[permaculture-oceania] spud storage

[Pat Rayner]

The following article appears in the Blue Mountains Permaculture Network
Newsletter for Spring 2006 from John McNaull a local gardener and permie.

I think I must have tried most methods - in a dark box under the house - in
sand, in sawdust..  None of them worked for me.  Mostly the potatoes would
just start growing and I would end up with a box of tangled pale roots and
shoots.  I would think - what a waste! - got such a good harvest but wasn't
able to keep them through the winter - what's the point?

However - I tried the following method for the last couple of years and have
found it to be the most effective and convenient.  It works for potatoes,
jerusalem artichokes, yakon and may work for any others you have.

I just store them in the ground!.  I clear the growing bed in autumn and go
on to use it for whatever is next.  I select an accessible part of the
garden and dig a hole.  I fit in a large plastic growing pot or bucket  (min
about 20-30cm wide and deep, with the bottom cut out of it ) so that there
is just enough showing above ground to remind me it is there.  I then lay
the potatoes out in the bucket and alternate with layers of soil.  I cover
the top with a 5cm layer of soil and that's it!  It is good to stick a label
in to remind you of what it is stored there.  I have had several side by
side with different varieties of potatoes - it works like an outside larder!

The coolness of the ground over winter seems to stop the potatoes sprouting;
the dampness of the soil stops them from drying out.  The bucket keeps them
together (and re-collectable at critical moments just before dinner is
due!!) and separates them from anything adjacent in the bed.  The holes in
the pot/bucket stop rainwater collecting and the layer of soil on top helps
to insulate from the variations in heat and cold. It is also important to
have enough room so that none of the potatoes in the layers touch each other
as any diseased or mouldy items are isolated from the others ( I think the
soil life assists in this isolation also)

I seem to remember that in Ireland and Scotland, the potato fields were
cleared before winter and the crop stored in 'lazy beds'.  These were large,
above-ground mounds of soil and straw into which the potatoes were layered.
Maybe I am just re-inventing another version of a very old wheel!


Pat Rayner
BMPN

-----Original Message-----
From: permaculture-oceania-bounces at lists.cat.org.au
[mailto:permaculture-oceania-bounces at lists.cat.org.au] On Behalf Of Ruth
Rosenhek
Sent: Thursday, 14 September 2006 6:44 PM
To: permaculture-oceania at lists.cat.org.au
Subject: [permaculture-oceania] spud storage


I have heaps of potatos and am unsure about how to keep them in  long 
term storage, any suggestions?

Ruth

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