Early Potatos - Dig Up & Store ?

[Macky]

Have started cropping my early potatos in the last month.

They are in an area where I would like to stat constructing some raised beds.

I was always led to believe that earlies don't store very well and are better left in the ground. However, I am considering digging them up and storing in brown paper bags, the sort we get for our kitchen re-cycling bins.

Any thoughts ?

[Snadger]

I tried it one year and half my crop rotted!! Don't know whether I was just unlucky but I certainly won't be trying it again.

[erik]

last year i had 20lb of earlys just dug them up rubbed most of the soil off left them to dry in the sun for a couple of hours then put them in a old paper sack kept for 5 weeks no problems.

[sewer rat]

Generally speaking, early potatoes are not good store potatoes - and storing them defeats the whole purpose of first earlies which (IMO) is to allow you to indulge in new potatoes soaking in melted butter.
If you do want to store them, then as Erik says, remove the majority of the soil, make sure they are completely dry and stick them in a paper sack, somewhere cool.

[shirlthegirl43]

The other way I have used to store earlies is to put them in a bucket of fresh, not wetted compost. Layer of compost, layer of spuds, layer of compost etc. They keep well and have that just harvested taste when you eat them.

[Snadger]

The other way I have used to store earlies is to put them in a bucket of fresh, not wetted compost. Layer of compost, layer of spuds, layer of compost etc. They keep well and have that just harvested taste when you eat them.

That sounds a good idea Shirl!

[shirlthegirl43]

Thanks Snadger. The other benefit is that the kids love rummaging around to 'find' the spuds too (specially if I borrow a small child from visiting friends)