# how to store Sweet Potatoes



## billyj (Jan 25, 2005)

The first crop of sweet potatoes grown in Louisiana are some of the best I've ever had, sweet, little or no strings and great for sweet potatoes casserole or any other way you want to fix-um. The best come from an area from Marksville to Opelousas. 

Best I remember my aunt had what's called a potato house. I think the potatoes were buried in a shallow mound of dirt, covered with pine straw and then a layer of dirt. This method kept the potatoes moist and the straw would keep them from freezing in the winter. :shrug: Not sure I'm correct about this method.

Anyone care to weigh in on this? I would like to buy a few bushels of the first crop and store them for future use.

Thanks
Billyj


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## MullersLaneFarm (Jul 23, 2004)

Thanks for posting this. I'm growing sweet potatoes for the first time this year and don't have a clue how to store them.

We're in the north and I will have to store them inside - freeze line is pretty deep.


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## MullersLaneFarm (Jul 23, 2004)

Found some interesting reading about harvesting and storing sweet potatoes:



> Sweet potatoes
> 
> â¢ Assess the sweet potato vines and tuber itself for size and any signs of disease.
> 
> ...





> HARVESTING. Harvest sweet potatoes before soil temperatures drop to 50 degrees F., to prevent injury. If frost damages the vines before digging, remove them to prevent decay from starting in the dead vine and moving into the roots. If possible, dig sweet potatoes when the soil is dry. Less soil will stick to the roots, and they will be easier to handle. Let the roots dry about three hours after digging.
> 
> CURING. Successful storage depends greatly upon proper curing. Cure by placing a large quantity of roots in a fairly air-tight building. If artificial heat is not available, the heat of respiration and high outside temperature is often sufficient for curing. Artificial heat can be used to bring storage temperature to 80 to 90 degrees F. Bring the relative humidity up to 85 to 90 percent with a water hose or humidifier. Wounds heal rapidly and there is some root drying. The curing process takes about two weeks.
> 
> ...





> Before placing tubers in storage, they need to be cured for ten days at 80 to 85 degrees Fahrenheit, or between 65 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit for 2 to 3 weeks.
> 
> The tubers should be covered to keep the humidity elevated.
> 
> After curing the tubers are stored at 55 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit. Chill injury will result if the temperature is below 50 degrees Fahrenheit. To keep the humidity high around tubers, they may be covered with, or put in a burlap sack that is moistened periodically





> Curing and Storing Sweet Potatoes
> 
> Sweet potatoes are not very sweet or moist when first dug. It takes six to eight weeks of proper curing and storage before they have the sweet, moist taste and texture desired when baked, says LSU AgCenter horticulturist Dr. Tom Koske.
> 
> ...


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## blue gecko (Jun 14, 2006)

After curing I lay my sweet potatoes out on a shelf in the basement making sure they aren't touching each other. They last all winter that way. In the spring I take a few and poke toothpicks in them so they can be suspended in a jar of water. When they sprout and the sprouts are about 6-10 inches long I carefully break them off and put the sprouts in water to root. After that they are ready for planting.


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## billyj (Jan 25, 2005)

blue gecko said:


> After curing I lay my sweet potatoes out on a shelf in the basement making sure they aren't touching each other. They last all winter that way. In the spring I take a few and poke toothpicks in them so they can be suspended in a jar of water. When they sprout and the sprouts are about 6-10 inches long I carefully break them off and put the sprouts in water to root. After that they are ready for planting.


How do you cure them? I have stored a few on a shelf, but after a few weeks they seem to swivel up a bit and have no where the taste when fresh.


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## blue gecko (Jun 14, 2006)

After digging them I put them on a covered side porch (on camp tables usually) unwashed and separated out so there is air space around them. I leave them for several days until the skin thickens a bit and any cut places "heal" over. Then I brush them off and move them into the basement. I've done this for 2 years now and we've enjoyed good sweet potatoes all winter.

In the articles above they suggest temps and humidity. You might look around your house and see if you can find similar "climates". This time of year my side porch (east) is very close to their suggestion and my basement meets the long term suggestion.


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## BackfourtyMI. (Sep 3, 2007)

Hi, I keep a few in the basement to bake, etc., But most of my sweet patatoes I can in my pressure canner. They will keep for a couple years that way & I can use them for casserole, pies or just mash them up for dinner. Easy to can too! Hope that gives you another idea!


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## bee (May 12, 2002)

I was reading a growers catalog that included this tip...don't change the orientation(which side up) on you sweets..it seems the ones you get at the market have been rooted thru and the buyer can't tell which way they should lay and that is why store boughts spoil quicker. I grew a few hills this year and I will try the "this side up" thing and see if it makes a difference...


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