Proper storage of potatoes for the winter

The harvest of potatoes is a source of pride for the gardener and inspires confidence in the future, but this result of many months of effort is easy to destroy with improper storage.

Let's see how to store potatoes.

Terms of harvesting potatoes for winter storage

As you know, digging up the harvest begins as early as June-July, however, young tubers do not tolerate long-term storage, because they have not yet gotten a sufficiently thick skinned. The timing of the final harvest of the “second bread” depends on the weather and on the particular variety, but they usually dig up the harvest around the beginning of autumn.

It is believed that the potato You can dig when it dries tops. Gardeners usually carry out a control digging of tubers, and based on their condition, the weather (it is better to dig on a fine day) and their own experience, they determine the date of harvest.

Preparation of potatoes for storage

Harvest harvested before storage must be dried. If there are clear days, and the soil of the garden is sandy, the tubers can be dried directly in the garden, taking them to one place. The process will take several hours; the potato itself is extracted quite dry and clean from the sandy soil.

Much more often, the potatoes are dried under a canopy or inside some household building - this guarantees the protection of the crop from the vagaries of the weather. One or two days is enough for sticking earth to crumble from the tubers and dry their skin.

After drying, the potatoes are placed in a dark room for a couple of weeks - in bulk (no more than half a meter thick) or in bags. During this time, the rind of the potatoes will thicken, and in addition, diseases of individual tubers will appear. At the expiration of such a quarantine period, the tubers are sorted, removing both diseased and mechanically damaged specimens, after which the crop is ready to be stored in the winter.

Potato storage conditions

In order to properly store potatoes, it is very important to observe the temperature regime. The optimum temperature is + 3-5 ° С, and the stability of this temperature during the entire storage period is a decisive factor. At a higher temperature, the tubers sprout over time, take root and become unsuitable for human consumption, and frozen potato tastes sweet because of the formation of starch and sugar in it.

The storage room itself should be dark, isolated from rodents, with constant temperature and ventilation. The floor of the store is covered with sand - it absorbs moisture well. Other moisture absorbing materials for the floor are allowed. It is strictly not recommended to cover the bottom of the storage with linoleum, slate, cement it - all this leads to the accumulation of moisture and the growth of the fungus.

Types of storage in different vaults

Store tubers in bulk, in a continuous layer, and in bags or in boxes. It is much more convenient to store potatoes in a container than in bulk. If it is decided to store the potato tubers in boxes, the boxes in the storage should be located so that air is freely circulating between them. Boxes can be installed on the entire height of the room. When stored in bags and in bulk, the height of the potato layer is set on the basis of the size of the tubers, as well as taking into account the ventilation conditions. Seed potatoes are poured to a height of 1.7 m, and food grade is up to 2.2 m. It is necessary to load potatoes into the store carefully, taking care not to damage the tubers, which can further lead to their rotting and deterioration.

In the pit

This is quite an archaic way to store the harvest, but, nevertheless, it is still quite often practiced, for example, in summer cottages. However, daily access to potatoes stored in this way is rather difficult. We will understand how to store potatoes in the pit. Storage-pit is equipped as follows: in a garden or in another convenient place, you need to dig a hole about 2 m in diameter and 1.5 m in depth. The bottom of this pit should be covered with dry straw of 30-40 cm, not more. Then potatoes are poured into this storage, but not to the top, you need to leave about 40 cm for the top layer of straw. After laying the top layer of straw, the pit is tightly closed on top of the board and covered with earth up to 80 cm. It is advisable to make ventilation holes in the pit, although this is not necessary.

On the balcony

If there is no place to store potatoes except in his apartment, then a balcony is a suitable place for this, unless, of course, this balcony is stiff and closed. In this case, the tubers are best stored in boxes.

Storage in a drawer suggests two options.: in the first case, you can use a standard plank box for vegetables; in the second, a whole container is used in which the temperature is artificially created.

Storage in ordinary boxes does not provide any additional devices and procedures. Just put the potatoes in the boxes and covered with rags on top. Such storage can withstand temperatures down to -10 ° С. In temperate climates and closed balconies, potatoes can be stored in bags, spreading oilcloth under them, so as not to carry the dirt, and covering the bags with rags. For a more severe climate, the second option is preferable. It requires two drawers made of board, plywood or wall paneling. They should be invested in each other like a matryoshka. A smaller box is used directly as a storage chamber for tubers. A larger box is used as a thermal insulating chamber.

Between the walls and the bottom of the boxes should be a gap of at least 5 centimeters, which is filled with foam. This container should be covered with a lid. The outer part of this structure is upholstered with linoleum or any other moisture-resistant material, for example, plastic or galvanized iron.

And finally: to maintain a constant temperature in the storage, two 15-25 watt bulbs are installed as heating elements. They are included only with a strong cooling, and they should be darkened with something opaque. Such a container can be installed on the open balcony.

In the cellar

It is believed that it is best to store potatoes in the cellar - this method is known as one of the most effective. To prepare the cellar for the reception of the harvest, it is necessary, first of all, to clean it from debris. It is advisable to disinfect the room by whitening it: two kilograms of slaked lime and 200 grams of copper sulphate are added to ten liters of water, all this should be thoroughly mixed and the walls and ceiling should be whitened with the resulting solution.

About a week later, when the whitewash is completely dry, you need to check the hoods and fix all the problems, if any. Next settles itself storage space for potatoes.It can be either shelving for drawers, or shelves for bags that do not come into contact with the floor and walls, or made of bins. The sides of this structure should also not touch the floor and walls. There must be a gap between the boards to improve ventilation. The bottom should be sprinkled with sand or straw.

In the basement

Potatoes are stored in the basement in almost the same way as in the cellar. For the best preservation of tubers requires exactly the same whitewash. But, since the basement designs differ from the cellar, it is necessary to monitor both the optimum humidity of 70-80% and the temperature + 3-5 ° C. It is also necessary to protect the stored crop from any light, because its long-term effect leads to the release of solanine in potato tubers, which is why they turn green.

Types of containers for storing potatoes for storage

Harvested potatoes can be stored in bulk, but containers are often used for storage. The most famous type of container is a bag, plain or mesh. The latter type is preferable, as it provides better ventilation.

Boxes, both wooden and plastic, are widely used for storage.Such boxes, as a rule, are designed for about 10 kg of potatoes. The wooden ones are made of slats; slots are provided on the walls and bottom for better ventilation and visual control over the storage item. For plastic boxes, the walls and the bottom are made of mesh for the same purpose. Sometimes, if there are rodents in the storehouse, they use boxes made of double metal mesh. In addition to the boxes, they use for storage larger containers made of the same wooden slats. They can be rectangular or angular. In the lower part of the rectangular containers, a door is often provided for easy removal of the potatoes stored there.

Modern technologies have not bypassed such a trivial sphere as potato storage. Currently, for these purposes, consumers are offered a kind of mini-cellars, called thermal containers or ovens. Such devices are powered by electricity, they maintain a certain temperature, which the user can regulate.

The capacity of such a mini-cellar is usually 200-300 liters. They can be rigid and flexible, from a special fabric.Flexible are good because in the summer, they simply fold out and get out of sight until autumn.

Basic rules for storing potatoes

To guarantee the preservation of the potato crop, you must adhere to certain rules. As mentioned above, the collected tubers should be dried and bruised, and storage should meet certain criteria. It is more practical to store the tubers in containers of 10-15 kg, where, for better preservation of the crop, you can lay out a layer of beets (it will protect it from excessive moisture) on top of the potatoes. To slow down the germination of tubers, they enclose apples, quite a few on the box.

Thus, with proper preparation for storage of the potato itself, as well as the use of a suitable potato storage facility and compliance with certain rules, the preservation of the harvest will be ensured.