Storage for Short-Dormancy Potatoes

Lamb Abbey Orchards · August 6, 2009

I've got a question about potato storage.

I understand that for the typical home gardener who wants to save some potatoes for planting the following year that one generally goes about it by burying the seed potatoes in sand that's kept slightly damp and stored in a cool dark place.

I'm curious how well this works though with short-dormancy potatoes. If you're planting something like a Red Gold that will typically break dormancy after about 3 months or so, will you really be able to keep the tubers dormant by the traditional method, or are there additional things one should be doing to ensure you don't have have tubers breaking dormancy prematurely?

Any feedback appreciated!

John

Robert Brenchley · August 6, 2009

I haven't tried this myself, but I'd like to know what people think of an idea I was given by a neighbour the other day. He grows potatoes for show, and grows some special varieties for this. He says he leaves the potatoes to go green, and then stores them in sand over winter without problems. It doesn't work well if he grows them in the open ground, so he grows them in bags, and has no problems.

bcday · August 6, 2009

There might be something to that. I've never let them go green purposely, but I had some Kennebec last year that didn't have enough soil hilled over them and had some green on them when they were dug. I set those aside to be used for seed potatoes this spring, and noticed that they did not sprout or go soft as soon as the ones that didn't have any green on them. They stayed very firm all winter and the sprouts that did appear were slow to grow until I planted them this spring. I didn't have them in sand or anything else, though. They were just in a single layer, not touching each other, on some newspaper in the open air in the basement.

August 6, 2009	#1
Lamb Abbey Orchards Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Union, Maine / Coastal Zone 5 Posts: 44	Storage for Short-Dormancy Potatoes I've got a question about potato storage. I understand that for the typical home gardener who wants to save some potatoes for planting the following year that one generally goes about it by burying the seed potatoes in sand that's kept slightly damp and stored in a cool dark place. I'm curious how well this works though with short-dormancy potatoes. If you're planting something like a Red Gold that will typically break dormancy after about 3 months or so, will you really be able to keep the tubers dormant by the traditional method, or are there additional things one should be doing to ensure you don't have have tubers breaking dormancy prematurely? Any feedback appreciated! John

August 6, 2009	#2
Robert Brenchley Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Birmingham UK Posts: 31	I haven't tried this myself, but I'd like to know what people think of an idea I was given by a neighbour the other day. He grows potatoes for show, and grows some special varieties for this. He says he leaves the potatoes to go green, and then stores them in sand over winter without problems. It doesn't work well if he grows them in the open ground, so he grows them in bags, and has no problems.

August 6, 2009	#3
bcday Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: NY z5 Posts: 1,205	There might be something to that. I've never let them go green purposely, but I had some Kennebec last year that didn't have enough soil hilled over them and had some green on them when they were dug. I set those aside to be used for seed potatoes this spring, and noticed that they did not sprout or go soft as soon as the ones that didn't have any green on them. They stayed very firm all winter and the sprouts that did appear were slow to grow until I planted them this spring. I didn't have them in sand or anything else, though. They were just in a single layer, not touching each other, on some newspaper in the open air in the basement.