Temperature range for storing potatoes in winter
Growing and caring for potatoes is not an easy job. The harvest does not end there. You need to know how to properly preserve it in the winter. One of the most important factors is the optimal storage temperature for potatoes. To create good conditions in the cellar, you need to take into account the characteristics of the variety, hidden diseases and many other factors.
Temperature range for storing potatoes in winter
Requirements for vegetable stores
Not all farmers manage to store vegetables at home without losing quality indicators. To understand how correctly all the requirements are met, a thermometer must be installed in the cellar, as well as a humidity meter.
The optimum storage temperature for potatoes in winter is 2-4 ℃ above 0. When the temperature drops, the potatoes become sweet. Increased humidity in the room leads to the formation of mold on the walls and the multiplication of fungal diseases of the tubers.
The optimum moisture content is 80%, a decrease in this indicator leads to drying out of root crops. The vegetable store should be equipped with an elementary ventilation system in order to be able to regulate the storage temperature of the potatoes. You can increase the air temperature in the basement with warm water bottles placed around the perimeter of the walls. The potatoes can be covered with cotton blankets or burlap. To reduce the moisture indicator, bags of sand or lime are installed in the basement.
Increases in humidity are achieved by spraying water from a spray bottle onto the walls. In order not to look for a way to fix the problem, you must initially choose a place for storing potatoes and equip it in accordance with all the requirements:
- insulate the walls in the basement with insulating material;
- equip ventilation;
- to ensure the tightness of the floor and walls in the basement so that rodents cannot get into the room.
If the seed has sprouted in winter, they must be removed. But, the matter does not end there. You can stop growth by lowering the temperature to 1-2 ℃.
What varieties are suitable for storage
Even if the storage temperature of potatoes in the vegetable store is correct and the humidity indicator is not exceeded, root crops can deteriorate. The thing is that not all potato varieties can be stored for a long time. Most of the early varieties have low keeping rates.
The optimal storage time for potatoes, depending on the ripening periods:
- early and mid-early - 2 months;
- late - 8-12 months.
To date, a lot of potato varieties have been bred, which, at early ripening periods, can be stored all winter without any problems. Basically, these are Dutch and German hybrids. When choosing a new seed potato, you need to take into account all the breeding characteristics that describe the keeping quality.
Growing conditions
You can only store healthy roots.
Before laying vegetables in the cellar, you need to take into account the conditions in which they were grown:
- type of soil;
- the amount of precipitation;
- the presence of diseases;
- the content of potassium and nitrogen in the soil.
Even if the optimal temperature regime for storing potatoes is maintained in the basement, if the rules of agricultural technology are not followed, it will be meaningless. In the rainy season, the keeping quality of potatoes decreases steadily by 50%, it becomes watery and loses its taste. Vegetables grown on fertile or sandy loam soils will be much better stored. The introduction of a sufficient amount of potassium and nitrogenous fertilizers allows you to get a crop with high keeping rates.
Another important factor that affects the safety of potatoes is all kinds of diseases and pests. Moreover, even careful sorting of root crops does not guarantee the identification of all infected fruits. Many spores of fungi and pathological microorganisms that cause viral diseases can persist in tubers for a long time, without showing themselves in any way.
Preparatory work
Before storing stocks for the winter, you need to not only take into account at what temperature to store potatoes and create all the conditions for this in the vegetable store, but also take care of the health of the plants. Preparation for storage begins long before harvest. For example, mowing the tops before harvesting root crops can reduce the risk of infection of tubers with various viruses and fungi. Very often, harmful microorganisms live on foliage and stems. During digging, they fall on the tubers and begin to progress in the humid environment of the vegetable store.
Mowing of tops begins 7-10 days before harvesting. During this period, the tubers ripen in the ground. The peel becomes coarser, so it is not damaged so quickly when digging up. Potatoes must go through several stages of preparation before being stored in the basement.
Treatment
Root vegetables should not be immediately folded into bags after digging up. Throughout the entire period of growth, potatoes are in certain humidity conditions, are exposed to various influences of microbes, so you need to keep them in the open air under the sun for 2 hours. After this procedure, the entire harvested crop should be transferred under a shed or spread out in the attic.
Dug up potatoes should not be bagged
The optimum temperature for storing potatoes in the attic is 13-18 ℃. In such conditions, potatoes are kept for 2 weeks. When the temperature drops, it is recommended to extend the treatment period by a week. Before laying seed in the cellar for the winter, it needs to be landscaped. Potatoes are left in a well-lit room for 7 days or 2 days outside, in direct sunlight.
Tuber hardening and sorting
Temperature fluctuations can reduce the quality of the potatoes. Before laying in a cellar for the winter, the tubers need to be prepared for lower temperatures. During the treatment period, the temperature is gradually reduced from 13-18 ℃ to 2-4 ℃. The hardening procedure slows down the chemical processes in the tubers and prepares them for winter storage.
In order to be able to store root crops for a long time without loss of quality indicators, it is necessary to protect it during the entire period of treatment from an increase in humidity. Do not neglect the preparation steps before storing root crops in a potato storage. Subject to all the rules, the quality of the potatoes can be preserved until spring.
Storage rules
At what temperature to store potatoes, it will not matter if you do not pre-prepare the room.
- The room in which the potatoes are to be stored must first be disinfected. All walls, stairs, shelves and flooring must be treated with a solution of manganese or copper sulfate.Then the room should be ventilated to reduce humidity and normalize the temperature.
- If the amount of potatoes is not too large, they are stored in bulk, without using containers. This storage method has a significant disadvantage: if you have 1 rotten tuber, you can lose most of the crop. It is best to use wooden pallets so that the roots do not come into direct contact with the floor. In this case, the potatoes will be ventilated from all sides.
- Many farmers believe that it is best to store root vegetables in wooden boxes, natural bags or nets. In such conditions, the roots are well ventilated and even with the appearance of a focus of decay, losses will be minimal.
Storage in the apartment
Not every summer resident has the opportunity to grow potatoes on his site and store them separately in the basement. Many people buy potatoes for the winter and store them in an apartment. At what temperature should potatoes be stored in an apartment? At home, it is unlikely that it will be possible to maintain the temperature within 2-4 ℃.
If opportunities allow, you can equip the pantry with air conditioning. This will allow you to control the indoor climate and store all types of root crops. At home, it is better to store potatoes on a glazed balcony. Ideally, potatoes should be stored in wooden crates. You can also use bags or nets, but then you will have to cover the roots with blankets so that they do not freeze in winter.
Final part
The safety of the crop largely depends on the temperature and humidity in the vegetable store. The optimal temperature regime for storing potatoes is 2-4 ℃ and the humidity level is 80%.
In addition to complying with these conditions, the potatoes must be prepared for storage. Before being laid in the cellar, the roots must go through several stages of preparation, which include treatment, hardening and sorting. How long potatoes will be stored depends largely on the variety chosen. Many early varieties retain their quality indicators only for 2 months after harvest. Compliance with all the rules and stages of preparation allows you to save up to 90% of the entire crop.