# Need some help with potatoes



## dwight55 (Nov 9, 2012)

My father in law has been dead for a number of years. But he used to grow a boat load of taters every summer, . . . to keep the family fed during the winter.

He did not have a cellar or basement, . . . so he resorted to "hilling them in".

As I recall, . . . he dug a hole, . . . lined it with straw, . . . put in the taters, . . . covered them with straw, . . . then covered the whole thing with about 6 or 8 inches of dirt.

I only saw the result of it once, . . . long before I ever thought of prepping, . . . and wanted to know if anyone on here "hills in" their taters, . . . and if you do, . . . do I recall correctly???

I'm going to can some, . . . but wanted some for just regular eating, . . . 

May God bless,
Dwight


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## Illini Warrior (Jan 24, 2015)

could have animal problems .... suggest a buried bucket if you are going to root cellar outdoors ....


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## Mad Trapper (Feb 12, 2014)

That's the idea. I think you need to be deeper in OH for frost.

I'd never try it here as the varmints (voles mice) would make a hotel, and be happy, warm, and well fed all winter. Then twice the rodent problem next spring.

I still have taters, well sprouted now, that are edible from last year in the root cellar.

P.S. would be a PITA to go get taters when the frost is 2' deep and 3' of snow on top of that.


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## jimb1972 (Nov 12, 2012)

Illini Warrior said:


> could have animal problems .... suggest a buried bucket if you are going to root cellar outdoors ....


I am pretty sure they will rot in a bucket. I think I read something about this type of food storage in one of my foxfire books, I will look for it tomorrow if nobody else has the info.


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## azrancher (Dec 14, 2014)

This would be similar to how to store eggs during the winter when the hens aren't laying, you build a wood enclosure next to your house, layer in eggs and lime and more eggs and lime until it's full, then you remove eggs during the winter as needed.

What you are really doing is making an ice box, both in the case of the taters and the eggs, both will last 6 months in a fridge.

*Rancher*


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## Illini Warrior (Jan 24, 2015)

jimb1972 said:


> I am pretty sure they will rot in a bucket. I think I read something about this type of food storage in one of my foxfire books, I will look for it tomorrow if nobody else has the info.


nope - they even bury old chest freezers into the ground for the same purpose .... need some insulation in there somewhere for the northern climes ...


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## Mad Trapper (Feb 12, 2014)

Illini Warrior said:


> nope - they even bury old chest freezers into the ground for the same purpose .... need some insulation in there somewhere for the northern climes ...


https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/vegetables/potato/storing-potatoes-in-ground.htm

How to Store Potatoes in a Pit Creating a potato pit is a simple matter. First, locate an area outdoors that remains fairly dry, such as a slope or hill. Don't choose a spot where rainwater tends to pool, as the stored spuds will rot. When creating a potato pit, dig a 1- to 2-foot deep pit at a width dependent upon the number of potatoes you wish to store. Then fill the bottom of the pit with 3 inches of clean, dry straw and place the potatoes atop in a single layer. You may store up to two bushels of potatoes in a single pit or 16 dry gallons if you can't wrap your brain around a peck or a bushel. Add another deep layer of straw on top of the potatoes, between 1 and 3 feet deep, depending upon the severity of the weather in your region. Finally, put the previously excavated soil from the pit back on top, covering the newly laid straw until it is at least 3 inches thick and no straw is exposed. In extreme climates or just for additional protection, you can dig the pit deeper than recommended above and put a clean plastic barrel at a 45-degree angle into the pit. Fill the barrel with the tubers and place a lid on it, loosely closed. Then follow instructions above beginning with covering the barrel with 1-3 feet of straw. Using potato pits for winter storage should protect the spuds for 120 days or at least through the winter months.

Read more at Gardening Know How: Storing Potatoes In Ground: Using Potato Pits For Winter Storage https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/vegetables/potato/storing-potatoes-in-ground.htm


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## Deebo (Oct 27, 2012)

Sweet.


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## Smitty901 (Nov 16, 2012)

Storage , correct temp kept constant, no light, correct moisture. get one wrong it goes bad, get it right they keep. many ways to do it . Here we use root cellars.


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## MikeTango (Apr 13, 2018)

Around here, the old timers do it pretty much the way you described. My neighbor does it that way but under a shed roof or in an open air barn. Prolly because of the amount of rain we get. Here at my place we’ve received 48.5” of rain so far this year! Anyway, he digs a shallow (12”) hole then scatters a layer of pine straw. He keeps the potatoes in a thin layer one or two deep. More pine straw and then covers with dirt. I would imagine you could do this with any root vegetable. 

Another neighbor tells me his father always saved seed potatoes from his harvest for next year’s crop. Place potatoes on a rack for good air circulation and keep in a cool dark place.



Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro


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## Mad Trapper (Feb 12, 2014)

How you treat them when harvesting is also very important.

If possible, harvest during a dry stretch of weather and spread them out in the sun to dry; don't wash them. Turn them daily and bring in or cover evenings. Do this for several days. Too long in light and they'll turn green. If they are put up wet they'll rot.

For root cellar they need to be cool, out of light, and humid but not wet. I sort my spuds and transfer to paper shopping bags. The bags keep out light and also allow the spuds to breathe. I use the lower quality ones that might not store as well first. Then move on to the better ones. Save the best for last or next springs seed potatoes. I only buy a few seed potatoes to have several varieties.

If your fields had blight, avoid using them for seed potatoes.


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## SGT E (Feb 25, 2015)

I raise thousands of pounds of potatoes a year and "HILLED" some of them for over 30 years...only 3 or 4 years I had a problem with a couple of potatoes getting eat by mice/moles and mostly it was my fault for not covering the hill back up correctly. Most of my potatoes I raise I give to a place called Christ's hands to feed the poor and kids of sorry ass druggies in Eastern Kentucky....I give to friends...neighbors and only keep a couple hundred pounds for me and the immediate family.

We harvest potatoes right in the middle of the tater field first....use our tiller and a shovel to dig out a 2 foot deep hole and line it with a foot of straw....same place every year makes for easy digging....our "HILL" is about 12 feet across on top and the hole was 2 feet deep and 8 feet across. We fill it with the foot of straw and then taters in a couple of "QUADRANTS"....A third for large taters...a third for medium taters...and a third for green bean type baby taters. Then we cover them with a foot of straw and then a layer of thick plastic....then shovel the dirt back over them at least 18 inches to 2 feet thick. We always had taters! I'd say you could probably size it to any size you would need....I would make it wider rather than taller to keep from bruising potato's. Straw on top and bottom seemed to allow for less moisture and to keep from bruising taters. Whatever taters we need we just dig into the hill on that "QUADRANT" and then take care to cover it back properly.

I was taught this by an old guy that was born up a holler in a log cabin with a root cellar in Eastern Ky in 1909 and never saw a car till 1934..They lived through the Depression and never knew it was even happening.


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## dwight55 (Nov 9, 2012)

OK, . . . those were the most important questions:

Do you wash them - NO

How many layers deep - ONE

Straw above and below - YES

Plastic to cover - YES

My eastern KY grandfather, an aunt, and an uncle, . . . they all had root cellars where they could store the stuff.

My father in law had a 4 room house and 9 kids, . . . and not much more.

Personally, . . . I'd love to have a root cellar, . . . have a really good place to put it, . . . but don't have the time or $$$ to make it happen at the present. But, I do have a bunch of taters that need to be gotten out of the ground, . . . and properly stored. 

Like SGT E, . . . a bunch may just be given away.

May God bless,
Dwight


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