Time to think...storage for onions and taters.

[justusnak]

I was searching on onion storage...mainly because I think I over planted. Usualy I just braid the greens, and hang them in thr garage. However, I usually use them fairly quick. This year, I have over 100 onions...and will need to store them and didnt want to dehydrate them all. Soooo, I did a little search..and came up eith this....

Harvest mature onions when their tops turn yellow and begin to topple.
Loosen the soil around each bulb and pull or dig it up carefully; damaged onions rot quickly.
Spread the bulbs - tops intact - on a flat surface above the ground and leave them until the skins are dry and the tops have withered completely (2 to 10 days outside; roughly two weeks indoors in a well-ventilated spot).
Cut off the tops, leaving about an inch of stem, and store the bulbs in mesh bags in a place that's cool (35 to 40 degrees F), dry and well-ventilated.
Check your stash frequently; if any bulbs have sprouted, use them right away.

Then I got to thinking...taters...Hmmm...'
My plan is an open slat crate, with straw...in the garage, where it stays in the 50's...and there is good airflow.

 

[big brown horse]

Hi justusnak,

Thanks for bringing this up, I have tons of taters ready for digging up.

I watched Alton Brown on TV once and he said store them in a nice deep layer of sand in the bottom of your fridge. I bet that would work in the cool basement or garage too.

 

[sylvie]

I stored 7 five gallon plastic buckets of unwashed potatoes in my attached unheated garage. Of all that I threw out only a couple bad potatoes and I think they were damaged by my potato fork. Lasted all winter and I replanted 1/2 bucket of them which are growing great.
Our garage got awfully close to freezing a few times.
Oh and I cover the top of the buckets with several thick layers of newspapers and store in a dark corner.
Just don't wash them first before storing. When ready to use knock the dirt off and scrub.

 

[me&thegals]

Great idea, Sylvie! We always have extra 5-gallon pails around. I hear that light is the main enemy of potatoes and is what leads to the sprouting.