Storing potatoes

[lucysmum]

I have had my best ever pots this year. I grew anya in old dustbins & they are perfect, and a main crop one (I've forgotten the type-lovely pink markings on them) in the ground.
The main crop ones have quite a bit of slug damage, sometimes just one little hole on a lovely big pot.
I understand its best not to store damaged ones. As about half of them have got some sort of damage, however small, I wondered what is the best thing to do with them.I'm not sure how quickly we can eat that many.
Does anyone have any suggestions for keeping slightly damages potatoes.

[Nature's Babe]

If you have freezer space make bubble and squeek / fish cakes and freeze individual size portions ? Ifyou like to imbibe, potato wine?

[John]

Hello Lucysmum
I think that probably a passing slug has taken a bite or two from a tuber and long since moved on so there is nothing to worry about. Try cutting a few tubers to see if a slug is hiding inside.
I would dry them for a few hours after lifting, store as normal in a cool dry place but just examine them regularly for damage or rotting.

John

[Kleftiwallah]

Are you really going to throw spuds away if they have the slightest blemish on them ? ! ! !

I store good spuds for later use and iffy spuds to be used first. Checking the iffy spuds now and then wwen you see a cloud of flies around the top of the bag. Waste not, want not. Cheers, Tony.

[lucysmum]

Gosh, no. I wasn't thinking of throwing them away! Its just that there are alot with just a tiny slug nibble on it, & I thought it was best not to store these ones. There's not much gets wasted in our house.
I will store them & keep them seperate to be used first, checking them from time to ttime as people have suggeested.
Thank you every one.

[Monika]

Yes, we do the same as kleftiwallah, keeping the damaged ones separate and using them first. There has been quite a lot of slug damage this year and also a few "hollow hearts", presumably because of the dry start to their growing season.

[Ricard with an H]

i'm going to take a chance that latching on to this thread might be appropriate, mine is a storage problem of Potatoes, carrots, onions, swede, parsnip, salad-stuff, cucumber and any other fresh stuff thatI forgot about and you remembered.

My beetroot seems to be doing well outside in the wood-store layered in compost with a tuft of top-growth left on, in fact they're sprouting.

Mostly I have kept vegetables in the fridge, clearly not the best thing to do in the case of some veg or is it the way I do it ?

Carrots turn into furry hamsters.

I'm talking about store-bought vegetables because the the beetroot is the only survivor from this years produce.

Any help will be apreciated.

[sally wright]

Dear Richard,
try a clean plastic bag (no holes) to store your veg in. One bag per variety and put in with the produce a couple of pieces of kitchen paper. Close the bag and put into the fridge. There is probably lots of reasons why this works I only know that it does.
Regards Sally Wright.

[Ricard with an H]

Thanks Sally, what a surprise. Your recommendation comes at a time I decided to avoid plastic bags but i'm not sure I know what i'm doing.

In the bottom of our fridge there are drawers where I have kept my vegetables, some dehydrate if they aren't kept in plastic bags and some go soggy in plastic bags so presumably putting kitchen towel into the bag absorbs enough moisture to stop them going soggy.

Right now and out of desperation I have put my potatoes, carrot and onion into a hessian sack and hung it in our outbuilding which is kept cool and dry but not cold.

[Geoff]

Sounds the best place to me. We store most of our stuff in a ventilated vermin proof cupboard I've made in the garage. If you are buying (probably having to buy) washed carrots I suspect you are on a loser whatever you do though Sally might have the solution.

[Ricard with an H]

Thanks Geoff, the problem I have isn't unique. I don't get through much produce because i'm a single person five days and I need to buy sensible amounts to warrant a trip in the car. If I don't store sensibly I end up throwing stuff away and whilst frozen is an answer in the case of peas and broad-beans I can't think of anything else that works-well out of the freezer.

I'm going to try the plastic bag with paper as a side-by-side test.

My outbuild is vermin proof, we built it as a garage/store for planning purposes but it's built to very high habitation standards of insulation, the only place mice can get in is if they chewed through the slate vents then through six inches of foam slab with plasterboard. We do get the little buggers in the house loft, goodness knows how they get in. Probably where the slate meets the wall-plate, maybe they chew through the vent grills.

Back to the veg though, i'm told I shouldn't keep potatoes in the fridge nor carrot. I'm wondering if the solution may be in the way i'm storing my beetroot, in dry compost. My beetroot is outside and hasn't yet been attacked by rats or mice. Not-yet.

Some brocolli seems to survive ages in the fridge in it's original shrink-wrap and some last a few days. Brussels seem happy in the fridge, peppers go soggy. Apples like the fridge, banana ? but it and eat it.