How to store fresh onions and potatoes in w. washington weather?

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I live in the rainy climate of w. washington does anyone out there know how to store onions and potatoes through the winter. I have an unheated basement with an outside entrance but i'm not sure if it will be to humid. Thanks for your help!

-- Sarah Simmons (barrysgirl96@earthlink.net), October 13, 2001

Answers

My grandparents had no problem with that and they lived in western WA. But their basement was more of a cellar... had dirt floors. By spring the potatoes would be sprouting. Not sure if there is a place anywhere that would prevent that.

-- Toni Rakestraw (dabblmom@aol.com), October 13, 2001.

I live on the Olympic Peninsula. I grow Stugaart onions each year and they keep until the following years harvest. I store them in the garage in plastic baskets and in net bags and they keep well. The potatoes I store in the back garage, in plastic laundry baskets and they keep well. By planting time they have started to sprout. If there are many left by early spring, I peal and cook whatever I don't want to keep for seed, until cooked, but still quite firm, cool, cube, freeze and put in vacuum sealer bags, and use these for fried potatoes. Seems to me your basement should be ok, but if you think there is not enuf ventalation, try storing in laundry baskets stacked with a board or two between so they stack two or three high.

-- Duffy (hazelm@tenforward.com), October 13, 2001.

Sorry, last sentance should add, "in your garage".

-- Duffy (hazelm@tenforward.com), October 13, 2001.

I agree about the laundry baskets. We have stored our potatoes in them for a few years. We have also stored onions in mesh bags. Re: potatoes....I plan to have a lot of sprouts by springtime and store extra potatoes accordingly. At least we have enough potatoes to eat and some more to plant the following spring if we want. This year we have winter squash to store (haven't done this since I was a kid, a million years ago...) It will be interesting to see how that works.

We have stored most of our produce in the garage, north side. So far, so good. Good luck to you.

-- sheepish (WA) (the_original_sheepish@Hotmail.com), October 13, 2001.


I think our weather conditions here in downeast Maine are similar to yours. We store onions (Stutgaart) and potatoes (Red Pontiac) in 5 gal. buckets that have had 1/2" holes drilled in them...sides and bottoms. These buckets are hung from our cellar ceiling to allow air to circulate. Our cellar is rather humid and temps are about 40 to 45 degrees during the winter. Potatoes and onions last well into March and April.

-- Marcia (HrMr@webtv.net), October 14, 2001.


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