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Potatoes are the staple food of the inhabitants of Russia. There are more than a thousand varieties adapted to cultivation in both warm and cold climates. In order to keep potatoes in the diet all year round, it is important to store them correctly. If you create appropriate storage conditions for potatoes, then it will not lose its taste within 8-10 months.
This article will discuss how organize the storage of potatoes correctly and what rules should be followed.
When to harvest potatoes for winter storage
In the process of growing potato tubers, many gardeners use the young crop for daily cooking. However, it is impossible to collect young potatoes for winter storage, as they will simply deteriorate ahead of time. Only well-ripened potato tubers are suitable for winter storage. In order for the root crop to survive until the new harvest, some measures should be taken:
- A crop suitable for storage begins to form when the lower leaves of the green mass of potatoes dry out. 3-4 weeks pass from the day of wilting of the lower leaves to the full maturation of the tubers. This period is enough for the withering away of the tops and saturation of the root crops with starch and other nutrients that give the potato flavor. The taste and aroma of tubers depend on the type of potato.
- To dig up ripe roots easier, collect and burn the tops 1–2 weeks before harvest. During this time, the tubers will finally ripen, the peel will coarsen and dry eyes will form.
- Digging up potatoes is best done in dry, sunny weather. So, the tubers will dry out in the sun, it will be easier to sort and dry them in the shade. In addition, in dry weather, you can harvest without clay adhering to the tubers, which will increase the shelf life of the potatoes.
- In warm and dry regions, tubers fully ripen in the ground. In colder parts of the country, potatoes are dug up depending on the weather and air temperature.
- As a rule, early varieties are dug up in mid-July - early August. Medium varieties - from August 10 to the end of the month. And the late varieties are harvested in storage in the first half of September.
If this is not done, then the tubers will gain moisture, as a result of which their shelf life will decrease. Conversely, during dry summers, potatoes can lose too much moisture, making them too soft.
If you do not grow potatoes, but buy them and store them in winter, then it is better to purchase a root crop of the same variety. It should be noted that the yellow potato varieties are stored better... If you decide to purchase several varieties of potatoes, then each variety must be stored in a separate container.
Preparing potatoes and premises
Before placing the potatoes in the place of their storage, you need to prepare the tubers. Properly prepared potatoes last longer and retain their taste until the next harvest.
So, root crops must go through several stages of processing:
- Sorting, during which damaged tubers are selected.
- Cleaning from soil and vegetation residues.
- Drying.
- Disinfection. Disinfection can be done with freshly slaked lime. The proportion will be as follows - 2.5 kg of lime is added to 10 liters of water.
- Fumigation.
Before pouring potatoes into the cellar, you need to prepare it too.It depends on how effective the storage of potatoes will be. So, you need to carry out the following manipulations:
- Inspection of the premises in order to detect damage to the floor and walls.
- Disinfection.
- If there is damage, then they need to be repaired.
- Repair equipment to ensure proper ventilation and temperature.
Proper preparation of root crops and the storage space in which they will be stored will ensure ideal storage of potatoes until the next harvest. It is important to avoid situations that provoke rotting or sprouting of the root crop in storage.
Temperature regime
In order for the storage of potatoes not to end in a fiasco, you need to determine what the temperature in the cellar / basement should be. So, for different varieties, a different temperature regime is needed:
- Early varieties are stored at 1.4–2.5 ° C.
- Mid-early varieties are better stored at 3-4 ° C.
- Late and mid-late varieties can be stored at higher temperatures - 5–6 ° C.
In this room, the potatoes should stand for 2 weeks. After this time, the taste of the root crop should be restored.
Where is the best place to store potatoes
Wherever people do not store potatoes. It all depends on the place of residence of the person, therefore, the methods of storing potatoes will be different. If you live in the private sector, then, most likely, your potatoes will be stored in the cellar. If you live in an apartment, you can store potatoes either in the basement or on the balcony... Let's consider each storage method separately.
First of all, it is worth talking about stationary storage sites for potatoes. In such rooms, it is possible to adjust the climatic conditions that provide an optimal storage regime. So, there are 3 types of potato storage:
- Terrestrial.
- Semi-recessed.
- Fully deepened.
Fully deepened cellars are considered the most practical. They keep the necessary coolness in them in spring, while in winter such storages do not freeze. If it is possible to organize storage of potatoes in an underground cellar, then this gives you an almost 100% guarantee of the safety of the root crop until the next harvest.
If, during the construction of the cellar, the level of occurrence of groundwater is taken into account, then the cellar in the ground will be the most effective room for storing root crops. The bottom of the storage facility should be 2 m above groundwater.
Root storage pit
If you do not have a cellar, then the potato storage technology will naturally differ from the one described above. One of the options is to store potatoes in a pit specially prepared for this. It can be dug in a vegetable garden or in an outbuilding. A pit under a shed or in a shed is a better way to store potatoes than in a vegetable garden. So, you can quickly create the conditions necessary for storing potatoes.
Before you start digging a hole, it would be good to determine what type of soil you have to work with, since this factor is important to take into account when digging. So, the pit preparation process consists of the following stages:
- Digging a hole 1.5 m deep and 2 m in diameter.
- Preparation of grooves for the outflow of groundwater.
- Strawing the walls and bottom.
In order for the potatoes to lie in the pit until the end of spring, you need to know how to properly store the root crop in this storage. You need to fill the prepared hole with potatoes, not reaching the top by 40-50 cm. The remaining space is covered with straw, and then covered with earth. This storage method is called bulk storage.
However, not all potato varieties can be stored this way. Therefore, before deciding whether to store your potatoes this way, make sure you have grown or bought the right variety.
Cellar storage
Cellars are underground, semi-buried or above ground.It all depends on the level of occurrence of groundwater. A cellar built of concrete or red brick is suitable for storing potatoes.
Ventilation should be done so that the temperature in the cellar is maintained in the range of 2–6 ° C, and the relative humidity varies within 80–90%. For this, two pipes are installed in the cellar - supply and exhaust.
Balcony storage
If you live in an apartment, then you probably don't have a cellar. Perhaps you have a basement, but if there are no proper conditions for storing root crops, then a balcony or loggia may become the only storage. Since the temperature in this room is sub-zero in winter, it will not be possible to store potatoes in a simple bag or box.
Some home craftsmen resorted to a little trick and simply insulated ordinary boxes with polystyrene foam, and inside they surrounded them with clapboard. Some have installed a chimney in the box and have arranged heating in the form of a 40-watt blue light bulb. Such storage for potatoes has decent performance.
If you are unable to do storage boxes on your own, then you can purchase a household thermal container Balcony cellar. It is a double bag made of tent fabric, insulated with a durable padding polyester and equipped with electric heating. Such a thermal container ensures the safety of vegetables on the balcony even at –40 ° C, as it always maintains a temperature within the range of + 1 + 7 ° C. Moreover, the container works in automatic mode.
Outcomes
So, by storing potatoes in suitable conditions, you can provide your life with delicious dishes from this vegetable. This article has described the main types of potato storage facilities and provided tips for handling the vegetable prior to storage. Choose one of the options, and let there always be potatoes in your home!
Another way to store potatoes at home is highlighted in the video:
