How to properly store potatoes in an apartment and in a house

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Experienced gardeners are confident that for the proper storage of vegetables, it is necessary to strictly observe the temperature and humidity in the place of intended storage. It is because of the correct observance of the conditions that many gardeners manage to preserve the harvest for a fairly long period of time, and some people can boast of a perfectly preserved harvest even in late spring. If you have your own plot with vegetable plantings, then every gardener needs to know how to store potatoes in an apartment. Potatoes are a picky vegetable, especially when stored for a long period, therefore, storing your potatoes at home should be carried out in accordance with all requirements, observing the recommended temperature.

Storing potatoes in the apartment and in the house

Where can you store potatoes in your apartment?

Where and how to store potatoes in an apartment correctly so that they do not germinate and retain their useful properties and presentation for a whole year? Each house and kitchen has its own, special place where potatoes will be well stored. You can store potatoes at home in the basement of a residential building, in a garage, in a country cellar, on a balcony in an apartment or in a corridor vestibule. Potato fruits are most sensitive to low and high temperatures.

At sub-zero temperatures, the tubers instantly freeze, while at elevated, in a short period of time, decay processes begin or sprouts appear, after which the shelf life is significantly reduced. These are not the only negative consequences of improper storage. Drying or greening of the fruit may also be observed. In order to avoid the above problems, it is necessary to create and maintain favorable, comfortable conditions for the preservation of the keeping quality of vegetables in winter.

Storage in a country cellar

The advantage of the cellar is that you can constantly maintain the recommended temperature in it, within about 3-5 degrees, regardless of whether it is hot summer or cold winter outside the window.

Cellar preparation

• Every year, before lowering vegetables, with two repetitions and an interval of 8-12 days, you need to treat the room with a solution of sodium chloride 150 g, slaked lime 2 kg, copper sulfate 1 kg and water 10 liters.
• Before storing vegetables, you need to install a ventilation system.
• The more often you ventilate the cellar, the better it affects the vegetables.

Before putting the potatoes into the cellar, a bulkhead of the tubers is a prerequisite. It is necessary to remove damaged fruits, as well as tubers with sores. The disease that affects such fruits can also consume healthy tubers and eventually the entire crop will die.Before storage, tubers should dry out in a well-ventilated place, preferably outdoors, but most importantly in the shade. By observing the above rules, potato tubers will not rot in the cellar.

Under no circumstances and under no circumstances should potatoes be left in the cellar in bags. Storage can only be carried out in wooden boxes with wide slots for natural air circulation. Pre-treat crates with potassium permanganate (potassium permanganate) to kill small parasites and pathogens, then dry them.

It is important what material is used to cover the floor in the cellar. For this purpose, it is best to use boards or timber, if there is neither one nor the other, then sawdust is perfect. Potatoes are placed in a low layer, up to 1.5 m in the cellar, wrapped in burlap. Keep the fruit out of direct sunlight if you keep the cellar open. When light sources hit the potato tubers, the natural process of photosynthesis starts, thereby producing a harmful poison - solanine. Therefore, sorting out the harvest, you also need to harvest green fruits, because eating them is strictly prohibited.

Storage in the vestibule

Tambour will provide good keeping quality of vegetables

How to store potatoes in the vestibule of the entrance? People whose childhood was spent in communal apartments remember very well those huge wooden boxes along long corridors, closed with heavy barn locks. This is how many people left the entire harvest for the whole winter.

Pros of storing tubers in the vestibule

• It is always cool in the corridor (entrance) due to drafts from the open vents, but nevertheless, the temperature in the vestibule in front of the apartment is much higher than on the street. Thus, the ideal temperature is reached for the preservation and good keeping quality of vegetables.
• Food supplies are nearby, you don't have to go or drive anywhere, which is very convenient for a modern person.
• Special equipment and fixtures are not required.

Cons of vestibule storage

• The weather outside often changes and as a result, there are constant temperature drops at the entrance, and this, as you know, can lead to damage to the fruit, the beginning of rotting or drying out.
• For storing the whole season, this method is suitable only in the case of a good variety and a successful harvest. When the potatoes are dug up, the tubers go into a state of physiological dormancy, such a period lasts about 80 days and the tubers are not capable of germination even at a temperature of 19 degrees. But after this period of time, even if all the conditions are met, by mid-March, and sometimes already in mid-February, seedlings appear.
• This method also has one more feature - the spread of the smell, not everyone will like it, there may be problems with neighbors or your property may be liked by dishonest people.

Balcony storage

Some of the best equipment for storing tubers on the balcony are wooden boxes. They are not expensive, you can make your own hands, wood has low thermal conductivity. The question arises, how does this storage method differ from the storage method in the cellar? The main difference is in the design of the boxes themselves, the boxes on the balcony must be put together so that there are no gaps and gaps between the slats. Also, for insulation (if the balcony is not insulated and does not have glass), you can use polystyrene or even an old unnecessary blanket. You can also use a straw layer to protect it from moisture.

The advantages of this method

Potatoes can be stored until mid-spring

• Regardless of the season, a constant temperature is maintained, which is optimal for the preservation of vegetable fruits.
• Easy to control and maintain humidity.
• With this method, tubers with a high probability can lie not only all winter, but also most of spring.

Negative sides of storing tubers on the balcony

• Night frosts can reach -30 degrees, in which case the fruits may freeze and begin to rot. If the temperature, on the contrary, is too warm, the taste of the tubers will be lost.
• In the absence of ventilation, there is a high probability that decay processes may begin in the fruits.

For the best preservation of the fruits on the balcony, you should prevent direct sunlight from reaching the vegetables. Many gardeners give many tips for increasing the shelf life of fruits on the balcony. Experienced gardeners are advised to add wormwood or elderberry brooms, onion peels to boxes with tubers, brooms, add ash, chalk or put mint leaves in boxes. If you apply some tricks, then the favorable keeping period of the fruits on the balcony will last until spring.

Cold storage

A person is used to storing all products in the refrigerator or in freezers, what could be better, because it is so convenient and familiar.

Positive sides

• Stably, in manual mode, you can maintain temperature and humidity.
• No additional equipment or disinfection required.
• Due to natural processes, potatoes that are stored for a long time in the refrigerator acquire a sweetish taste. This is because the starch starts to turn into sugar.

Cons of storing potatoes in the refrigerator

• It will be possible to save only a very small amount, since the volume of the refrigerator is very limited.
• There is also no consensus on what exactly to store potatoes in, in a plastic bag or in mesh bags. Many people store tubers in paper bags, but all of these types of packaging come with additional costs.
• In the refrigerator, it is permissible to store fruits for no more than 10-12 days.

Storage in the apartment

This method is one of the most unreliable. But despite their unreliability, most gardeners store potatoes in their apartment. An apartment is not suitable for storage because it is a constantly high temperature for the harvest, equal to almost tropical conditions. Therefore, the maximum time that a vegetable can lie in such conditions is 14 days, and then the crop will begin to rot and dry out, after which it will become unsuitable for cooking.

Varieties that lead in terms of shelf life

How long the fruits can retain their appearance and useful qualities depends on the variety of tubers. Of course, leaving tubers for the whole winter is recommended only for medium and late varieties.

• Asterix
• Volat
• Bernadette
• Dolphin
• Zdabytak

No matter how long the keeping quality of the fruit is, this fact does not guarantee that the tubers will lie at least until mid - end of April. In addition to the good keeping quality of the variety, it is necessary to provide the fruits with proper conditions and, if possible, place the entire crop not in one place, but in different ones. You can do this: leave one part of the crop in the cellar, and the other part on the balcony. In this case, the likelihood of preserving the crop in winter will be much higher.