It can be challenging to store potatoes in Florida due to the consistently warm climate and the lack of basements or root cellars. I was determined to find the best storage method given these challenges so I set out on an experiment to test three different ways of storing potatoes. I’ll share the results and let you know which methods worked and which didn’t.
The Harvest and Preparation
Four months ago, I harvested my white potatoes from my backyard garden. I grew three different varieties: Yukon Gold, Cal White, and Golden Nugget. While the Yukon Golds have been hit or miss in my garden, the Cal White and Golden Nugget varieties performed outstandingly. The Golden Nugget has become my new favorite. It’s just so tasty and produces nice big potatoes, which is a rarity here in Florida due to our short growing season. To learn more about growing potatoes in Florida check out this post.
Because it was getting too hot, I had to harvest my potatoes a bit early. Since the temperatures were already well above 80°F, the potatoes were not going to grow much better. Instead I risked them rotting in the ground due to our rainy season. Because of this the skins were very soft and easily damaged. This means that I needed to cure them before storing them. To cure them, I laid them out in a dark, low-traffic room with towels covering them for 2 weeks. This allowed the skins to become tougher which will help with the storability.
Storage Method 1: Cool Room Under the Bed
Potatoes prefer storage temperatures between 45°F and 55°F, which is a challenge here in Florida. We just don’t have a place in our homes that maintain this low of temperatures. Many houses in Florida don’t have basements or root cellars because we are so close to the water tables. Instead, I chose the coolest room in my house to store my potatoes.
My spare bedroom is always a couple degrees cooler than the rest of my house. I keep my air conditioner at 72°F throughout the year but this room usually sits at about 68°F. I wrapped each potato in newspaper and placed them in a bin, stored them under the bed. The newpaper allows each potato to breath but blocks the light which usually cause potatoes to sprout. This method aimed to simulate a dark, cool environment similar to a root cellar, or as close as we can get in a warm climate.
Results: When I checked after four months, many of the potatoes had just started to sprout, although they were all still firm and edible. Overall, this method worked but I expect they will only last 6 months rather than a year that some gardeners get. The sprouting was a bit disappointing, as I hoped the darkness and cool temperature would prevent it. However, it was encouraging to see that the potatoes were still edible after 4 months this way.
Storage Method 2: Paper Bag in a Warmer Area
The second way I attempted to store my harvested potatoes was in a paper bag in a warmer, more light-exposed area of the house. I wanted to see if there was a big difference in the outcome between this room and my spare bedroom. My laundry room, which stays around 73°F has more light and tends to be a tad warmer given it’s location next to my garage. Garages here in Florida can be sweltering. This making it one of the warmer spots in the house. Also, since we often use this room, light is much more present.
Results: Surprisingly, the results were similar to the cooler room. These potatoes, also, had some sprouting and remained relatively firm. This tells me that the couple of degree difference and the difference in light wasn’t a big contributing factor for storing these potatoes. I suspect that the light difference was very minimal given the paper bag they were placed in and the temperature difference of 5 degrees was also not large enough to impact the longevity of the storage.
Storage Method 3: Refrigerator
Despite common advice against it, I decided to test storing potatoes in our garage fridge. Normally you don’t want to store potatoes in the refrigerator because it can cause the starch in the potatoes to convert to sugars. When cooked, these sugars can impact the taste as well as possible increase acrylamide which may increase risks of cancer, although additional studies are needed. To avoid this issue, I reduced the temperature of my refridgerator to 45°F to avoid excessive cold that can convert starches to sugars. I used my extra refrigerator that we keep in the garage to store drinks for this experiment. You would not want to adjust the temperature of your primary fridge since this could make your other foods soil. If you don’t own an extra fridge, you could purchase a small dorm style fridge for your potato storage.
Results: This method yielded the best results! The potatoes were perfect—no sprouting, firm, and looked as good as the day I stored them. This was a surprising success, proving that adjusting the fridge temperature can make it a viable storage option. The downside is the need for a second fridge where you can control the temperature specifically for storing potatoes. Additionally, you would also want to soak your potatoes in water for 30 minutes before using them to cook with in case the temperatures in the fridge caused an increase in acrylamide.
Conclusion
In summary, storing potatoes in a controlled refrigerator environment worked best, even outperforming the cooler room and warmer area methods. For those of us in warm climates without basements or root cellars, this could help to extend our potatoes shelf life. Other options would be to preserve the potatoes in other ways such as dehydrating, canning, freeze drying, and freezing. There are a lot of great recipes like this one from the National Center for Home Food Preservation.
If you live in a warm climate, how do you store your potatoes? Are you inspired to try one of these methods? Share your experiences and thoughts in the comments below. Happy gardening!
