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| Storing Potatoes In Clamps |
Last Autumn - after harvesting most of my maincrop potatoes - I decided to try leaving some in the ground over winter. The variety - Pink Fir Apple.
Clamping - keeping root crops in the ground - is an old way of storing and preserving crops.
Some growers build clamps from well draining material such as sand.
Crops left in waterlogged soil are likely to rot.
My plot is fairly free draining - so all I did was earth up the rows of potatoes some more.
Just before Christmas I dug some up - with good results.
See my earlier post:
Sunday On The Allotment - Winter Harvest
But I didn't have time to harvest them all, so left about half a row in the ground. When I returned to my plot this month, I didn't expect any of the potatoes to be left in an edible state.
But I dug up the row anyway - and was pleasantly surprised they were in good condition - and had a decent amount to take home.
So - I'll definitely give this a try again this year - and maybe try clamping other root crops such as carrots.
Visit my website - Allotment Growing
- for lots more information, growing tips and photos:
Allotment Growing
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Allotment Growing - Backyard Potatoes
I am growing potatoes for the first time this year (fingerlings). I only planted two short rows and if we have any kind of harvest it will be way more than two of us can eat. I've been considering how to store them and wondered about leaving them in the ground. Here in the Seattle area we don't get very harsh winters though some nights can go down a bit. I've left beets in the ground and most are ok though a few have chew marks on them.
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