Tried an experiment, now have a question

Dani

Dani

Well-known member
Gold Sponsor
So this year I saw seed potatoes at my walmart. I ended up buying a package when they went on sale for $2, figuring what the heck. can't hurt. There were 4 seed potatoes in the package and i just plopped each one in the dirt. I didn't expect much since it was mid to late march when i planted them. Pretty much I put them in the dirt in two containers to see what happened. I was doing some reading on them and had even lower expectations when I realized they're cool weather plants and it was already plenty hot in March, and only was going to get warmer. Anyway, I decided to pull the plants as they were turning yellow and dying back and this is what I ended up with:

20170626_200325_zpslavvr8v9.jpg


I was pretty dang happy with my haul but knowing not a thing about potatoes, I googled how to store them and everything i've read says to store in a cool, dark place for 2 weeks at about 60 degrees. I won't see 60 degrees again until November probably, so is there a downside to storing them in a dark place that is about 75 degrees? Will they rot potentially or do they need to stay in the dark longer? I'm hesitant to put them in my refrigerator because it has a tendency to freeze my produce, even on the warmest setting.

Thanks for thoughts on what i might be able to do store these babies the best I can....

Dani
 
Tougher question than in MN, we typically have to add heat :)

Here are some things that my father in-law has done on the heating side to keep things from freezing. I offer as brainstorming fodder.....

1) built a garden veg incubator/hot box with light bulbs

2) built a closet in his garage on the other side of the wall from his mud room, installed a bathroom fan and lets the fan "exhaust'" warm air from the mud room to the closet he stores the produce in

I don't recall you fish, but I'd think anything you do to keep bait fresh would work, but then your bait is likely salted, frozen, or lives in warm water anyway.

I also think air flow will prove beneficial. I would suppose the Florida humidity might do more to take out yer taters than 75 degrees.

Best of luck. Love the Reds!!!
 
Dani,

It's been my experience that the reds don't keep as well as some other potatoes. It works best for us to keep them in the refrigerator. spose you could keep them in a cardboard box over an air conditioning vent ;^). As you've probably noticed the skins are quite soft. That's OK tho, boil that bowl of baby reds (skin on), drain and pour a white roux over them, add some fresh chives and enjoy! We slice the larger ones (skin on), add sliced onion, at least 1 tablespoon (or two) of real butter, salt, pepper, and maybe a bit of garlic (powder or real), wrap in foil and toss on the grill. Fork test through the foil for done... They'll be gone fast enough you won't need to worry about storage. There's NOTHING like fresh baby reds.

Enjoy,

George
 
Nice taters. Like has been said reds don't keep as well as russets or Yukon golds. Still you should be fine for a few weeks keeping them in a dark place in an air conditioned house.

We are just now getting good new potatoes here in the great white north.

Tim
 
Brings to mind a story. I know that may surprise you but it is true. When I was a teenager we had relatives from Detroit visiting us on the farm. My mom told me to go get some potatoes. So I got a fork and bucket and headed to the garden. My cousin Carl followed me with a puzzled look on his face. When he saw where potatoes REALLY came from he wouldn't eat them and I don't know how long it took for him to shake that idea. Hee hee more for me.
 
Tom are you saying you eat stuff that comes out of the dirt?!?! Hahaha

If I had someone like that watching me dig potatoes I'd rub one off with my shirt and take a bite from it.

Tim
 
Thanks y'all...


Tom that reminds me of a story that my mom told me once from when she was a kid. Apparently her cousins were visiting and she had to stay with her prissy girl cousin and keep her company while all the boys (her brothers, dad, uncle and boy cousins) got to go do fun stuff. One of the boys left the gate open (they lived on a farm but had the front yard fenced off to keep the cows from coming in the yard...I think something about keeping them off the septic tank) and my mom resented being left with her very girly, very citified and very prissy girl cousin when she wanted to go play with the boys. Sooooooooo she took it out on Sheryl. She had Sheryl convinced the cows were going to come in the yard and into the house (and that was going to be scary) because the boys left the gate open. Had her so convinced of it that it sent her running screaming to the bathroom, slamming the door and screaming bloody murder for her daddy. When all the men folk showed up and heard her screaming about cows coming into the house, they knew who and what was behind that ....
 
We did have fun with the city kids but it did work the other way too when we finally left the farm for the real world
 
We did have fun with the city kids but it did work the other way too when we finally left the farm for the real world
Click to expand...

The stop signs with the white rim around them are optional.... :)
 
Nice taters. I don't know anything about storing them but do know about growing them. Sounded like you planted them whole? Next time, cut them into pieces, leaving one eye on each piece and then plant them, you can get many plants out of each potato. The plants are supposed to yellow and die when it gets hot. That's how you know its time to harvest. Don't be afraid to let them get pretty dead before harvesting.
 
Dani,
Most potatoes grown in Florida are for the 'new' potato market and not stored for very long at all. They are the first 'new' potatoes on the market and the 'B' size are what many want since they sell them to upscale restaurants.
Hastings used to be the center of FL potato production. Harvest was usually finished by June. We were harvesting potatoes and sweet onions at the same time.
Slice or cube your potatoes and soak them overnight in saltwater. Fry some bacon in a skillet. Then fry the potatoes in the bacon grease with some onions and peppers. Crumble the bacon on the potatoes and enjoy! That would be good with some scallops.
Tom
 
Thanks Kevin. Yes I did plant them whole. I'll try that next time...the cutting them into pieces. I have one potato plant still going pretty good right now. It's in partial shade so perhaps that's why it's lasting longer into the summer than the other plants did.


If I plant potatoes again, and I do the let them get pretty dead before harvesting, how long can I leave them in the dirt? Will the hot sun affect them being underground?
 
Dani, it somewhat depends on the the soil type. The better drained the soil, the longer you can leave them in it. I did a little more checking and found out that the best time to dig is as soon as the plants start to yellow and wilt. In some soils you can leave them longer but there is really no benefit as the potatoes are already at max size. The longer you leave them in the ground the greater the odd of them rotting. Assuming you planted them all at the same time, I'd go dig the last one right now.
 
The one that is still going was planted a little later than the ones I've dug already. But it's also a different potato. It's a blue potato and it's actually kind of a pretty plant. I'm looking forward to that one being ready just because I'm curious how it'll taste. I've never even seen a blue potato except in pictures.
 
Dani,

I would not leave them in the ground too long after the tops die back. There are two concerns. One is a pest getting into them like a mole cricket. Eating a hole in them opens them up for bacteria to get in and cause them to rot.
The other problem is the higher soil temps cause the potatoes to respire at a fairly high rate. This will cause them potatoes to metabolize the starch they have built up. This will make them more pithy in texture.
The highest quality storage potatoes are grown in northern regions where you have long sunny days anr relatively cool nights. Think Idaho, Minnesota, Maine, etc.

Tom
 
Dani,
As said above, potatoes like cool weather. If I was you, I'd probably dig the whole plant now. Or at least carefully dig on one side of the plant (starting 12" out). Slowly dig closer to the plant until you start exposing potatoes. If they look like they are full grown or if you see any rot on any of them, dig the rest of the plant now. If they all look little and healthy, you can cover them back up and water that spot and they should be fine.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top