Storage temperature for potatoes in winter on the balcony

How to properly prepare potatoes

After digging, the potatoes are not immediately sent for storage. The tubers are dried, ripened, and mechanical damage is healed.

Air-sun bath

If the weather is good, the tubers are scattered to dry on the arable land; in rainy weather they are taken under a canopy. The potatoes are kept in the sun for no more than 2 hours, then dried for 2 weeks in a barn or under a canopy. Ultraviolet rays, they make up 10% of the spectrum of sunlight, have a bactericidal effect, kill fungi and bacteria, and increase the shelf life of potatoes.

Healing

It is impossible to avoid mechanical damage during digging. Infection can occur through wounds on the skin. They dry out quickly and become covered with dry skin at a temperature of 13-18 °C. Healing takes no more than 2 weeks. If the temperature is lower, the process is delayed up to 3-4 weeks.

Falling asleep

Before being sent for storage, the tubers must undergo a period of gradual cooling. In industrial potato storage facilities, the temperature is reduced daily by 0.5 °C. The process lasts 10-15 days. The weather helps the summer residents. When the air temperature drops to 2-4 °C, the potatoes are sent for storage. Thanks to the gradual decrease in temperature in the tubers, all processes (physiological, biochemical) stop.

Under what conditions should potatoes be stored?

You need to store potatoes at home, following certain rules.

Before storing the tubers, you should prepare the room. It needs to be cleaned, all sources of decay removed, and the walls treated with slaked (5%) lime. This will help prevent mold from developing in areas where vegetables will be located. It is imperative to equip the cellar (basement) with ventilation: this will help increase the shelf life of potatoes. It is advisable to place the harvest in boxes with a volume of 15–20 kg, the bottom of which must first be lined with straw, sand or sawdust to absorb excess moisture. The top of the potatoes should be covered with a thick cloth or a layer of hay to protect them from freezing. Several fresh apples are placed among the potatoes. They will slow down the germination process of tubers

It is important that the fruits do not rot (they are stored less than potatoes). In this case, they are replaced with fresh ones.

Planting potatoes should be stored separately. If tubers are stored in the form of a mound, it should not be more than 1 meter high.

First, use the earliest varieties of vegetables: such root vegetables will not be stored for a long time. And if such potatoes are left until December, they need to be stored as planting potatoes. The tubers no longer have any nutritional value: they become wrinkled, dry, and tasteless.

Potato storage temperature should be between +2°C and +4°C. Therefore, if the vegetable is stored on the balcony in frosty winter, the tubers are insulated with old blankets or outerwear.
The humidity level in places where root crops are stored should not exceed 85%. But the air should also not be allowed to be too dry.
The cellar (basement) should be illuminated exclusively with electric light of minimal brightness, so as not to contribute to the greening of the potatoes and the production of solanine. If this happens, it will no longer be possible to eat such a fruit.
You can store the potato harvest in boxes, boxes, bags, or simply in bulk until May.

How to prevent potatoes from freezing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPE1Se5utO4

In cellars that are too cold, special split systems are installed to avoid a sharp drop in temperature. This requires additional costs, so some gardeners replace them with compressors from old refrigerators.

The sensor will help prevent temperature fluctuations. Potatoes will be protected from negative temperatures by lamps placed in the corners of the basement. So that they serve exclusively as heating devices, they are coated with red or other dark varnish.

Insulation materials will help protect the crop from freezing:

straw;
felt;
sawdust;
sackcloth.

These coatings do not obstruct the passage of air, so the potatoes do not rot.

The most suitable range is from 1 to 4°C. In warm weather, vegetables sprout quickly. Gardeners recommend sprinkling beets on top of the potato layer. It absorbs excess moisture well and protects against cold weather.

For sufficient air ventilation, folded layers should not be higher than 1.5 m.

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Short-term storage of potatoes at temperatures above 15°C is permissible for 10-14 days at high air humidity (not dampness). The main condition is placement in a dark place.

Sharp temperature fluctuations lead to the germination of eyes and the appearance of roots.

Experienced summer residents take into account the characteristics of the soil in the area where the cellar is located:

dense soil releases heat faster, so in summer there is a risk of overheating of stored products, and in winter there is a risk of freezing;
clay soil is characterized by high thermal conductivity; when equipping basements, reliable thermal insulation materials are used;
sandy and dry lands warm up and freeze faster than others;
in sandy loam soils, do not make cellars that are too deep to avoid freezing of food.

Where is the best place to store potatoes?

Those who want to know how to properly store potatoes in winter in a city apartment should consider the following options:

Place under the sink. A dark, enclosed space with high humidity helps keep components in proper condition. The main thing is that all the above requirements are met. You should not use plastic bags for storing potatoes; it is better to use a box or wicker basket for this.
Balcony, loggia. In this case, you need to either bring the environmental conditions to optimal, or pack the potatoes according to all the rules. Inventory should be checked from time to time to ensure that everything is in order.
In a refrigerator. This option is suitable for storing vegetables in small quantities. But the temperature and humidity indicators required for root crops are always within the required limits. In the refrigerator, unlike other places, potatoes should be kept in plastic. Thanks to this, you won’t have to worry about the vegetable pulp starting to emit foreign odors.
Corridor at the entrance. Another place suitable for temperature indicators. In order not to worry about the safety of the product, you should place a large box with a lock in the room, which is screwed to the floor or walls using screws.

It should be remembered that potatoes can spoil even if they are in the refrigerator. Most often, this happens not because of violations of the rules for storing it, but because of the initial purchase of a product that is not of the highest quality. There's nothing to be done here. If characteristic dark spots appear on the surface of the tubers or their pulp, it is better not to use this product as food. In any case, it is practically devoid of nutritional value and taste.

Potato storage conditions

To keep more potatoes healthy, the following requirements must be met.

In any type of storage, maintain the air temperature within +2..+4°C. At this temperature, the potatoes are at rest - they do not form roots and do not freeze. Lower temperatures promote the conversion of starch into sugars, while higher temperatures trigger the process of root formation.

The storage facility must have thermometers to measure temperature, as well as the ability to take action if it changes. If the temperature rises quickly, open the vents and arrange ventilation.

The air humidity in the room where potatoes are stored should not exceed 70-85%. To determine, install a hygrometer in the room. Increased humidity promotes the appearance of mold fungi. The air in the room is dried or ventilation is used.

The bottom of the potato storage should be covered with sand, preferably quartz, pebbles, crushed stone, and other material that absorbs moisture. The bottom of the cellar and other types of storage facilities must not be cemented, covered with linoleum, smooth slate, floorboards and other similar materials, as this will accumulate moisture, which contributes to the appearance of mold and other negative processes.

Daytime and prolonged artificial lighting is not allowed in the storage facility. Light promotes the production of poisonous solanine in potato tubers. The external manifestation of solanine production is the greening or dark green color of the tuber. These potatoes are not suitable for human consumption.

To preserve potatoes from winter pests and diseases, you need to carefully prepare the room and accordingly arrange the tubers in convenient containers.

Isolate the storage from outside pests: mice, rats, slugs.
Disinfect the premises from fungal and bacterial infections (burning a sulfur bomb or just lumps of sulfur on a metal tray or use other methods of disinfecting the premises).

What to do if the temperature at the storage location drops below 0°C

In order for potatoes to last all winter and be edible, you must adhere to some storage rules.

Before storing it, it needs to be slightly dried and sorted. Damaged tubers or tubers with green spots should not be included in the total mass.
In the room where the vegetable is located, there should be an optimal humidity of 80-85%, temperature 2.. 4 degrees. There should be no holes or cracks. Ventilation is required.

We wrote more about the necessary conditions for storing potatoes in winter here.

There is nothing difficult about storing this vegetable. You just have to remember some recommendations and stick to the optimal temperature.

The freezing temperature of potatoes is about –2…–3°С. At such values, starch is converted into sugar, and the taste of the crop deteriorates. To the question at what temperature do potatoes finally freeze, the answer is this: if the thermometer drops even lower, all the useful elements and vitamins in the vegetables are destroyed, the product finally deteriorates and becomes unfit for consumption.

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Seed material is stored only at 3°C, otherwise the components that activate the growing season die.

On open balconies, polystyrene boxes with walls at least 5 cm thick are used for insulation. Such boxes with sealed lids serve as a thermos; they are regularly ventilated by covering the vegetables with a warm blanket.

How many degrees of frost can potatoes withstand in the ground? If the potatoes managed to freeze in the ground due to the first frost (down to -4°C), but did not stay in the soil for more than 14 hours, they are dug up as quickly as possible.

Before storage, vegetables are dried in a ventilated area. Periodically, the bins are inspected for spoiled specimens. But you cannot constantly mix the laid layers.

Lowering the temperature to -10°C is dangerous for the crop - it is disposed of, since it will completely rot during storage. The product is not used in cooking; the formation of toxic substances begins inside the tubers.

How to store potatoes if there is no cellar

So, we are talking about possible options for storing potato tubers if there is no basement, and you choose which one suits you best.

In an apartment (private house)

If you decide to store potatoes in a living room for the winter, then they should be placed in the coldest places - near the balcony or near the windows. In a private house - at the front door or in the entryway (at above-zero temperatures). In this case, it is advisable to keep tubers in cloth bags, as they do not interfere with the necessary ventilation.

Tip: To avoid dampness and rotting of the crop, beets or dry straw can be placed on top of the bags.

If there are no cool places in the apartment, then it is permissible to place the potatoes in a driveway pocket or pantry. In this case, you can use wooden boxes. But it should be borne in mind that in warm conditions the shelf life of the crop will be significantly reduced. To extend it a little, you can do the following - take a small plastic container, make 30-40 small holes in it, put a damp cloth and place it inside the box with potatoes.

Another option for wintering potatoes in an apartment is a thermostat. It is a mini refrigerator with the ability to adjust temperature and humidity. The disadvantage of this device is its small usable volume - only a few tens of liters.

On the loggia

A loggia provides a greater choice of storage options. But a prerequisite for winter placement of vegetables must be glazing.

When the thermometer shows a positive mark, storage is not particularly difficult. The optimal temperature on the loggia is maintained even with slight frosts outside the window. The main thing is to prevent light from entering the product, as well as strong increases in temperature and sudden changes (for this, the crop is covered with warm clothes or old cotton blankets).

When frost sets in, take care to insulate the crop, as well as maintain proper conditions inside the storage facility. There are several ways to do this.

The easiest one is to buy a heating cabinet. It independently maintains the required storage temperature and ventilates the potatoes. If this is not possible, then you can make such a device yourself:

Build a box with double walls;
Place insulation (foam plastic, sawdust, etc.) between the walls;
At the bottom of the box, place incandescent light bulbs placed in protective light-insulating metal casings (a thermal relay is also built into the system).

Help: Instead of lamps, it is possible to install a plastic pipe through a hole in the wall. An electric hair dryer is placed in it, which supplies heated air to the tubers. As a result, the storage process is heated and ventilated.

In regions with not very cold winters, the option of heating the loggia is possible. In this case, light-proof wooden boxes larger in volume than a heating cabinet are sufficient for storage.

Is it possible to preserve a vegetable until spring without a cellar in the ground?

A non-standard way is to store in a pit:

Choose a place on your garden plot that is not flooded with water;
Dig a hole about one and a half meters deep, its area depends on the volume of the crop being planted;
Arrange drainage at the bottom; to do this, make several grooves 10 cm deep along the edges;
Cover the bottom and walls with straw;
With the first frost, place the tubers in the hole - the storage is filled so that about 30-40 cm remains to the top edge;
Cover the supplies with a layer of straw;
Create a hill 50-80 cm high above the storage (it should overlap the walls to the sides by more than 1 meter);
In case of severe frosts, additionally cover the hill with a layer of snow, straw or other heat-insulating material.

This method is very inconvenient, since retrieving crops from such storage in winter is quite problematic. It can be recommended for storing seed.

Conditions

Potatoes are an unpretentious crop, so there are no problems with their preservation. The most important factors for shelf life are:

place;
container;
temperature;
humidity;
lighting.

Place

When the vegetables are sorted and selected, a place in the apartment is chosen where the tubers will be located. It should be kept away from heating devices and other perishable crops. The most common places where potatoes are harvested in an apartment are:

storage rooms;
balconies with glazing;
dark cabinets with locking doors.

The location must be chosen based on the amount of potatoes. If you use a lot of it, then only a large storage room or balcony will do, if you have a cellar. It is convenient to keep no more than a couple of buckets of tubers in the closet.

Tara

The main point when selecting containers is its ventilation. It is imperative that air gets to the potatoes, otherwise they will dry out or rot. Most often it is stored in wooden boxes with slots. The top of the box can be covered loosely with a lid.

If the number of tubers is small, you can pour them into a plastic bucket, the bottom of which is lined with paper to protect it from moisture. It is allowed to store potatoes at home in plastic bags or bags, just do not tie them at the top.

Temperature

The lower the temperature, the longer the potatoes will be stored. The best option is to maintain the temperature at a level from plus 10 to 16 degrees. At higher temperatures, potatoes begin to soften, lose their taste and sprout. The germination process is especially active towards the end of spring.

Too low a temperature is also harmful to the tubers: they freeze and become tasteless. In addition, potatoes quickly spoil in the cold and are not suitable for food.

Lighting

A prerequisite for proper storage is the absence of daylight. You can store the tubers in a dark place for a long time, but if you put them in the sun’s rays, the skin wrinkles, and the fruits themselves lose some of their juice and become dry. The sun stimulates the awakening of the eyes, so shoots will soon appear on the tubers.

In the dark, the eyes “sleep” until mid-spring and only with warming do they awaken and grow over the surface of the vegetable.

Humidity

Select a place in the house for the culture so that the humidity is at a minimum level. 15-50% is enough for the potatoes to lie well. When humidity rises, rot occurs and spreads very quickly. Humid air also promotes the germination of eyes, which are not at all needed for storage and will only shorten its shelf life.

At what sub-zero temperature can potatoes be stored? Storage rules

At what temperature to store potatoes will not matter if you do not pre-prepare the room.

The room in which 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 quantity of potatoes is not too large, they are stored in bulk, without using containers. This storage method has a significant disadvantage: if there is 1 rotten tuber, you can lose most of the harvest. It is best to use wooden pallets so that the root vegetables 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, bags made of natural material or nets. In such conditions, the root crops are well ventilated and even if a source of rot appears, losses will be minimal.

Storage in the apartment

Not every summer resident has the opportunity to grow potatoes on his own plot 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 microclimate in the room and store any types of root vegetables. At home, it is better to store potatoes on a glassed-in balcony. Ideally, potatoes should be stored in wooden boxes. You can also use bags or nets, but then you will have to cover the root vegetables with blankets so that they do not freeze in winter.

Preparing seed potatoes for storage

Harvested potatoes cannot be stored immediately. The peel of this vegetable is still thin and not ripe enough. To make it denser and minor damage to heal, keep the seed in a well-ventilated place for two weeks.

It is also useful to green the seeds in the light. To do this, the tubers are laid out in one layer and periodically turned over. Daylight encourages the accumulation of corned beef in them. This is a poison, so potatoes become inedible for rodents, and their resistance to diseases increases.

After drying and ripening, the seed material is carefully inspected again, rejecting damaged specimens. To enhance immunity, the seeds are treated with one of the fungicidal preparations. For this purpose, Maxim or a weak solution of copper sulfate is often used.

When preparing the composition, 2 g of the substance is diluted in one bucket of water. After processing, the potatoes are well dried.

How to prepare a cellar for storing potatoes

Potatoes are quite picky about storage conditions, as they contain a lot of starch and water.

Accordingly, before storing the harvest, you need to pay special attention to preparing the cellar. It is best to perform it 1–1.5 months before harvest

Preparatory work in the cellar includes the following actions:

Check and clean all ventilation openings to ensure good air circulation in the room.
Waterproof the floor if it is too wet or if there is groundwater near the soil surface.
External thermal insulation of the cellar to protect against severe frosts and overheating. The ideal option is to build a small cellar above it, which will protect the ceiling of the vault from high and low air temperatures.
Ensuring that the door that closes the storage unit is airtight so that it does not allow drafts to pass through. It is recommended to cover the outside with foam plastic for better thermal insulation.
Additional heating in the cellar using dark-painted lamps hung in the corners of the storage room. When turned on, they will emit heat, which will help protect the cellar from freezing during severe cold weather.
Removing debris and excess clutter that takes up a lot of space and can attract rodents.
Repairing holes in the walls or floors of a room with cement mortar or durable metal sheeting to prevent rodent hazards.

Did you know? The homeland of potatoes is South America: there they still grow in natural wild conditions.

Room treatment

In order for potatoes in storage to retain their good appearance and taste until spring, you need to properly treat the room. This procedure allows you to get rid of microscopic harmful bacteria and extend the shelf life of potatoes.

Video: Processing the cellar before adding vegetables

Basic recommendations for storage processing are presented below:

The walls must be thoroughly disinfected with a solution of 10 liters of water, 2 kg of lime, 150 g of salt and 1 kg of vitriol. Bulk ingredients are dissolved in water and the resulting mixture is treated with the ceiling, floor and all walls of the room;
processing the cellar using a sulfur bomb. It must be brought into the room and set on fire so that the smoke permeates all the walls, ceiling and floor of the storage room;
if the previous potato harvest was covered with mold when stored in this cellar, then disinfection must be carried out twice with an interval of 7–8 days.

Important! It is better to carry out storage treatment in warm and sunny weather, so that the room is well ventilated and wet walls dry out faster.

Preparing the storage container

The simplest option for storing vegetables is to place them on the floor of the cellar in the form of one large pile. But if among the tubers there are at least a few damaged or rotten fruits, then they will cause rot to appear on most of the rest of the potatoes, so it is better to store the crop in specially prepared capacious containers.

They must meet the following requirements:

the best material for making containers for potatoes is wood;
The box and container for vegetables must have openings through which ventilation will take place. The boxes can be placed in horizontal rows located on wooden stands, or stacked on top of each other;
Separate fabric bags are also suitable for storing tubers, which allow air to pass through well and protect the fruit from rotting. Bags should also be placed on wooden pallets 10–15 cm high from the floor;
Potatoes in the cellar can be stored in nets, but tubers can freeze in them. To prevent this from happening, nets with vegetables are covered with a layer of straw or a warm blanket on top.

Good preservation of the crop is also facilitated by pre-treatment of potato storage containers. It is best to carry out this procedure in warm and sunny weather.

Processing is carried out as follows:

All containers for potatoes are taken outside, cleaned of soil and remnants of last year’s vegetables.
For disinfection, the container is treated with a hot concentrated aqueous solution of potassium permanganate.
Leave the containers in the sun until completely dry, and then bring them back into the cellar.

Important! The small size of these containers helps to divide the potatoes into small portions and reduce the risk of losing the entire crop due to rotting of several tubers.

Preparing the cellar

Preparing potatoes for storage is a very important event that affects their safety. Even under ideal conditions, tubers will not last long if they have not been properly prepared.

First of all, the potatoes must be thoroughly dried. This should be done in a well-ventilated but dimly lit room. When drying in the open air, you should scatter the potatoes in the shade, excluding direct sunlight. The duration of the procedure depends on the ambient humidity and the general condition of the tubers. The degree of dryness is assessed visually; the presence of moisture spots on the surface of tubers is unacceptable.
You can spread the tubers for drying in no more than 2–3 layers
The next stage is culling diseased, damaged potatoes and sorting them by size. Tubers with signs of disease, cut, crushed during harvesting must be separated from the main mass, because one diseased fruit can become a source of infection for several others. It is necessary to divide tubers into large, medium and small because the intensity of respiratory processes depends on the area of the peel, and this, in turn, affects the shelf life.
When sorting through dried potatoes, you need to wipe off any stuck lumps of soil, if any, without causing damage. The remaining soil may contain fungi and viruses that cause various diseases.
Some potato growers advise treating sorted potatoes with antifungal biological products to avoid infection during storage. It is best to use Fitosporin for this purpose. After processing, dry it again and only then store it.

Storing potatoes in a cellar or vegetable storehouse becomes not the easiest task due to the high content of starch and water in the tubers. These factors significantly complicate the process, setting strict temperature limits and also requiring the maintenance of a constant level of humidity.

If possible, build a cellar above the cellar - a small covered superstructure that will protect the upper part of the cellar from direct contact with the environment. This way, the temperature inside and outside the storage facility will not vary too much.
The cellar hatch must be insulated with foam plastic or any other heat-insulating material. It must close tightly.
If the depth of the cellar is sufficient, install a second hatch at some distance from the first. An air cushion between the hatches will protect the room from the cold.
Cellar ceilings can be insulated with polystyrene foam or expanded polystyrene.
For additional heating, you can equip the cellar with several lamps in different corners of the room. You can manually turn on the lamps if you notice that the temperature is dropping, or you can install a temperature sensor. Lamps intended exclusively for heating are painted over with dark varnish.

With good heat and moisture insulation of the cellar, the potatoes will last well until the next harvest.
If the cellar is located under the house and, on the contrary, it is too warm for storing potatoes, you can install a split system inside it. However, this option involves financial costs. A cheaper analogue is a compressor from an old refrigerator.

A good ventilation system will help save the harvest. Cold air from the street will not allow vegetables to begin to germinate ahead of schedule.

To protect the cellar from moisture, waterproof the room, place containers with quicklime or special preparations that absorb water from the air in the corners.

As standard measures to prepare the cellar for storing vegetables, it should be ventilated, dried, and the walls and shelving should be treated from rot and parasites. Lime whitewash and sulfur bombs are often used for disinfection.

Preparing for long-term storage of potatoes

First, the tubers are carefully examined for damage and signs of disease. If any are found, they are also sorted into conditional groups.
Root crops that are broken, scratched or otherwise damaged are selected for priority consumption, or given to livestock feed.
If signs of any infection are found, dispose of it.
Next, the fruits are cleaned of dirt, but not washed, but simply wiped, since moisture can cause rotting.
It is advisable to let the harvested crop dry a little, but not to overdry.
After this, the potatoes are placed inside the prepared container.
If necessary, carry out antimicrobial treatment. To do this, you can grate the garlic and place it in compartments or grids at the rate of one hundred grams of garlic per one hundred kilograms of harvest.
But it is also permissible to sprinkle the deposits with dry rowan leaves, spray with onion or rowan tincture.

Cellar storage

Lime is a cheap and effective means for disinfecting cellars.

To this end, a number of preparatory activities are carried out:

preparing lime mortar;
disinfection of metal objects;
fumigation;
ventilation;
liming of walls.

Preparation of lime mortar consists of dissolving two kilograms of lime, one hundred and fifty grams of copper sulfate, and a bucket of water. Disinfection of metal objects is carried out by treating racks, handrails, shelves, and other components with copper sulfate.

Next, you should whitewash the walls, after which the room is fumigated with tansy or wormwood, after which it is well ventilated.

It should be noted that the cellar or basement must be well ventilated - the greenhouse effect must not be provoked. The crop is placed directly in compartments or special grids and boxes.

The temperature regime is provided - from eighteen degrees below zero to one degree plus. This interval is explained by the fact that at first the temperature should be higher - about 18 degrees, then gradually drops to five, and then left for the winter at least two degrees Celsius.

No lighting required.

Storage on the balcony

They put together a special container box in which root vegetables are placed in bags or in nets and closed.
It is advisable to cover the top with old blankets, felt, or other warming material.

Thermal cabinet

The finished oven is equipped with electric heating and a temperature controller.

And you can also equip a heating cabinet. Such designs are purchased ready-made. When using them to store potatoes, it is not necessary to first place the crop in bags - they are poured directly into the cupboard.

In such a heating cabinet, the manufacturer has installed a special thermal regime, that is, the optimal temperature is constantly maintained. It is allowed to install such cabinets on the balcony or in the apartment. The main advantage of the equipment is the fact that a forced ventilation system is initially built into it - the owner does not have to worry about ventilating the crop. However, this type of storage runs on electricity, so it may not be a very economical method.

Storage in the apartment

You can store a small amount of potatoes in your living area for daily cooking.

The most suitable varieties are Bronnitsky, Lasunak. It is worth noting that lying in an apartment for more than four months contributes to the deterioration of tubers - wrinkling, sprouting eyes, and the occurrence of dry or wet rot.

Another possible disadvantage of apartment storage is the fact that the temperature in the room must be lower than what is usually maintained for human habitation. In addition, it is advisable to keep the window open at all times.

Conditions

Cabinet under the kitchen window for storing potatoes and other vegetables.

In order to ensure optimal conditions, it is recommended to follow certain measures. Primary requirements:

using containers only from natural materials;
location - near the window;
constantly open window;
providing ventilation;
compliance with the temperature regime – 15 degrees.

Potatoes spoil quickly in the refrigerator.

However, you can restore the taste by placing the potatoes on the balcony or in the cellar. After about three days, the taste will be restored. You can only use an old refrigerator to store potatoes, which no longer works. It is installed like an ordinary box on the balcony. Conditions are created that are standard for a regular box with one difference. Due to the fact that the refrigerator has thick thermal walls, there is no need to use warm covering material.

Properly harvested harvest is the key to quality and safety

In order to successfully store potatoes on the balcony in the winter, it is necessary to thoroughly process the fruits during assembly. Typically, potatoes intended for further storage on the balcony are collected from beds or fields in dry, warm weather, when rain or sudden waterlogging is not expected in the coming days. Then it is laid out to dry with minimal air humidity and long-term sunlight. This will save the tubers from rotting and worms in the future.

It is not recommended to lay potatoes on iron or asphalt, since they have too much moisture, as a result of which the potatoes may begin to rot.

Typically the drying process takes 2-3 weeks. You should also categorize the potatoes by quality and size. Bad potatoes are thrown out or placed in a separate pile, since disease or worms can infect healthy tubers. At the end of the sorting process, smaller potatoes are placed on top, since the top layer of potatoes most often rots. And smaller potatoes are not as pitiful as large ones.

READ MORE: What to do if there is a fire on the balcony

A box prepared for storing vegetables must be thoroughly disinfected using various medications. Garden stores sell special preparations. After this, the box is treated with lime diluted in water. Then the vessel for storing potatoes should be placed in the sun with minimal humidity and kept for 3-4 days.

Storing potatoes in an apartment, at home

Storing potatoes in the refrigerator is a bad solution: in closed bags they will quickly deteriorate, and in open bags they will poison the atmosphere and spoil other products. And the volume of the refrigerator is small. Therefore, you need to find a suitable place in the apartment.

How to choose a place

Usually they try to place the potatoes right in the kitchen, although this is not an ideal option. The coldest place is usually near the doors (including the balcony), but even there the temperature is rarely below 15–16 °C, so we will talk about a month at most. Sometimes cool storage rooms are used, if available. In the kitchen, potatoes are usually placed under the sink in a wooden box or basket. As a rule, this place is closed from light and properly ventilated. Since storing potatoes in an apartment is difficult, some tricks often come to the rescue, the simplest of which is lining them with mint or wormwood leaves. It’s good if there are beets nearby (in fact, the same techniques are used outside the apartment).

Small quantities of potatoes are stored under the sink

Types of storage containers

You can store potatoes in any “breathable” container:

linen bags;
nylon nets;
wooden boxes;
wicker baskets.

The volume may vary, but it rarely makes sense to keep more than a bag of potatoes in an apartment (that is, 4–5 buckets). It is bad to keep potatoes in plastic bags without holes or in any metal container.

How to make a box

Since an insulated box is not required for storage in an apartment, it can be made from any available material: timber, boards, plywood. The most convenient planks are about 5 cm wide; Be sure to leave a gap of 1–2 cm between them for air access. If it is impossible to place the box in the dark, it is covered with dark, breathable fabric. In the case of balcony storage, it makes sense to make a box with double walls and thermal insulation: there are many design options.

Compact accommodation options

Since there is always little space at home, they try to place potatoes in a variety of places where they can create relative coolness and darkness. Select one of the drawers in chests of drawers and sets, place grids behind the doors, under the table, under the bed. You can often find mini-storages under the removable cover of the seating area. Often a bucket of potatoes is even kept in the toilet room.

Any unexpected place can be used as storage

If the potatoes are washed, they will be stored worse. True, thorough drying can mitigate this deterioration; Some gardeners always wash potatoes even before storing them in the cellar, but they dry them perfectly before that. It is better to put poorly dried, washed potatoes in the refrigerator and use them within a week. Sometimes you have to store peeled potatoes, but this is a completely extreme case: we are talking about “storing” only for a few hours. It is best to leave it in cold water (although some of the starch will be lost). You can scald it with boiling water, then it will turn black more slowly. Sometimes peeled potatoes are even frozen, but you need to understand that after this they will be sweet and not suitable for all dishes.