Storing Spuds - Humidity

[Rhys]

I keep my spuds under the stairs, in an unheated room.

They always seem to sprout this time of year - I've been keeping a check on temperature and rel. humidity.

They keep fine early on when it can be 15 deg C and 70% rel humidity - as soon as the cold weather arrives it falls to 10 deg and 40% rel. humidity- and they sprout.

According to various sources, they need to be stored in a place with high humidity to prevent sprouting. Does low humidity really induce sprouting?

[Rhys]

[Cuke]

I was talking to my Grandad last night and he was telling me how he used to dig a trench, line it with straw, put his potatoes in then another leyer of straw before covering it all over with soil and they used to keep all winter...

Never heard of that before, and I don't know with hindsight if he ment kept to eat or kept to plant again the next year but I thought it sounded interesting anyway...

[djbrenton]

That's a similar method to what's called a 'clamp', a commonly used method in Ireland.

[Rhys]

I was talking to my Grandad last night and he was telling me how he used to dig a trench, line it with straw, put his potatoes in then another leyer of straw before covering it all over with soil and they used to keep all winter...

Never heard of that before, and I don't know with hindsight if he ment kept to eat or kept to plant again the next year but I thought it sounded interesting anyway...

I've never been brave enough to try this, I think it would be a perfect place for the many mice in my garden?