my seed potatoes have arrived how do i store them till march

[gunners71uk]

i got my seed potts off www.grovelands.com
how do i store them till its time to chitt them i am unsure what to do can you help me please.as i have 6kg maincrob and 3 kg of earlies. please help

[Magpie]

Well, all the replies I got when I asked this a while back said a "Cool and dark" place. Obviously my bedroom wardrobe wasn't cool and dark enough as mine all sprouted madly - sprouts up to half a metre long! And the spuds themselves shrivelled away to almost notheing...I planted them anyway, and most of them have grown, so even if you can't find the perfect spot for them, don't worry too much, they seem virtually indestructable!

[Millymollymandy]

Mine sprouted like crazy despite being in a dark cupboard in a cold cellar (I bought them around March/April time). I think you just need to take a bit more care when planting them out if they have longer sprouts.

Now my stored spuds (for eating) are sprouting despite being in a very cold place!

[ina]

I think you can't avoid them sprouting altogether - it's probably more important that you keep them frost free.

Ina

[Andy Hamilton]

What about in a potato clamp?

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

[Boots]

Ok... this is probably one of many dumb questions I will ask, as I enter this world of global gardening....

But why do you store them?

I think they would grow in that clamp Andy, as it is very similar set up to how I grow them, but I use tyres to create the cavity and mulch up from there.

Bit confused here. They are growing in your cupboards, but you don't plant them... Please fill me in. I must be missing something. Is it snowing? Is that it?

[ina]

Hi Boots

Your reply pointed to the fact that you are from somewhere down under... But I checked anyway.

Yes, good old UK is covered in snow, and the ground is frozen. Potatoes need a certain minimum temperature to survive (i.e. frost free); on the other hand, if you store them too warm, they start growing before you want them to! So getting them from one season to the next in good condition is always a bit of a problem. There are chemicals that you can use to prevent them sprouting (if you want chemicals, which most of us don't) - but that's a risk, too, as they then might refuse to sprout when they are supposed to.

Commercial growers probably have storage facilities with a computer controlled environment (temperature and humidity). We just muddle along as best we can. Actually, I tend to let the big growers solve that problem for me - I only buy them when it's time for planting out, anyway! (Not before March around here.)

Ina

[Boots]

Ah.. I see. I never knew that about temps. We grow them all year here (Yes, am in Aus, will have to add it to the side thing) I guess it means you have to buy them again each year, which must be a bit annoying.

Ok - thanks for explaining. Will keep wandering through the posts. There is heaps here! Thanks again

[gunners71uk]

There are my spuds sitting on the window sill chitting away.
just sowed some sweet peas in pots too,a little more virgin digging to do then its forking over and getting ready.

[Magpie]

How did you end up storing them, Gunners?

I read the leaflet that came with my spuds again, and it said to keep them it a light cool place, so the sprouts don't go all leggy... I dunno!!

[ina]

I've just sent off my order for seeds and seed tatties (over £100 ! But that includes some presents, too...), so they should be here in the next few days. Have ordered the variety "Milva" - has anybody had them before? I just liked the description...

[Shirley]

where did you order yours from Ina??

[ina]

Organic catalogue - might have got it cheaper somewhere else, but quite frankly, I have neither time nor patience to shop around...

[Millymollymandy]

I'll buy my seed potatoes from a large garden centre where there will be lots of choice. Ditto my onions. No postage to pay that way!

Thankfully I only need 3 packets of seeds (two of which I have to order because such veg are not eaten in France ). Spent €60 last year on seed!!!

[gunners71uk]

well Magpie i stored them in my attic room in a box and turned them everyother day and knocked off the big shoots they were in there for 4 weeks a very cold place.
but got them chitting away now!.had to chuck one away. it worked for me.
but don t mean its the right or wrong way the end product is there chitting nicely.
it worries me how many people just use old potatoes from supermarket and chitt them, i dont understand the ramications of this but i know its wrong ,any ideas what the ramications are of this.