Rules for storing potatoes in the cellar in winter

It is important not only to grow the potatoes correctly, but also to preserve it. In this article, we will describe how to store potatoes in the cellar, and how to maintain a high-quality crop until warm. .reachGoal (‘sood’); “>

Content
  1. Room preparation
  2. Tuber preparation rules
  3. Storage methods
  4. In wooden crates or bins
  5. In sealed constructions
  6. in bags
  7. in nets
  8. Protection against moisture and freezing
  9. Varieties for long-term storage
  10. Conclusion

Правила хранения картофеля в погребе зимой

Storage rules for potatoes in the cellar in winter

Room preparation

The best place to store this ov There are underground storages (cellar, basement), but even in such a room far from everyone can save potatoes. This vegetable contains a large amount of liquid and starch, and therefore quickly deteriorates. Due to these features, storing potatoes in the cellar requires certain conditions.

In order to eliminate the risk of temperature changes in such a room, it is necessary to ensure high-quality insulation from overheating and freezing. Make it better before harvesting. For a free-standing cellar, the risk of overheating or freezing is excluded. Under the snow cover, the earth will, on the contrary, cool the ground floor.

To ensure good insulation from temperature extremes, a number of measures are necessary: ​​

  1. If possible, a cellar can be made above the surface (roof) of the cellar. This is a special indoor structure, which will be an excellent protection of the upper part of the room from external factors. Thus, the temperature in the storage will not differ much from the outside temperature.
  2. After that, you need to insulate the door. It must be tight, that is, tightly closed. It can be sheathed with foam or any other insulating material.
  3. What is the optimal storage temperature for tubers in storage? According to experienced gardeners for potatoes, the temperature regime is ideally suited within 2-3 degrees of heat. At higher temperatures, the potato sprouts. At temperatures near zero, potato starch is sugared. Such a potato becomes sweet. At minus temperatures, the potato freezes and disappears.
  4. If the storage is deep enough, it can be equipped with another hatch. Thus, between the two hatches it forms a vacuum space that protects the room from freezing.
  5. The cellar can be covered with polystyrene foam.
  6. Additional cellar heating can be provided by special lamps. Arrange them in the corners of the room, and turn them on in case of a drop in temperature. The lamps that will be used for this purpose must be painted over with dark paint.For convenience, some gardeners use lamps with sensors that respond to changes in temperature.
  7. For storages that are under the house, you can use special split systems. They will provide the necessary cooling of the room. True, such equipment is not cheap, and not every owner will be able to allow it. An optimal alternative to a split system may be a more economical option – a compressor from an old cold store.
  8. For an unheated garage, additional insulation will be required. In such a room, potatoes are stored in boxes or boxes. No warming agents can not do here. The boxes are wrapped in old blankets or things in several layers to protect them from freezing.
  9. Good ventilation is another important condition for the proper storage of potatoes in the cellar for the winter. In a well-ventilated area, rotting of potatoes and its premature germination can be prevented.
  10. It is also necessary to provide a certain level of humidity – in the range of 60-70%. You can keep it at this level with the help of special moisture-absorbing substances. For example, you can arrange containers with lime in powder along the perimeter of the storage.
  11. Before laying vegetables, the storage must be dried, cleaned of debris and treated with disinfectants (mold, mildew and other parasites).

A special container can be made to store tubers in the cellar. How to do it yourself, a little later in our article.

Tuber preparation rules

Хороший урожай зависит от хороших клубней

A good harvest depends on good tubers

Preparation of potatoes for storage begins immediately after harvesting. The longer the potato sits in the ground, the better its quality. Potatoes that have been in the ground for a long time become watery because they absorb all the moisture from the soil.

Harvesting consists of several stages:

  1. Removing the remains of the earth. In no case should you wash the potatoes to avoid its rot. The earth must be cleaned by hand.
  2. Drying. The dug out crop must be dried under a covered room, where there is protection from rain and sun. Tubers are spread on a dry surface in a thin layer.
  3. Sort. Before laying in the storehouse, peeled and dried potatoes must be sorted into separate boxes. Sort potatoes by size, and also separately stack tubers spoiled by parasites. Mechanically damaged vegetables should also be thrown into a separate container. During sorting, it is necessary to separately set aside part of the seed potatoes for future planting.

After preparation is complete, the tubers are poured into bags and transferred to the storage.

Storage Methods

How to store potatoes in the cellar to prevent premature spoilage?Harvested in bags must be lowered very carefully to avoid damage to tubers and their premature decay. Several methods are used to store vegetables.

In wooden crates or bins

Given that this vegetable is very sensitive to environmental influences, it must be stored in a certain design. You can design a box or bins. You can make such a simple design with your own hands:

  1. The box must be spacious enough so that the whole crop can fit in it. Along with this, it should be comfortable for you. After all, who, if not you, will have to get potatoes from it every time. Therefore, its height should be moderate – about 1.2 m.
  2. You can not put the structure close to the walls. The optimal distance is 3-5 cm.
  3. If you have a large crop of potatoes, you can make a large box by dividing it with a partition into two sections.
  4. For good ventilation, bins or drawers are made with holes .
  5. The bottom of the structure can be made of plywood or boards. The box is installed on top of the bricks.
  6. Despite the fact that it will be a new construction, it is better to disinfect and dry it well before laying vegetables.
  7. To keep the potatoes from excessive moisture and cold, the bottom of the box can be covered with a moisture-absorbing material – felt or burlap fabric. Top felt can be sprinkled with a copious layer of wood shavings.Instead of sawdust, you can use straw.

We have examined with you how to store potatoes in bulk in boxes or bins. There are other ways to store this vegetable.

In sealed structures

How to store potatoes in the winter in a cellar that constantly freezes? The best option would be a sealed box, which you can do with your own hands without much difficulty. This design will provide good thermal insulation. About 350 kg of tubers can be accommodated in it.

To produce it, you will need two containers, one of which should be slightly smaller in size. You can make containers from ordinary boards or plywood.

The bottom of the larger container is covered with any insulating material, for example, foam or sawdust. Then you need to lower the smaller box into it, and insulate its walls with heat-insulating material.

It remains to knock together the lid and insulate it with foam. Outside, the structure must be painted with paint to protect it from moisture. Fill potatoes, cover with a dense black cloth and cover with a lid. For the entire period of storage of vegetables, the container should be aired periodically.

In bags

Удобное хранение

Convenient storage

How to store potatoes in the cellar in bags? In fact, this is one of the most popular and convenient ways to store tubers.Sacking is made of natural material, which means it is able to protect potatoes from excessive moisture. This material perfectly protects the crop from freezing and at the same time it passes air well.

Store the potatoes in bags in the cellar on a special tray to prevent freezing and decay of the lower layers. As a pallet, you can use any moisture-absorbing flooring – straw, sawdust, boards. Bags with potatoes are laid on a pallet standing in a circle or lying in pieces of 5 pieces with a height of not more than three meters. On top, the potatoes in the bags are covered with any warming, but breathing material – straw, sawdust. You can do without them, covering the vegetables with old blankets.

If you plan to store vegetables for a long time, bags are not placed tightly to provide ventilation.

It is especially convenient to store potatoes in bags when the need for frequent loading and transportation. It is not recommended to store tubers in bags made of polyethylene and bags with little air permeability. In this container, the potato quickly suffocates and begins to rot.

In the nets

This is another convenient way to preserve the crop. Potatoes peeled from the ground, laid in nets, are placed on pallets, as in the previous case. Mesh bags provide excellent air circulation for potatoes. As a result, the tubers do not rot and do not deteriorate for a long time.

This method of storing potatoes in the cellar is short-term – about 1-1.5 months.Therefore, it can be used for vegetables intended for daily consumption.

Protection against moisture and freezing

The optimal storage conditions for this vegetable in the winter season:

  1. During storage, the potato breathes, thus releasing moisture and carbon dioxide. Gradually, condensation drops begin to accumulate on the ceiling and walls. After that, they get into vegetables. To prevent the potatoes from getting wet and rotting further, the storage area needs to be ventilated periodically. An additional canopy made of plastic film can be made under the ceiling.
  2. You can also lower the humidity in the cellar with lime or sand. They cover the floor of the cellar.
  3. Storing potatoes in the cellar along with beets will help preserve the entire crop until the summer. Beets are spread in a thick layer on top of the potatoes. This vegetable is frost-resistant, it protects the potato from frost and takes on excess moisture.
  4. Avoid rotting of the potato in winter, which causes many harmful parasites in the following way. Before lowering the vegetables into the box, they are sprinkled with fly ash or crushed chalk. Some put between the tubers wormwood twigs, rowan leaves and other plants that repel parasites. You can also sprinkle potatoes with husks of onions. In such an environment, it does not rot for a long time.
  5. The tubers should be periodically checked for rot.Damaged vegetables should be removed from the box and put in a separate container. Potatoes that are covered with moisture and lay next to rotten vegetables should also be removed from the box. If this is not done, the bacteria that are on its surface will begin to multiply further, destroying the crop.

It is recommended to store potatoes in a dark room. Since the potato sprouts from the sun, it turns green, and inside the fruit a harmful substance is formed – solanine.

Varieties for long-term storage

To preserve the harvest, it is important not only to observe all storage rules, but also choose a variety that is stored for a long time:

  • lorch;
  • zarnitsa;
  • gull;
  • saturn;
  • atlant;
  • asterix;
  • the crane.

Conclusion

Now you know how to store potatoes in the cellar. It is not difficult to keep a high-quality and tasty potato crop in winter until spring. Subject to the optimal temperature, humidity and providing good ventilation, you will be able to keep the potatoes whole, beautiful and unscathed. Without these conditions, potatoes will quickly rot and lose their taste.

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Anna Evans

Author ✓ Farmer

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