Second earlies storing?

Sheps · July 2023

Good evening all...I'm currently storing my second earlies in the compost and containers that they were grown in.

So, the question is should I let the compost dry out, or should I leave it open to the elements and become damp weather permitting?

Cheers

Sheps...

fidgetbones · July 2023

I'd put them in the bottom drawer of the fridge. Maincrops store well but earlies should be used as soon as lifted as they don't have a corky protective layer.

Dovefromabove · July 2023

I’ve always dug them as I’ve wanted to use them. They don’t keep well.

Sheps · July 2023

Thanks both... I'm getting through them as fast as I can, plus giving them away.

Would you say they'd last longer in dry compost or damp compost?

Whiterot · July 2023

I never have any problem storing earlies or second earlies. My first earlies Lady Cristi have just started to die off so when they have completely died off I will leave them a couple of weeks for the skins to set and still be using them beyond October. The second earlies Kestrel we will be using them up to around February or March. I bag both lots up in paper potato sacks and store them off the floor in the garage but up to the end of the year I check them every couple of weeks for any that have rotted and cover them up if a frost is forecast. One rotten potato can ruin a bag. I grow 10 rows of potatoes and keep some for my own seed as well as purchasing some new seed each year.

Dovefromabove · July 2023

Personally speaking I don’t understand why someone would store first and second earlies … once stored the skin is set and won’t scrape off like with lovely “new potatoes” which to me is the whole point of growing them. You sacrifice a heavier crop for the delicious treat of freshly dug “new potatoes”.

If I wanted potatoes to store for more than a few days I would grow main crop potatoes … they produce a bigger crop and a tougher skin that will store much better.

Whiterot · July 2023

I have tried every main crop under the sun. They either boil down in the water or are full of holes from eelworm and slugs and I end up discarding 30% as not suitable for long term storage. I now only grow Harmony main crop as the slugs and eelworm do not seem to like them. This year the association and local garden centres had no seed so I ended up using my own on the 2 rows that I have set and they are looking good. The Kestrel are pretty bombproof against slugs and eelworm and they produce big potatoes suitable for all cooking uses. I started growing Kestrel when I was showing which I no longer do.

Emerion · July 2023

I have stored them when there were too many to eat. I do it the same as I would for main crop potatoes. Dry the skins out in the sun for a day (turn them so that both sides dry). Then put them in closed ( but not sealed) cardboard boxes, very carefully so that you don’t bruise them, layered between straw, or whatever you have that is similar.

If you need to leave them in the compost, as they are in pots, I think I would let it dry out. I don’t know if this will be successful. On the plus side, potatoes that are accidentally left in the ground after the plants have been lifted, very often survive unscathed for months, and then go on to sprout next year if you don’t find them. They are called “volunteers”.

Second earlies storing?

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