[toxorebel]

Hi all,

I removed the halums from my Maris Piper two weeks ago as I suspected blight and didn't want to risk it (and I'd already dug a couple of plants and was more than happy with the yield!)

I ideally would like to dig them up and store soon, but it's been raining all weekend and the forecast is poor for the next week.  As most of the advice I've read suggests I should leave them on top of the soil (in the sun!) for a few hours I'm not sure what to do - can anyone advise?!

[DD.]

The weather doesn't always play ball does it?

Try & get them up and leave them in the daylight, at least, for a while. If they don't dry off, remove most of the soil gently, then put them somewhere to dry like a shed or garage before storing them.

Do not try & get them perfectly clean by scrubbing them, as this can damage the skins and affect the storing properties.

[fatbelly]

Last year I lifted my spuds in early August and stored them in my south facing garage. I think it was just to warm for them because about 50 % didn't store well. This year I have only lifted what I needed and left the rest in the ground waiting for it to be a bit cooler. I intend to lift the rest over the next 3 weeks and store in Hessian sacks again in the garage.

Last year I washed all the dirt off my spuds, is this the way to go or is it better to store with some soil  on the skin (dry soil of course)?

[DD.]

Here's what John  has to say and it mentions washing!

http://www.allotment-garden.org/vegetable/potato/potato-harvest-store.php

[fatbelly]

Thanks for the speedy reply DD.
I will get most of the soil off as John says.
Interesting what he says about green spuds, that if you store them in the dark the greening will disappear. Providing its not more than 1/3 of the spud.

[diggerjoe]

I have just dug up most of mine - just two rows to go  I leave mine in the greeenhouse in in trays till dry usually a couple of days then when dry I wear a pair of old fleece gloves and rub off the lumps of soil keeps hands cleaner and soft for the spud skins  and they are stored then in the shed for winter in carboard trays with a few slug pellets incased a dratted slug lurks somewhere. I dont wash them I think they keep better and I dont mind a bit of muck.

[toxorebel]

Hi all,

Thanks for the replies.  I dug up a few plants yesterday afternoon but it started raining so I've moved them into the shed to dry out before storing in hessian sacks.  Just a couple of other questions:

1) How long do you think I can leave them drying in the shed - bearing in mind the shed has a window and I don't want them to turn green?

2) Many of the tubers have scab to varying degrees - they are fine to eat but I was wondering if I need to take any precautions in storing them - will they store okay?

Thanks,
Richard.

[Trillium]

We initially store ours in a large shed, the potatoes in hessian sacks only, and then covered with empty hessian sacks to keep out light yet allow breathing room. They'll stay there for quite some time if necessary.

However, with potatoes you suspect have blight, separate them if possible into a separate bag and check very often. Use this first, as well.

Scab potatoes are hard to tell on storage. I'd pack the worst scab affected ones in a bag with a Must Use First note, the least affected in another bag for Use Next, then leave your cleanest ones for last.