Can I refrigerate seed potatoes to keep them from sprouting?

I have a number of potatoes I would like to use for seed potatoes for planting next year -- February or March. Can I keep them in the refrigerator until then to keep them from sprouting? We have a concrete tornado shelter, but it only stays about 20 degrees cooler than whatever the outside temp is, so I don't think that's cool enough in this summer heat. Not sure what the temp is there in winter.

Thanks,

Karen

That's what we do and it seems to work well. We put them in a brown bag in the vegetable bin. If they sprout a bit by the time you're going to plant, that's a good thing.

ComportR,

Thank you for your reply. I was worried that I couldn't keep them that many months. I have the original little plastic mesh bags the different kinds came in, so I can put them by variety in the bags and have them all labeled for next year.

Karen

The best temps for storage are around 35 to 37; that should keep them pretty dormant. Air circulation would be helpful, too, but in a home fridge that might be difficult. Regular checking on them for any excess moisture would be a good idea, eh?

And with that being said, off to dig some more spuds for supper tonite. Hmmm, maybe this time boiled and served in a basil and butter sauce? Yummy!

Shoe

Shoe,

I'll check the temp in my meat storage bin and also the vegetable bin and see what I get. Thanks for the temps. Now, I know for sure my tornado shelter will be way too warm at least several months.

Karen

Tornado shelter? Sheesh, I envy you! Wish I had one!

We've stored taters thru the Winter here in crates full of straw before. I think that helped keep them at a steady temperature, not heating and cooling, and worked great. However, those were taters we dug towards the end of the year so I doubt it would work during the months of August/September. The only other thing I know to do is dig a big hole and line it with straw/leaves and use it as a mini-root cellar.

shoe

Shoe,

Tornado shelter came with the property. Personally, lightning worries me more than tornadoes since we have much more of that and are surrounded by heavily wooded areas. Tornadoes here appear to follow the main highways, not coming up to this area of the boonies.

Yes, it's getting them through the rest of the summer, August and September, that I am most concerned with. Once the temp cools down I can move them to the shelter, I believe.

Karen

I must be dyslexic - I kept reading "Tomato Shelter" and wondering what was that? : )
Oh, Tornado...

Anyway, just wanted to add - check through your seed spuds once in a while to toss any that get moldy. Other than that, should work fine.

I've had mine in the fridge since spring, in one of those perforated plastic ziplocks that are supposed to keep veggies fresh. Seems to be working just fine! I'm shooting for a fall planting, starting probably in October, since growing them in the spring was a total bust with our high & dry temps.

Shoe, that was a low blow, "boiled and served in a basil and butter sauce"! If I hadn't already eaten dinner tonight, I'd be off to your house--and it's a bit of a drive! :)

CompostR, tucsonjill,

Thanks for the advice. I'm going to dig them up for storage tomorrow.

Shoe,

My last remark to you about the lightning was on July 22nd -- an hour later we had a direct lightning strike on the satellite internet dish -- blew the satellite internet equipment and both computers!! Just got the internet back this afternoon -- Wildblue is not speedy with repairs! I've been making inquiries here for several months now regarding getting lightning rods installed on both houses -- not only can't I find anyone who installs them or even sells the parts -- most people don't even know what I'm talking about. Can you believe that? Anyway, now that Wildblue has finally gotten their act together and got me back on the internet, I guess I will have to research on the 'net for how to do it myself and order the parts from there. Sheesh!!

Karen

Yikes, sorry to hear about that lightning strike, Karen. Hope your insurance helped recover some of your expenses!

My Mom's house, in Florida, kept getting hit w/lightning and blowing out her TV (twice!). Come to find out the Power Company didn't have her ground rod fully hooked up. (There should be one that comes off your main meter base/circuit box and a direct hook-up to a ground rod.) Apparently when they built her house it wasn't code back then.

Once they discovered that and had it properly hooked up they've had no problems at all, and they get LOTS of thunderstorms down there in her area. I think you should check your ground rod also, just to be sure. It may mean you won't have to put up any lightning rods (which some folks believe don't really help).

Best,
Shoe
(And WELCOME BACK ONLINE!)

Yikes, Karen! No fun at all, having to deal with recalcitrant service providers. Glad to hear you're back in action!

Hi Shoe,

Homeowner's insurance would have covered it, but there's a $500 deductible. The main meter does have a proper ground. But my contention with the Wildblue people is that their dish was not grounded properly and hence the damage when it took a direct hit. This was not a general strike as we did not lose power in either house, just the computers and internet dish/equipment got fried. They put a ground wire onto the frame of the mobile home, but the frame does not go to ground. It is sitting about a foot and a half off the ground on concrete block piers. However, it's my understanding that "ground" means just that -- it has to be an earth ground or it's not grounded. They keep telling me that they are only required to hook a ground wire to the frame -- but if it doesn't actually go to ground, what's the point? Am I wrong in my thinking about what "grounding" means?

I called the city building inspection department to ask about this. The inspectors are only available from 12:00-12:30 pm. If I can't get through to one, I'll send an e-mail.

Thanks for the welcome back.

Karen

Hi Jill,

Thanks for the welcome back. It was a long two weeks. I had to put my eBay store on vacation hold, but we also had outstanding orders that HAD to be shipped. My daughter used a borrowed computer to process them. But because she usually doesn't do this I had to walk her through the process via phone. Sheesh!!

We only have Wildblue because at the time (two years ago) Wildblue and Hughes Satellite Internet were the only choices, and Wildblue was far cheaper. Wildblue subs out their repair and installation work to an outfit called DSI, and DSI is the source of the slow service. For Wildblue which provides ONLY a "service" you would think that "service" would be their main objective -- apparently not. Many, many people have complaints about poor service because of DSI, many have dropped Wildblue altogether. The fellow who came out to fix my computer told me he dropped WB and went back to dial-up because of poor service from WB. WB is based in a suburb of Denver CO, and I recently read on the internet that the BBB has come down hard on WB over the poor service issue.

I'm looking into changing to Dish Network, which now provides satellite internet via Wildblue. Dish Network has their own service people and is also cheaper to get the equipment ($199.00/lease instead of $350.00/purchase).

As they say, "It ain't over 'til it's over." So, we shall see.

Karen