Allotments 4 All
Allotment Stuff => The Basics => Topic started by: Alex133 on January 25, 2012, 06:44:14
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I'd like mine to last until next lot start cropping - do you think there's any hope, what's the longest any of you manage?
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In a good year we often keep potatoes till the new crop is ready.
When we had blight a few years ago we were throwing away the new potatoes in August, and still eating the last years which were ok.
Onions are more of a problem for me though.
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Garlic lasts the longest, sometimes I am still eating the last lot when the new ones are harvested! I don't grow enough spuds to keep huge quantities, but we ate the last ones in December which I thought was good going - they were starting to sprout though. I am still eating my onions, and still have a few kilos left so I might be able to make it, but usually I have to buy them for the last month or so. Echalotes keep very well, and I usually make it through the year with my harvest.
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i keep mine for a year till i harvest new my spuds have run out but i have a large family otherwise i would never run out
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Parsnips are the the only veg that lasts me all year round, although I have plenty of spuds left and a few Shallots and the moment. :D
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Garlic and chilis are the only thing I dont have to buy at some point - my plot is not big. I get a good 8-10 months of spuds and onions.
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Alex,
Depends a lot on variety. I've got PFA potatoes and Desiree lasting well, but Kerrs Pink have all gone soft and started sprouting
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For potatoes, it depends on the variety and the storage conditions. Store them in a cool, frost free place. Choose varieties that have long dormancy, ie are very slow to sprout. One of the best long dormancy potatoes is Axona, still good in April.
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Parsnips are the the only veg that lasts me all year round, although I have plenty of spuds left and a few Shallots and the moment. :D
Is that frozen? I cannot keep them much past February as they sprout :-\
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If you keep them cool enough, the potatoes should last through to the new ones without a problem (so long as you have grown enough). Of the ones I grow, Desiree keeps best. The problem is they all start sprouting if they start warming up.
Onions also last right through to the next, but I find I need to grow both autumn and spring planting onions. Some of last years autumn sown onions are already going a little soft, so I shall get them used up as soon as possible, but the spring sown onions will easily last until this years autumn sown onions are ready.
Shallots keep much longer usually.
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We have 2 plots and run out of spuds by end of December. I have enough onions to last until around late march but will then be out until harvest in August. It all depends on what variety you grow and more to the point how much of your plot is given to grow what you want to store and how much of it you eat.
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We still have 2 bags of desiree left and they are still firm and un-shooted ;D
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My PFAs are just beginning to sprout. They aren't soft but unusually dry this year. perhaps growing them in a raised bed with the dryness caused it. However they're are keeping better than usual probably because of that. I've masses of garlic still on the go and chillies- we use quite a lot. I rarely get past Dec/Jan with onions. Christmas is usually the limit. I'm still digging carrots which is a new success. I usually plan to move onto other winter crops and to bring on pasta and rice in the potato gap! ;)
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I still have some in the ground, digging them up as and when. They are in pretty good condition too. Fortyfold main crop.
I don't normally do this but ran out of time for lifting in the autumn because of stuff I was doing in the house and garden.
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I still have some in the ground, digging them up as and when. They are in pretty good condition too. Fortyfold main crop.
I don't normally do this but ran out of time for lifting in the autumn because of stuff I was doing in the house and garden.
If it wasn't for slugs I reckon that's a good idea- how many times have taters in the ground that you missed and found later seemed better than the ones you have dug up, cleaned, carefully stored :D :D
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Before the white rot hit, :'( I hadn't bought an onion in years. I kept them (Sturon, usually, Stuttgarter Giant sometimes) hung in a cool dimmish room, in old tights separated off by knots so I could isolate the odd early softened ones. Once the new crop was ready I chopped and froze what were left. Tesco for me now I'm afraid, and the pack I bought 6 weeks ago are softening already....
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As long as you store them correctly (I tend to keep mine in hessian sacks) they should last you at least a few months. Keep them out of the light and in frost free conditions and they should last as long as you need them. That's not very long in my family!
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I have just given away my stored Pink Fur Apple from 2011. They were kept in the shed in a potato sack and were fine
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As last year was our 1st proper season,I have no other experience in keeping tatters and onions.
but we still have PFA,s in hession sax in the plot shed along with KEddies.
We have some shallots also left but our big onions went ages ago.
Gazza
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Pink fir apple certainly seem to keep well. I've just made a bowl of poatao salad from the last of ours (apart from those that are on the heap). :D Cheers, Tony.
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As others have said depends on variety and conditions. Our spuds didn't keep as well this year. I think the warm autumn and early winter didn't help - they all starting sprouting. We got through Christmas but ended out chucking a load which was sad
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Following on from realfood's post, this site gives dormancy expectations among other things:
http://www.europotato.org/menu.php (http://www.europotato.org/menu.php)
It's a bit of a faff to navigate but it's in there somewhere.
Geoff.
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Mine are still sprouting merrily but I pull those off and even though the potatoes (Desiree & Cara) feel soft they cook perfectly well and haven't got any nasty bits inside - unlike shop potatoes that may have been sprayed and kept in cold storage for yonks.
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Good point Alex- I'd rather eat a spud of my own than one which has had chemicals sprayed on it to stop it sprouting. It is amazing how they come right when cooked.