"My question is - can't I just wash the dirt off them and cook them now? And if I'm not going to use them all at once, do I wash them, dry them, store in the fridge, or just brush the dirt off, and store in the fridge?

Sure you can wash the dirt off them and cook them now but the flavor will be very bland by comparison to those that are allowed to cure. With curing time a lot of enzyme activity happens. Much of the carbs convert to sugars and the brix and pH of the potato increases.

As for the rest washing stored potatoes only encourages the skins to break down faster so dry scrubbing - removing the dirt by hand - insures longer storage time.

Ideally you'd have a much better place to store them than the fridge - root cellars or a cool dark basement corner are preferred - but if the fridge is all you have then just dry scrub them and store in the vegetable bin.

Dave

Yes, refrigerator is the only place that is cool at all here. Our basement is pretty warm. Great - so dry scrubbing - what kind of brush do you use and you try not to break the skin, right? Do you put them in a plastic bag or loose in the vegetable bin? How long do you leave them there to 'cure' before you use them?

No brush. Dry scrubbing is just with your hands, just removing any dirt you can easily get off with your hands. No plastic bags, only hastens rotting. They need air circulation as much as cool temps so the vegetable bin is the best location in the fridge. If you have a lot of them so they can be in a single layer you'll need to rotate them around every few days to keep them from rotting.

You let them cure as long as you can, a couple of weeks minimum, longer is better but if they begin to sprout, use them.

If you are planning to regularly grow potatoes then you need to give some thought to building them a storage place and all sorts of plans are available on the web. Even a hole 2-3 feet down in the ground lined with straw and covered with a piece of insulboard is better than the fridge. Or you can always can or dehydrate them as many of us do for indefinite storage.

Dave

Thanks, the first batch just had my hands to brush them off so I'll go ahead and do that with the second batch. This was my first time growing them and they were pretty easy. I guess it depends on how they taste. :-)

I have had good results just leaving mine in the ground here at my home garden in Zone 4, and at my cabin garden in Zone 3. I dig them in early to mid October after a dry spell, and lay them out on cardboard on the floor of the garage until cured.

Ours are stored in cardboard boxes covered with newspapers in the basement to keep out the light, which is minimal down there anyways.

We eat them through January, then let them sit in the basement in the dark sprouting eyes and runners until we plant them again in the spring.

I would imagine that in other zones, potatoes left in the ground until October might rot or start re-sprouting.

The potatoes that I miss in my beds regrow in the spring as volunteers, and are often very productive themselves.

Thanks for that information. That might be something I could try next year.

I grow about 3 rows a year in my garden. Depending on the variety I grew, the vines will die off in August or September. I just leave them in the ground until mid-October and just dig them up as I need them. By Mid-October, the cooler weather and rains means the soil usually doesn't dry out anymore so I try and harvest any remaining potatoes by then as I have heavy clay soil (too much mud if digging them later in the season!).

I normally put those dug late season in the garage out of direct sunlight and cure for a few days then move indoors. I spread them out on the garage floor and/or on my picnic table to get good air flow so they dry off nicely. Nothing worse than storing potatoes too moist as soft rot will happen in no time and you could loose a lot of them.

Annie - I grew Purple Viking for the first time this year. I’ll be interested to see what they taste like after they are cured. I wonder about ‘new potatoes’ though. I guess that is what I was thinking of, when I thought of just washing them up and cooking them right away. Do you use ‘new’ potatoes right away? How big are they when they are 'new'? Do more potatoes grow under the plant, after you pick new potatoes?

How do you turn a back room into a root cellar? Do you have the ability to turn the heat down separately?

SpartanApples - Thanks, out of the sun, right. Do you not have to worry about the temperature outdoors when they are curing?

Prairie:

No I do not worry about my garage being too hot for the short time I dry and cure my spuds. They are not there long enough to shrivel or cook in the heat. At that time of year in my area, the nights are cool and only heats up in the afternoon.

I LOVE the taste of fresh, NEW potatoes. They are just rock hard when you pick them while young and still growing. A real treat. As soon as big enough to harvest is the way to go. Usually too small to bother peeling, so just boil and enjoy one of the most amazing tastes of summer. People rant about that first tomato of the season, but give me NEW potatoes any day. Great topped with dill or parsley.

Although Annie's comment of creamed peas & new potatoes sounds good too! Perhaps throw in some salmon patties along with this ? (sorry, now I an showing my age).

Prairie, the "new" potatoes were just tiny potatoes that were cooked whole and mixed with peas in a cream sauce. Grandma would dig around the hills with her fingers and find the small potatoes to cook. I think it was just some of the first spring vegetables we could harvest, although most were left to get larger and then be stored for winter.

I'm lucky to have a small room that was built onto the end of my house. It was intended to be a garage, it still has the big overhead garage door, so it doesn't hold the heat well. Our geothermal heating system is back there, along with some shelves. So, being attached to the house, it never freezes, but with that big door it never gets very warm either. Somehow I have lucked into the perfect temperature for storing root crops and other vegetables! I stack things right along the big fieldstone outer wall and the stone keeps things relatively stable temperature wise.

Annie

SpartanApples - Right, I see, you are harvesting closer to fall, not like this week with our very hot temperatures. We will definitely have to try new potatoes next year. ‘Salmon Patties’ shows your age? [g] Not to me it didn’t. :-)

Annie - Wow, you are very lucky with the structure you have for what sounds like a perfect root cellar. It must be nice to have had a gardener in your family growing up too.

Sounds like both of you have been growing potatoes for a long time, what is your favorite variety?

Prairie:

I am partial to Superior (U of WI introduction) since I worked on some research with that variety when I was in college one summer for an internship many years ago. It is a large white potato that is ready in Mid-August. Somewhat flattened in shape. Great yield and flavor.

This year I grew Norland red potatoes as I had access to about 25 pounds of free potato sets of this variety. The price was right so I could not pass them up. I like reds for potato salads ( best served with Usinger's brand wiener wurst-natural casing and an ice cold beer).

SpartanApples - Sorry to take so long to respond, it's been a busy week. [g]

Thanks for sharing your favorite variety of potato. I'm going to have to look for that one next season. Like your idea for a classic summer meal. :-) Do you know yet, whether you like the Norland Red, yet?

Prairie:

My Norlands are all done and ready to harvest. Since I still have some store bought spuds to finish up yet in the house, I have not yet harvested any of my Norland. Since I like red potatoes for boiling, I am sure Norland will taste well. I am anxious to find out how the yield and potato size is once I dig some up. Perhaps in a week.