storing potatoes
 

I am lifting potatoes (grown in tubs) and would like to know the best way to
store them, as I put them in potato sacks last year and a lot turned green.
Also some which I have picked have scabs on, can I use/store these? One more
question, if I don't want to lift them all, how long can I leave them in the
tubs please?

Turning green is caused by exposure to light. Be sure to exclude light
from the sacks. Farmers round here do main crop potato picking around
October so as long as you keep the tubs dry you'll probably be OK until
then. In fact if you don't need the tubs until next spring why not
consider them as your storage system, particularly if you can keep them
protected from frost. If you have a lid for the tubs pop them up on
bricks to let moisture drain, pop the lid on then lift potatoes out as
and when you need them.

In article , hillier
writes
I am lifting potatoes (grown in tubs) and would like to know the best way to
store them, as I put them in potato sacks last year and a lot turned green.

They turn green because light has got to them. Put them back in a dark
place, and they go back white/yellow again.

Also some which I have picked have scabs on, can I use/store these?

You can certainly use them.

One more
question, if I don't want to lift them all, how long can I leave them in the
tubs please?

They're designed to last all winter, but the longer you leave them in
the ground, the more likely the slugs are to find them. But if they're
in tubs, you could just lift the whole tub and store it in a cool slug-
free place. But there are more space-efficient methods of storing them.



--
Kay
"Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river"

On Mon, 8 Aug 2005 20:37:59 +0100, Kay
wrote:

They turn green because light has got to them. Put them back in a dark
place, and they go back white/yellow again.

Kay, I have never heard this. Does that mean that the oxalates (or
whatever) go away?

Pam in Bristol

In article , Pam Moore
writes
On Mon, 8 Aug 2005 20:37:59 +0100, Kay
wrote:

They turn green because light has got to them. Put them back in a dark
place, and they go back white/yellow again.

Kay, I have never heard this. Does that mean that the oxalates (or
whatever) go away?

Solanine.

Good point. I don't know. So I shouldn't advise other people to do this.
I will continue to, since it has never done me or my family any harm.

Googling reveals several things
1) that it builds up with time - so frequent checking of potatoes is
advisable
2) that small doses are tolerated (it is apparently present in potato
skins) so the odd dodgy potato may be OK but a whole mealful of them
might not be.
3) that it gives a bitter taste to the potato, so don't eat any potato
that tastes strange.

Wikipedia reference is about the most informative in one place:
http://fixedreference.org/en/20040424/wikipedia/Potato

How many gardeners, I wonder, have looked at their potato patch, seen
green tubers poking through the soil, realised they're overdue with
earthing-up and have gone ahead and earthed up with no further worries?
--
Kay
"Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river"