Storing seed potatoes

[Magpie]

Does anyone have any tips for storing potatoes for next years planting?
I have several old varieties I don't want to lose!

[Wombat]

G'DAy Magpie,

I think cool and dark in dry sand or somesuch is the way to go - so under the house maybe?

Nev

[Magpie]

Yes, I did feel that in plastic bags, next to the washing machine really wasn't the way to go!
How dark do you think they need to be? Would you think in a garden shed with one small window would be ok? And how much would temperatre fluctuation affect them do you think? We are at about 20C today, but we will get snow a couple of times through winter. I wonder if cold affects their keeping more or less than heat...

[Wombat]

Smart bum!

As far as I am aware cold is good, but do not freeze, and keep them in the DARK ie no light so in a bin, box etc. is good.

nev

[Andy Hamilton]

also worth a look if you are feeling creative is the trusty potato clamp and the deep freeze. have a look at the article that I wrote a while back....

http://www.selfsufficientish.com/clamp.htm

[Magpie]

No really, Wombat, that's where they are at the moment!

I wish I had the space in my garden for a clamp, that seems the ideal solution. I think our shed should be ok, I don't expect many more warm days now, and it does have to be better than where they are now!

[Andy Hamilton]

did you see the deep freeze below it? I have copied and pasted it over to here, seems like it could be the ideal solution in a limitd ammount of space..

Deep Freeze

If you want to store a smaller amount of potatoes then an old deep freeze is a good idea. This is not as it sounds (a big electric freezer) it is essentially a wooden box with a lid. Firstly put in a layer of clean dry straw across the bottom of the box. Then you add your potatoes. This must be undamaged, John Seymour recommends that you sort your lifted potatoes into three piles, perfect large ones for storage, smaller and slightly damaged ones for immediate consumption and the diseased, damaged and tiny ones to be destroyed.

You should put in a layer of about 30cm (1 foot) of potatoes and then add another layer of clean and dry straw. Another layer of potatoes can then be added with another layer of straw on top of that.

Put the lid onto the box (deep freeze) but ensure that you wedge it open with something that keeps the air in but is not big enough to let a rat in, a doorstop is ideal.

[Wombat]

Fair enough, sorry Magpie , it is one of the difficulties of written versus verbal communication, you miss out on valuable visual and auditory clues to meaning. Plus I think my sarcasm meter is out of wack!

Nev

[Muddypause]

I think my sarcasm meter is out of wack!

Call it 'irony', Nev; I find it impresses people far more than 'sarcasm'.

[Wombat]

Thanks mate!