[al78]

I grew and harvested a lot of potatoes last year, about four sacks worth. I've been gradually getting through them up until now. What has happened over winter is the potatoes have broke dormancy and sprouted, and when I say sprouted, I mean up to two feet long and half a cm thick, bursting out of the sacks. I've just thrown the last full sack away because I don't think with their slightly squishy texture and massive shoots it is worth trying to eat them (they are not rotting at all, just a bit shrivelled). If I could keep them in a state of dormancy I would be able to have home grown potatoes all year round. My potatoes have been stored in a cupboard under the stairs and the temperature ranges from 12-16C. In order to keep them in dormancy for longer do I have to store them in a place with single digit temperatures to keep them dormant? How do the commercial growers keep them dormant for selling as seed potatoes?

[mumofstig]

In cold stores.

Frost free in a shed or garage is good, covered over in the coldest weather, to stop them freezing - but even there they eventually start to chit once warmer weather begins.
If you inspect the stored spuds regularly you can knock off the earliest chits so that they last a little longer, but as you've found it is difficult to keep them through to the next harvest, which is why, usually after the winter festival, I start to buy mine in the supermarket 

 

[greenjay]

I store mine in an outside shed.
don't have the problem of them shooting as we never have any left by mid feb.
I store them in paper sacks.
by mid april start of may I do find they go soft and shoot.