Poplar Hill Happenings

How we store potatoes at Poplar Hill

Morningshine asked how we store our potatoes.  Well we've tried diffrent methods and this year I think we hit on the best method yet for our location.  We live in S. IN which really dosen't get a hard soil freeze until around Jan 1-15 so we leave them in the ground.  We watch the plants die back and then dig them them when we need them.  We dig them early for new potatoes and we dig them late for regulars.  We have placed straw over them before to keep the weeds down, but didn't this year and the 'taters were just fine.  There are all kinds of methods of storing potatoes in the ground (check them out on the web), but because of our location we just leave them there were they were planted until we are ready to use them.  We could have dug more on the 1st of Jan., (I knew there was a hard, hard freeze coming) but we didn't we were too busy being lazy.  Had we dug up the rest that were in the ground I would have probably brought them in, left the dirt on them, put them in a basket and stuck them in the coolest room in the house-our bathroom.  I have a big old steamer trunk and I just put the basket in there to keep the 'taters out of the light. 

I see Mourningshines is in in UT and our method probably won't work for her.  Any of you who want to store potatoes long term I suggest, read, read, read, read.  That's the #1 thing I've learned about gardening and food preservation.  My dh and I get better every year, because we spend Nov., Jan and part of Feb. reading about methods, plants and food preservation.  It really does help to figure out your preservation method way in advance.  We use our public library a lot and read many articles off the internet.  I also suspect that potatoes varieties have a lot to do with how well they store with diffrent methods.  I have no idea what last years variety was. 

Some important things I've learned about potatoes

1.  Don't ever eat a green potoatoe-my friend and I haved decided if it's just a little green cut it off and use the white of the 'tater.  Green potatoes are posionis. 

2.  If your 'tater plants start getting flower/fruits.  Cut them off.  Don't let the plant production go into making flowers, fruits and seeds.  You want tubbers!

3.  Hill, Hill, Hill, Bigger Hills mean more potatoes.  We don't nececarly do this, because like I said we are lazy, but it is true.  Check out gardening potatoes in straw, tires and cardboard boxes elsewhere on the web.  Google it!

4.  Don't sweat the failure!

Other Poplar Hill Happenings

In the kitchen: Stuffed Green Peppers, our peppers and our canned tomatoe juice.

In the garden: just got our tomatoe and pepper seeds. Going to start them at the the end of the month. We just used up the last of the cabagge we picked on Jan 1 (used it in shrimp tacos-yummy) and the last of our potatoes we got out of the ground at the same time.

In the shoppe: DH has been working on more rock walls around the property. He has made a "rock sled" to bring the rocks down from the top of the ridge to where the work is being done.

In laundry room: We have a day off from school becuase of ice and I am washing up a storm. I have clothes hanging all over the house everywhere.

The play room: dd10 is having friends over this afternoon to sled. We don't get too many sledding days here in S. IN-she lives in the wrong state.

In the Library: I just finished Cordelia and the Audactious Sommerset Sisters. Good book for any age girl. I cried. It's realistic fiction with a touch of everything in it. Would make a great read aloud for a family with a lot of girls. I'm waiting on Plum Lucky by Evonivich from the library.  Check out my recommended reads at:  http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~christinesbooklist/

Untitled Comment

01:53, 2008-Feb-12 .. Posted by Kitty

Great tator info. I have "sweated" many a failures, LOL. I can't seem to get it right. The only place my potatoes seem to want to grow is in my compost pile, ha ha on me...........Kitty

Untitled Comment

02:30, 2008-Feb-12 .. Posted by morningsunshine

rats! well, I liked the keep in the dirt in the dark idea. surely I can find a spot downstairs.....