going overboard with plants?

[brandnewb]

I mostly just copy what I read and see online. I have no real ideas of my own other than positioning of the bags. Turns out I was not doing that right so please never follow my gut feeling

I am just in this game for self reliance. Still very wary of pandemics and war.

But I harvested yet another 2 bags of potatoes. Just not sure yet how to store them for the long term.
I am considering covering them with dry fine sand and storing them as cool as possible. But that would still mean around 20 degrees Celsius minimum. This storing in sand I saw online somewhere so I hope it's not ill guided.

Any thoughts anyone on potato storage?

 

[brandnewb]

One trick is to put bags in a shallow tray and keep an inch/2or3 centimeters of water in it

i tried floating one bag in the lake. thought I secured it well. Woke up the next day to find it missing. Never found it and the raft I placed it on.

So thanks for suggesting this. it makes me confident to try again. this time securing things better.

 

[wiseacre]

Any thoughts anyone on potato storage?

Don't wash them, let the soil dry and brush off the excess
Store at temps between 45 to 50 F - 7 to 10 C in a cool (not too) dry place
make sure no light reaches them

I store them layered with newspaper in cardboard boxes under a bed in an unheated spare bedroom

 

[wiseacre]

I'm big on raised garden beds, I spend a lot of time turning sand/clay into growing soil with compost, lime, etc.
So raised beds that get covered when the season is done, nets to keep the bugs out, etc.

I built the wife a 'WW1 trench' garden
The far back is asparagus
on the left is completely netted for blueberries
raised beds (with netting) for veggies
Everything is protected by a high fence, the deer are a major pain in the butt

It was a low wet spot (surrounded by swamp) - added drainage and built up the beds to make use of the area

..and to confirm I'm surrounded by swamp this is an animal crossing sign nearby

 

[brandnewb]

Store at temps between 45 to 50 F - 7 to 10 C in a cool (not too) dry place
make sure no light reaches them

Now here is where my options run dry (pun intended).

I can either store then in a dark and stale place at like what ever the ambiance is. Currently above 20C easily.

I can go below ground at a very stable 16C year round temp. But the humidity is syco there.
So that makes me think maybe newspapers are not the best of ideas in my specific scenario.

I'd love to hear ones thought on storing potatoes in dry sand.

I mean if no one knows why not to do it then it should be tried.
If some of us already know where things will go wrong then there would be that to deal with.

 

[brandnewb]

I built the wife a 'WW1 trench' garden
The far back is asparagus
on the left is completely netted for blueberries
raised beds (with netting) for veggies
Everything is protected by a high fence, the deer are a major pain in the butt

It was a low wet spot (surrounded by swamp) - added drainage and built up the beds to make use of the areaView attachment 154438

..and to confirm I'm surrounded by swamp this is an animal crossing sign nearby
View attachment 154439

did you ever have to brake for a turtle? or did you ever not and ended up with turtle shell on your car?

 

[brandnewb]

Ok, I have the most weird story ever

 

[brandnewb]

so one night we were driving in Indonesia. I was the passenger. I yelled
STOP!!!

Because there was this frog crossing the road.

Now it becomes weird. Because the next day in a restaurant in Jakarta. I ordered frog legs.


....


...


weird right?

 

[brandnewb]

I built the wife a 'WW1 trench' garden

dear friend of mine!

All I know is the octagon. or the more standard WWF box like rings.

Or are your going as far as digging deep like we did in WW1

 

[brandnewb]

Please witness a pathetic harvest.


I am refering to the corola potato planted at 5-4-23 (ascending date ordering)

 

[brandnewb]

I built the wife a 'WW1 trench' garden
The far back is asparagus
on the left is completely netted for blueberries
raised beds (with netting) for veggies
Everything is protected by a high fence, the deer are a major pain in the butt

It was a low wet spot (surrounded by swamp) - added drainage and built up the beds to make use of the areaView attachment 154438

..and to confirm I'm surrounded by swamp this is an animal crossing sign nearby
View attachment 154439

one can say what one wants but these trenches do look good.

In all honesty I cant even recognize them as trenches.

All I see is good looking stuff

 

[wiseacre]

In all honesty I cant even recognize them as trenches.

They're not really trenches. I just joke about the WW1 trenchs
The back is about a meter deep and the garden levels out to grade by the time it gets to the front
There was a slight slope I dug out to level. Behind the backside was filled in to level that grade.
Boxes were built and leftover soil put in.
This is when I was landscaping so the boxes got filled with topsoil from jobs'
All soil was amended with copious amounts of compost (the horse manure and wood chips I mentioned earlier)

did you ever have to brake for a turtle?

Yep, I've stopped a number of times and helped them cross the road.
There be jerks around that would swerve to run over anything on the road

I can go below ground at a very stable 16C year round temp. But the humidity is syco there

Where I live I might see a few 90 F days, more than enough (for me) in the 80s F and in winter I', never surprised to see down to -40 F
I'd only be guessing in your climate but bury some coolers and and maybe use that dry sand at the bottom?

 

[Hedges]

There be jerks around that would swerve to run over anything on the road

Exercise your right to arm bears?
(Or turtles in this case)




How about enlisting people to epoxy "stop" spikes on the backs of all the turtles they find?

 

[Matt.B]

This looks fantastic. The more plants the better in my opinion...especially the type you can eat.

 

[JeepHammer]

Please witness a pathetic harvest.

View attachment 154483
I am refering to the corola potato planted at 5-4-23 (ascending date ordering)

I've given up on 'Planting' potatoes entirely. You beat them into the ground, you beat them out of the ground, and you try to keep the bugs off them while they are growing.

I went with rotten straw and hay bales.
Dig a hole, throw the straw/hay/cut weeds in and plant in that.

Really easy to plant, stupid easy to harvest, too dry or rotten hay is cheap (carry it off for free) and when i want to winterize, cut the plant tops off and throw more hay/straw bales on top to keep the compost from freezing.

Lasts all winter and well into spring. Saves me hauling them into the root cellar and hauling them back out of the root cellar.

 

[D71]

Word of caution with potatoes

"""Solanine

• According to 11 sources

When exposed to light, potatoes produce a toxin called solanine. In very large amounts, solanine can be harmful to humans. Greening in potatoes is a potential indicator of solanine, but peeling and trimming green areas can remove most of the toxin. Solanine can also cause a bitter flavor in potatoes."""

Are Green Potatoes Poisonous?

Green potatoes may be more likely to contain a toxin but may be safe to eat with proper preparation. Learn about green potatoes and how to prepare them.

www.healthline.com

www.hoaxorfact.com| 502: Bad gateway

The Claim: Green Potatoes Are Poisonous (Published 2007)

It sounds like a joke, or perhaps just an urban legend that grew out of Dr. Seuss’s “Green Eggs and Ham.”

www.nytimes.com

Best not to store Potatoes in the sun light. need dry dark place LOOK UP ROOT CELLAR.

If you bake potatoes usually best not to store a potato in aluminum foil either .

Baked potatoes in aluminum foil botulism - Food Blog

How long can you keep baked potatoes in foil? Usually the local health department determines how long you can hold them, which is typically no more than two hours, but I recommend no more than 45 minutes to keep the integrity of the potato, as the base will turn dark brown and outer skin will...

eatatrasa.com

 

[brandnewb]

I've given up on 'Planting' potatoes entirely. You beat them into the ground, you beat them out of the ground, and you try to keep the bugs off them while they are growing.

I went with rotten straw and hay bales.
Dig a hole, throw the straw/hay/cut weeds in and plant in that.

Really easy to plant, stupid easy to harvest, too dry or rotten hay is cheap (carry it off for free) and when i want to winterize, cut the plant tops off and throw more hay/straw bales on top to keep the compost from freezing.

Lasts all winter and well into spring. Saves me hauling them into the root cellar and hauling them back out of the root cellar.

I am hanging in there. BTW that 5-4-23 pot was the harvest what I was referring to. That single pot of potatoes came out of a single bag.

I have around 50 more of those bags still growing. Not all bags will have a crap harvest like I showed. In the end I will have more potatoes then I know what to do with

 

[brandnewb]

Word of caution with potatoes

"""Solanine

• According to 11 sources

When exposed to light, potatoes produce a toxin called solanine. In very large amounts, solanine can be harmful to humans. Greening in potatoes is a potential indicator of solanine, but peeling and trimming green areas can remove most of the toxin. Solanine can also cause a bitter flavor in potatoes."""

Are Green Potatoes Poisonous?

Green potatoes may be more likely to contain a toxin but may be safe to eat with proper preparation. Learn about green potatoes and how to prepare them.

www.healthline.com

www.hoaxorfact.com| 502: Bad gateway

The Claim: Green Potatoes Are Poisonous (Published 2007)

It sounds like a joke, or perhaps just an urban legend that grew out of Dr. Seuss’s “Green Eggs and Ham.”

www.nytimes.com

Best not to store Potatoes in the sun light. need dry dark place LOOK UP ROOT CELLAR.

If you bake potatoes usually best not to store a potato in aluminum foil either .

Baked potatoes in aluminum foil botulism - Food Blog

How long can you keep baked potatoes in foil? Usually the local health department determines how long you can hold them, which is typically no more than two hours, but I recommend no more than 45 minutes to keep the integrity of the potato, as the base will turn dark brown and outer skin will...

eatatrasa.com

yes, thank you. I will not be eating these first few potato harvest.
I think I can already see some green tint on them.

 

[D71]

yes, thank you. I will not be eating these first few potato harvest.
I think I can already see some green tint on them.

you can cut it away for the green on potatoes. Sometimes green is chlorophyll, I think it takes a lot of solanine to do - serious damage but it can make ppl sick - cut it away. If it is real bitter tasting then most definitely cut away. Never store damaged potatoes. Prepare salvage them right away.

I grew up on a farm. I didn't like it. hahaha

If research ... You will be amazed at how many fruits and vegetables are poisonous.... it is their defense mechanism to survive.

 

[brandnewb]

it is their defense mechanism to survive.

wow, amazing how I am defending my self to survive only to find that plants are doing the same.

the word play alone