Storage.

beeman · January 23, 2015

I dug my potatoes in late Sept, air dried them leaving loose soil on, bagged in burlap sacks and stored in the root cellar/cold room at 37F at 65% humidity.
It's now the end of Jan and already the early reds are chitting. Far too early for me to use as our first frost free is May 27th.
Any tips on extending the storage times?

mrdoitall · January 23, 2015

That happens to me every year. What I do is just let the sprouts grow, sometimes they are a foot or so long. Then about 3 weeks or so before planting time I rub off and break off all the long sprouts. You can rub them off with a hand towel. Then I put the potatoes in boxes single layer and bring them into the house. I then put them in an extra bedroom with the light on 24 hr per day... They will then chit up with nice green sprouts... I have been doing this for years. My grandfather did this also. I've been gardening for 40 + years try it with some now and see how it works.

beeman · January 23, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrdoitall

They will then chit up with nice green sprouts... I have been doing this for years. My grandfather did this also. I've been gardening for 40 + years try it with some now and see how it works.

Does this mean you get a second set of sprouts? I always assumed that if you lost the first one it was game over for any subsequent growth!
I know "Assume' makes an '★★★' of you and 'me'. Sorry, couldn't resist!

NathanP · January 23, 2015

I think it is really only an issue if the tuber gets too dehydrated to sprout. There is a way you can rehydrate a very dry tuber in slightly moist potting soil for a few days closer to planting time.

You can plant them with the sprouts, even if they end up 18" long. Just lay the tuber down and bury the entire sprout horizontally. You don't need to break them off. You can sometimes get 4-5 rounds of sprouts. That is one advantage to doing Pull Sprouts. If they are rooted sprouts, you can plant that without being attached to the tuber. 4-5 rounds of doing that can multiply your plants.

Another thing that may help delay further sprouting is storing them in diffused light. Not direct sunlight.

January 23, 2015	#1
beeman Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Ontario, Canada Posts: 692	Storage. I dug my potatoes in late Sept, air dried them leaving loose soil on, bagged in burlap sacks and stored in the root cellar/cold room at 37F at 65% humidity. It's now the end of Jan and already the early reds are chitting. Far too early for me to use as our first frost free is May 27th. Any tips on extending the storage times?

January 23, 2015	#2
mrdoitall Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Alabama Posts: 185	That happens to me every year. What I do is just let the sprouts grow, sometimes they are a foot or so long. Then about 3 weeks or so before planting time I rub off and break off all the long sprouts. You can rub them off with a hand towel. Then I put the potatoes in boxes single layer and bring them into the house. I then put them in an extra bedroom with the light on 24 hr per day... They will then chit up with nice green sprouts... I have been doing this for years. My grandfather did this also. I've been gardening for 40 + years try it with some now and see how it works.

January 23, 2015	#4
NathanP Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2013 Location: RI Posts: 183	I think it is really only an issue if the tuber gets too dehydrated to sprout. There is a way you can rehydrate a very dry tuber in slightly moist potting soil for a few days closer to planting time. You can plant them with the sprouts, even if they end up 18" long. Just lay the tuber down and bury the entire sprout horizontally. You don't need to break them off. You can sometimes get 4-5 rounds of sprouts. That is one advantage to doing Pull Sprouts. If they are rooted sprouts, you can plant that without being attached to the tuber. 4-5 rounds of doing that can multiply your plants. Another thing that may help delay further sprouting is storing them in diffused light. Not direct sunlight.