[drmoonshine]

ok so when i buy my spuds from the shop and leave them in the thick brown bag they come in. they always seem to start sprouting.... i keep them in my cuboard....


the reason for this thread is to ask you how to stop this happening. I dont want to have alot of potatos that i have to store and they then end up having 1+foot sprouts coming off them......

It will be my first time growing spud so abit unsure on the best way to store them to keep them in good nick for longer

[DD.]

There are several recent threads on chitting if you do a forum search, here's one:

http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=70057.0

You'll also find a thread in the FAQ's forum.

[drmoonshine]

but i dont want to chit.....

i want to stop it happening when storing my potatos

[DD.]

Why not? If you do it properly you won't get the long white shoots. Otherwise, keep them somewhere cold, like a fridge, not a cupboard.

[stompy]

Hi drmoonshine,

You need to take them out of the bag as soon as you get them or the shoots will grow really long.
Keep them in a cool well lit place with the end with the most shoots (eyes) facing upwards.
This is called chitting, this way the shoots will only grow short, upto an inch or so long but will be strong.
Then plant out as usual at the correct time of year.

Andy

[stompy]

Ahh,
You mean eating potatoes, not planting potatoes.
You need to keep them somewhere cooler.
Then they won't sprout.

[JayG]

I thought he'd bought seed potatoes but doesn't want to chit them yet!   

Over to you drmoonshine!!.....................................

[DD.]

I think you're right, the question is about storing.

In that case I'll move this to the correct forum (Cooking, storing & preserving). The confusion arose as this was the forum about growing, not "not growing"!

[JohnB47]

drmoonshine.

I think the answer is to keep them dark and cold, the cold being the more important. When I used to buy mine from the supermarket (I probably will be again in a month or so, when my own run out) I found that they sprouted unless I put them in the fridge.

OK someone has since said that this makes them taste not so good but I never found that. Obviously this won't work for a large bag of spuds, unles you have a huge fridge.

So all I can say is put the spuds in their bag in the coldest darkest, frost free, place you can find. If that doesn't work, buy smaller quantities and put them in the fridge.

Another factor is the age of the spuds. If they've been stored for a while before you buy them, then you're up against it. If they are fresh, they'll store much longer for you, even if you don't store them in optimal conditions (i.e. cold).

[drmoonshine]

damn i feel really stupid now



thank you johnb47


so as my homegrown potatos are fresher i should not have the same prob as i have with shop bought ones. and yes i was asking as i also was told that if they start sprouting out they lose there goodness. i can see where people are coming from saying this... but if its 100% true? who knows

[Kristen]

so as my homegrown potatos are fresher i should not have the same prob as i have with shop bought ones.

The King Edwards I grew last year started sprouting soon after lifting.

They were lifted quite late (so temperature was already falling) and they are stored in hessian sacks in a cupboard in the utility corridor  - which has no heating.

So it aint worked for me

Although this year our P.F.A. have not sprouted, but the ones we stored last year did ...

[mumofstig]

some seem to have a longer dormancy before they start growing again, and make better storing potatoes.

For example the potato database says Lady Balfour has long storage life.
http://varieties.potato.org.uk/display_description.php?variety_name=Lady%20Balfour

Shop bought potatoes have often been sprayed to stop sprouting.