them from freezing.


----------



## gilberte (Sep 25, 2004)

We plant two thirty foot rows of Kennebecs. We usually start harvesting them about the second week of August for daily use. When we bring in the main crop it fills two six gallon buckets with a few left over to can a dozen pints or so. I cut a bunch of two inch holes in the buckets to allow for air circulation.

We keep the buckets in a closet in a back bedroom. The taters last right through to about May. By then any that are left have grown sprouts. There are enough left to replant the two thirty foot rows.


----------



## Evons hubby (Oct 3, 2005)

Taters like to be stored in a cool dark place. Emphasis on dark. They also like ventilation. Our spud cellar was under ground with about four vents out the top. Taters would be fine all winter if need be. Grampa liked to store them until late winter or into late spring when prices were higher.


----------



## GTX63 (Dec 13, 2016)

My parents and grandparents had root cellars for everything from potatoes to canned goods and it worked without fail.
We just keep them dark and cool and indoors.


----------



## Wolf mom (Mar 8, 2005)

My Native American friend's Mom has buried trash cans at an angle in the ground and stores her potatoes in them - layered with straw (nothing but straw) between and around each potato. She says it works well in the winter and snow.


----------



## AmericanStand (Jul 29, 2014)

Sourdough said:


> It rarely gets to zero here. It might go two or three years and never get down to zero even once. In fact it rarely gets to 15 degrees above here. Most of the winter it is 25 above to 35 above.


 Wow have things warmed up a lot or is it just the micro climate there ? 
Anchorage used to be pretty well guaranteed two or three weeks of -20. 
How much will the taters cost ya ? As a kid we used to go up by Palmer and fill a hundred pound bag for 3 bucks. 
It was interesting how people chose to fill the sack. Some wanted only the biggest some the smallest some wanted a mix to fill the sack better and I remember a few that counted how many they put in the sack.


----------



## Wyobuckaroo (Dec 30, 2011)

Sourdough... You must be along the coast not that far from Prince Rupert BC. We are farther inland from there. Far enough to get full fledged "winter" 

My sweeties proffered method to preserve potatoes is to pressure can. When we harvest home grown potatoes and when they are the cheapest in the store we pressure can quite a few jars, both 1 liter and half liter size. Works well depending on the meal and number of people for that meal. 

Sweetie has more than enough jars to be able to store this way. Our basement cold room, pantry is more than adequate to keep things at a good temp all year long.


----------



## nanitobusi (Jan 25, 2019)

From my experience (and most articles out there), the best environment to keep potatoes is dry, away from sunlight, and at temperatures between 45 and 55 degrees F.


----------



## Evons hubby (Oct 3, 2005)

nanitobusi said:


> From my experience (and most articles out there), the best environment to keep potatoes is dry, away from sunlight, and at temperatures between 45 and 55 degrees F.


That is correct. Don't forget ventilation as well. Our spud cellar had several vents for ventilation. They were pipes that stuck up through the roof then made a curve pointing back down. This allowed airflow but shut out any sunlight. Grandpa stored 10 to as much as 20 acres worth all year this way. Light is enemy number one along with freezing temps. The under ground cellar solved both problems.


----------



## TnAndy (Sep 15, 2005)

We root cellar ours on screen racks I made that allow air to circulate around the potatoes. Also found Kennebec don't keep near as well as Yukon Gold. The Kennebec start to turn 'rubbery' by late February, where the YG are still like the day they were dug.

For longer than a year, can or dehydrate.


----------



## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

Your stuff is too neat and organized.
You make everyone else look bad


----------



## AmericanStand (Jul 29, 2014)

WOW Andy I am impressed!


----------



## TnAndy (Sep 15, 2005)

Bearfootfarm said:


> Your stuff is too neat and organized.
> You make everyone else look bad


Blame my wife, she is the organized one for sure.....and she is the one that got in there and painted it last time.


----------



## TnAndy (Sep 15, 2005)

AmericanStand said:


> WOW Andy I am impressed!


Thanks. The screen deals are one of the few original ideas I've had....I pretty much steal other one.
They have worked out real good for storing regular and sweet potatoes. We keep the sweets in the basement, they do better around 50-60 degrees.

The small ones in bags are for next year's seed....but only used the bags that one time the photo was taken. They sprout 6-10" by the time planting time rolls around and are a royal pain to get OUT of the fool bag them because they grow thru the mesh....so now they just go in a bucket.


----------

