When I shared a photo of the 50 pound sack of potatoes in my weekly grocery update, there were so many questions in the comment section wondering how on earth how I was going to store them, I figured I might as well snap a few photos and show you how to store potatoes long term.
Maybe you’re worried about rising food prices, or you grew too many this year. Or maybe you’ve come across a great deal on potatoes at the grocery store. Or you’re just like me and pretty much loathe grocery shopping in general and would love nothing more than to buy a winter’s worth of groceries and hole up until next spring.
Whatever your reasons are for wanting to learn about how to store them, this is the method I use to store potatoes the long term.
How To Store Potatoes Long Term
First, I buy a giant bag of potatoes. If I plan on storing potatoes over the winter months and didn’t grow the potatoes myself, I tend to buy them from a local farmstand.
I do this for the simple reason that I know the potatoes will be fresh vs. having sat in some giant warehouse who knows where for months waiting to be shipped to grocery stores.
Then I tear open the bag and check for any blemishes on the potatoes. I do this because during the inspection and bagging process there is always the possibility a bad potato was missed.
And this time around there was 1 rotten potato.
And that rotten potato spread it’s goo onto another potato. So this is why you need to be super vigilant when it comes to checking any sort of produce before storing it for winter. You just never know.
I also like to pull any potatoes that have been nicked by tools or machinery. I put these potatoes in a paper bag and keep them in the kitchen and use them first. Only the perfect potatoes make it into the long term storage box.
Some years I’ve used wooden crates and other years I’ve used boxes and I’ve found that it really doesn’t matter as long as there is some sort of ventilation happening in your container.
This year I used ordinary cardboard boxes {because that’s what I had}. I cut slits into the sides of the cardboard box {all the way around} for ventilation.
I then lined the bottom of the box with recycled packing paper.
And then I added a little shredded newspaper.
And added a layer of potatoes. Followed by another round of shredded paper.
And another round of potatoes. I did this until the box was full and all my potatoes were tucked in nice and cozy.
And then it was time to box them up move them to a cool dark place {basement, cellar, etc.}.
If you keep potatoes in a cool, DARK, dry place {roughly 45-55 degrees} they should last quite awhile this way {all winter if your conditions are ideal}. Also, it’s best to check your potatoes monthly. If you find a rotten one, be sure and remove it from the box immediately.
So that’s pretty much it. That’s how I store my potatoes for the long term. 🙂
Have a great day everyone,
~Mavis
P.S. Anyone want to make a guess as to how long it will take us to go through 50 pounds of spuds?
Brianna says
My neighbor always gives us a 50-60lb bag of red and one of russet potatoes from a local farm. I think he pays $8/bag so it is a great deal, They are the ugly ones that cannot make it commercially and we get some odd shapes and sizes. I haven’t been successful at storing them beyond 2 months. My garage isn’t heated and often will be below freezing in the winter and my house has no attic or basement or even a storage room or closet. I literally leave the bags on the floor on the edge of my pantry cabinet. They are dry and unwashed, but I cannot keep them cool and dark. I might try doing the box and paper method to see if I get a longer life out of them. Especially the reds, they seem to get soft and grow first.
Joann says
You might try her method but pack the paper a bit heavier and place them in your garage with a thermometer buried in the box with them. Keep an eye on the temperature and adjust the packing to alter the temperature if needed by adding more or removing the shredded paper. Or moving it into the coolest room or closet in your house. And you’ll still need to ventilate the box.
Or do you have a shed. I’ve had to experiment a great deal in my long years of preserving my harvest, lol
Jaime says
When you say “check your potatoes monthly” — do you fully unpack the boxes/thoroughly check each potato? Or just open the box and see if it smells like potato rot? Or a middle-ground of rooting around in the boxes and making sure nothing squishes? Unpacking fully seems like a lot of work, but just opening and sniffing or fumbling around for ick seems kindof risky. Thanks!
Mavis Butterfield says
I open the box and root around a bit to make sure there is no wetness {rotten potato} and nothing smells funky. I have a friend who is supper obsessive about it though and checks each and every one. 🙂
Margo says
Living in a warm climate, we can’t store potatoes too long, but I do have one guest room that stays cooler than the rest of the house and as we haven’t had any recent guests it has become my storage area. I grew 18lbs of potatoes in my garden, and I’ve had them stored in that room. Some are starting to sprout now, but they have been there for a few months. Think I’ll try your method next year and see what happens.
Jeanine says
Just for fun….I’m going to guess that the 50 lbs of potatoes will last you until Feb 14th, 2022.
Thanks for info. I don’t buy that many potatoes, but I do store them in a cool and dark closet. They last pretty well.
Carolina Cooper says
According to Mavis’ post today—they have lasted in to April!!!
Margery Erckert says
We used to get a 50 pound bag of dirty potatoes for storage, and they would last almost all winter.
Stacie says
Does the same storage process work for sweet potatoes?
Mavis Butterfield says
Yes!
Jennifer says
Glad someone asked because we don’t eat a lot of potatoes, but I do like to stock up on sweet potatoes at Thanksgiving because they will super cheap – last year they were .29# here in NC and I didn’t buy as much as j wanted because I was worried they would go bad.
Mavis, I was in our WM and pumpkins here are $3.28.
Linda says
We store our potatoes (2 bushels for the two of us) by putting them in the net bags citrus comes in and hanging them from the ceiling in our root cellar.
A. Stevison says
Beginning of March will be my guess for potato consumption. Making loads of the green tomato curry recipe you posted years back. I love the recipes you shared from Jane.
Tiffany F says
April 16, 2022. 🙂
Mindy says
March 31, 2022.
Linda Hart says
Mavis would you please tell about Hoosier farm powders. How you use the product and any advice on this subject. Thank you sooo much. I so enjoy your sharing your journey with us. BLESSINGS Linda Hart
Heather says
Feb 28, 2022
I should try this with the bag of potatoes Costco sells. It is so much cheaper than the local stores, but I never knew how to store them.
Marti says
I grow my own potatoes and when they start to sprout because I haven’t used them quickly enough, I make hash browns. I boil the potatoes with the skin on al dente (very important), skin, and put through the Cuisinart on the shredder blade and freeze on a cookie sheet. I do score the cookies sheet into 8 pieces–use my pizza cutter. When frozen they break apart easily into 8 servings and put in freezer bags. They come in handy for lots of meals.
Kathy Wolfe says
My guess is March 1st.
Linda Practical Parsimony says
I store sweet potatoes in paper bags or canvas bags, so dark, and under the tv table which is a coffee table because the temperature is right. One year, I bought 120 pounds of Beauregard. Tommy goes through them about once a month, potato by potato, to find any going off. He pulls out suspects and I cook those next. This year, I can store them in a bedroom. Humidity is important, too.
May 10, 2022
Natasha says
SO Im guessing if you dont have a basement or anything like that in your home in the PNW… theres likely no way to do this? Id love to, but we lack in storage space and have no basements or whichever.
Heather says
I don’t know the official answer, but we don’t have a basement in Nevada either. I just boxes some up that I got from the store and put them in the garage. I will check them in a month or when we need them to see if it works.
Michelle Stroud says
I run into the same lack of a temperature controlled storage space here in Eastern NC as well. I live in a single-wide mobile home, and while putting them underneath the home would keep them in the dark and cool during a decent spring… once summer gets here, that’s out of the question. Our temps get hot quick, and I don’t know if the underside of our trailer stays that cool when it’s 90+ degrees outside. But I am reading through all ideas, so maybe one will work out for me. I would love to grow my own potatoes.