What temperature should be for storing potatoes 

Without potatoes, it is already difficult to imagine the diet of an average resident of Our Country; this root crop has firmly established itself on the menu and on the tables. Potatoes are tasty not only in their young form, the product is usually eaten all year round. Hence the main task of zealous owners arises: to preserve the crop during the winter. In principle, potatoes are not considered a perishable product; the root crop can be safely stored for a month or six months.

In order to save most of the crop, you need to know the rules for storing potatoes: what should be the humidity in the storage, what temperature is optimal for this vegetable, and, in the end, where is the best place to keep the potato crop in the winter.

Temperature-humidity regime in storage

Like all root crops, potatoes love consistency, namely the same level of humidity and the same temperature throughout the storage period. The optimum storage temperature for potatoes is 2-3 degrees Celsius, and the humidity should be maintained at 70-80%.

What is the risk of deviation from the temperature and humidity conditions at the storage stage:

• when the air temperature rises, the potatoes begin to “wake up”, that is, the tubers are preparing for planting in the spring soil. Eyes awaken on potatoes, sprouts begin to grow. The consequence of this process is not only the need to remove the sprouts from each potato with your hands, but also the accumulation of a toxic substance, solanine, in the upper layer of the peel of the tubers.
• If the thermometer, on the contrary, begins to approach zero, the starch contained in the potato will begin to turn into sugar. This leads to a deterioration in the taste characteristics of potatoes, which become too sweet and spoil the taste of any dish. Subsequently, frozen potatoes simply rot and disappear.
• High humidity in storage is necessary for potatoes in order not to lose their mass, simply not to “shrink” during storage. If the air in the potato storage is too dry, the root crops will become lethargic and dry, the taste of such potatoes will drop sharply.
• On the contrary, too high humidity leads to rotting of potato tubers, the rapid development of fungal infections.
• It is also unacceptable to get sunlight on the potato crop stored in winter. It is known that the sun leads to greening of root crops, which, in turn, is caused by the accumulation of toxic glucoside in potato tubers – such potatoes can no longer be eaten.

In order to preserve the nutritional value of the root crop and its taste, it is necessary to provide conditions under which the balance of these substances will not be disturbed or minimally disturbed.

Those who grow potatoes in their beds and are trying to save the harvest until the next season should know that potatoes can “breathe”: potato tubers absorb oxygen from the air, releasing steam and carbon dioxide in return (just like people). So, for effective storage, the owner must provide the potatoes with the opportunity to “breathe”. What this is, you can find out below.

How to maintain the storage temperature of potatoes

In the climatic conditions of half of the country’s regions, it is quite difficult to prevent storage facilities from freezing during the winter months. So that the tubers do not freeze, it is necessary to maintain a positive temperature for storing potatoes.

It is clear that on earth without heating devices it is impossible to keep the thermometer above zero. But this can be achieved by going deep underground. That’s why vegetables, including potatoes, are usually stored in cellars or in the basement.

The temperature in a cellar-type vegetable store is optimal for potato tubers, but only if it is built correctly:

• the basement floor is 0,5-1 meter above the occurrence of groundwater (their level is measured during the autumn rainy season or spring flood);
• the walls of the vault are made of red brick, thick timber or concrete;
• the ceiling is insulated with foam or other insulating material;
• a cellar was built above the cellar – a small “house” that serves as an air cushion and equalizes the temperature inside and outside the cellar;
• there is supply and exhaust ventilation;
• during construction, the depth of soil freezing in a particular region was taken into account.

Potatoes can be stored in other types of storage, such as trenches, pits or piles. In any case, you need to know that potatoes are best stored on their own, without being next to other vegetables and products.

Storing potatoes in an apartment

It is very difficult to withstand the winter storage temperature for potatoes in a city apartment or in a private house that is not equipped with a basement. For potato tubers in the apartment there is only one most acceptable storage place – a balcony. But here, in winter, negative temperatures can be observed, it is also very difficult to monitor the level of humidity.

As long as the temperature outside the window does not drop below -10 degrees, you can not worry about the harvest, but in more severe frosts you will have to take additional measures.

An excellent storage option for potatoes and other vegetables is the double drawer. You can buy it or make it yourself from improvised materials:

• two square frames are knocked down from the timber: one box should be freely inserted into the second, and a gap of several centimeters should remain on the sides and bottom;
• frames are sheathed with thick plywood or boards, close;
• a layer of foam, straw, sawdust or other insulation is laid on the bottom of a larger box;
• now you need to insert a smaller box into a large one;
• insulating material is also laid in the walls between two boxes;
• the storage lid must be airtight, so it is also sheathed with foam.

The only caveat of this design: air does not circulate in a closed vegetable store. Therefore, the potatoes will have to be sorted out and ventilated several times during the winter season.

In such a storage, a temperature comfortable for potatoes is set, and root crops are stored at their best for up to six months.

How to prepare potatoes for winter storage

Proper preparatory measures play an important role in the effective saving of the potato crop.

To maximize the preservation of the crop in the basement or elsewhere, the following requirements must be met:

1. Dig up potatoes on time. The optimal time for collecting tubers is when the tops dry. It is impossible to overexpose the potato in the ground, it will begin to rot, as it will be saturated with excess moisture. Harvesting potatoes too early is also dangerous – the tubers still have too thin a peel, they will not lie until spring.
2. Before harvesting, potatoes are not watered for at least two weeks.
3. Dug out potatoes are scattered in a cool, shady place (preferably under a canopy) and left to ventilate for several days.
4. Now the potato crop needs to be sorted out, rejecting all the cut, damaged and undermined tubers by pests.

Dried and sorted potatoes can be lowered into the basement.

Basement preparation

Not only potatoes must be prepared for storage, the vegetable store itself must also be prepared for laying the crop. It is necessary to start at the beginning of summer with the fact that all the wooden shelves, boxes and boxes should be taken outside – all this should be thoroughly dried and ventilated.

A couple of weeks before laying potatoes, the cellar must be disinfected. For this, it is most effective to use blue whitewash: lime slaked in water and mixed with copper sulfate. Whitewash all the walls, the ceiling, with the same tool you can process racks and shelves for potatoes.

It is better to remove the top layer of soil from the storage floor and replace it with clean and dry sand. The treatment of cellars with sulfur checkers, which are sold in agricultural stores, is very effective. This remedy also helps against mold, fungus, and from insects and rodents.

After any processing, the storage is closed for a couple of days, and then thoroughly ventilated and dried. Now you can equip directly storage for potatoes.

Potato storage box

Today on sale there are a lot of plastic and wooden boxes and boxes specially designed for storing potatoes in the winter. But a simple vegetable store is easy enough to do with your own hands.

The most important thing is that the potatoes do not touch the ground and the walls of the cellar during storage. Therefore, the box is arranged on a hill, and the roots are isolated from the walls with wooden partitions. The distance to the surfaces must be at least 15 cm.

The most suitable material for making boxes for storing potatoes is wood. Wood is able to pass air, absorb excess moisture, and evaporate it well. Boxes for storing potatoes are simply knocked down from narrow boards, always leaving gaps of one centimeter to ensure air flow to the tubers.

If simple boxes or plywood boxes are used to store potatoes, it is necessary to drill holes for the “breathing” of potatoes and place the boxes not on the floor, but on bricks or wooden blocks.

Laying potatoes in the cellar

It remains to lower the potatoes in storage. It is more convenient to do this in bags. Pour the tubers into boxes and boxes carefully so as not to damage them (this will lead to rotting of the potatoes in the future).

The layer of potatoes should not be too large, optimally – 30-40 cm. So, the tubers will be normally ventilated, and it will be easier for the owner to identify rotten and spoiled potatoes.

It would be nice to additionally warm the potatoes from above by covering the boxes with batting, straw, or covering the crop with sawdust. In this case, it is necessary to regularly check the potatoes, because rodents or insects can easily get into the heater.

Since the tubers can “breathe”, condensation may form on the basement ceiling (if the ventilation system is done correctly, this should not be). Drops of water accumulate on the ceiling and then fall back onto the potatoes, causing the tubers to rot and freeze. An inclined visor over the boxes, which can be built from a dense plastic film, will help protect the potatoes.

Excessive humidity in the storage is also not needed; a layer of sand or lime powder scattered on the floor will help get rid of it.

Here are all the tricks a potato plantation owner should know. There is nothing difficult in storing potatoes; a good cellar and proper preparation for winter storage will help to avoid most problems. And, of course, the result will be the more effective, the more stable the temperature in the cellar and humidity will be.

You can learn about how potatoes are stored on an industrial scale from the video: