If you’re like me and you grow potatoes at home then you need to know the best way to store them for long term use. I grow Yukon Gold nad Pontiac Red potatoes every year. Those are the 2 varieties that I like the best of the ones that I have tried.
I usually grow them in either 5 gallon grow bags or in 5 gallon food grade buckets. I have been buying 5 gallon pickle buckets from a Firehouse Subs franchise that is close to me. They usually sell them for around $3 and the money goes to a good cause so I don’t mind paying for them. The grow bags are just some cheap Chinese made bags that I buy off of Amazon.
I have had better success with the 5 gallon buckets so far. I’m not really sure why but I seem to get twice as many potatoes in the buckets compared to what I get in the bags. I know other people that do very well with the grow bags so it is probably something that I am doing causing the difference.
For the buckets, I drill some drainage holes in the bottom, add a layer of rocks or gravel, then a couple of inches of soil, the seed potatoes, cover them with soil and water. As the plants grow I add more soil to cover the plant. I repeat this process until I reach the top of the bucket or the grow bag.
I don’t need to drill holes in the grow bags as they will drain off excess water automatically. So other than that the process is the same.
I let the plants grow until they start to die off. Then I wait another week or two before I harvest the potatoes.
Once harvested it is time to store them. I only grow 30-50 pounds of potatoes so I don’t have to store them for an extremely long period of time but I do follow the same storage process as Tony mentions in this video from Simplify Gardening.
I let the potatoes cure for a few hours on the ground, then I move them into a box. I put straw on the bottom of the box, add a layer of potatoes, then more straw and more potatoes until the box is full. I close the box lid and place it in my basement for about a week.
Then I bring potatoes up to the kitchen as I am ready to use them.
