FOOD please help out a land locked preper.

R

RWH

Membership Revoked
Ok

So TimeBomb was the first place I thought to ask for help, I Live in Los Angeles (I Know MOVE NOW) But here I sit.

I found a great deal on Potatoes I would love to stock up on them Like 30 or 40 pounds of fresh potatoes. But I need a way to store them.

I do not have ....
A Basement, that is a hole to have the earthquake to put your house in.
A root cellar.

I do have...
dark mostly cool garages.
Basic knowledge of wood working.
A family that would think that having a years supply of potatoes would be cool.
a way to defend the storage.


I need some idea of how to make a potato storage bin or a way to keep them.

For those of you in areas of the county where food does not come wrapped in plastic. enjoy the laugh ...... then answer.


Thanks
Rwh


BTW I am Dustmushers daughter and her answer is move back to texas while you can. LOL

:confused:
 
Loon

Loon

Inactive
If you are unable to construct some type of root cellar where the temperature would stay very cool then I'd consider dehydrating all the potatoes into potato flakes that you could reconstitute in various ways. I'd hate to see you spend the money to buy that many potatoes and then lose them all.
 
medic38572

medic38572

TB Fanatic
Built yourself a box 5x5 feet in the cool garage or under the house go to lowes or home depo and get several bags of lime and spread it over and under the potatoes? the will keep for some time...
 
sandra

sandra

Inactive
You can jar them up, if you like. I do that with potatoes when I can get a good deal on them.... last year I jarred up 100# of them and have been using them, throughout the year,... I won't have to do them this year.... of course, if I find a deal I can't pass up, I will.

I just chunk mine up into about 1 inch chuncks... skins and all.... the skin on the potato is very nutritious.....into a pan of cold water so they don't discolor while getting them ready... usually I use a roaster bottom to chunk them into... then when I have a bunch done, I dump them into a colander and drain them.

While I am chunking them up, I have put at least 14 quart jars into the oven, set at 250 degrees, to sterlilize them... and also a pan of water set on low with lids in it.... and then when I am ready to jar the potatoes.... I turn up the pan with the lids to get them to a full boil for a bit, put 1 teaspoon salt in the bottom of each quart jar.... if using pints, use 1/2 tsp..... then I fill the jar with the chunks as tightly as I can, fill the jar with water, leaving 1 inch of room at the top, put the lid on, screw on a jar rim and put in the pressure cooker. You will want to follow the directions on your cooker for the timing.

They can be used for any dish you want potatoes in.
 
B

BoatGuy

Inactive
Gotta go with Sandra on that one.. I canned a bunch of them last september and just opened the first jar night before last, to add into a crock pot stew. Delicious hardly describes it. And the canning equipment wiil come in handy for all kinds of other stuff, too.
 
grannyclampett

grannyclampett

Inactive
We've kept them in the barn on a dirt floor covered with straw. They won't keep as long that way and you'll lose a few to rats and bugs but it's better than nothing. They do can well if you are equipped to do so.

When we dig taters we often can the small ones and then store the bigger ones in the barn or the well-house.
 
Cardinal

Cardinal

Chickministrator
_______________
If you have a freezer, you can dice and blanche a batch and then freeze in 1 Gal ziplock bags. You then have homefries whenever you want them.
 
C

Catbird

Membership Revoked
Mostly cool garages? As in under 60? Or do you have a crawlspace under 60?

If so, build yourself some simple wooden boxes with hinged lids. Drill air holes on all sides, bottom and top. Surround the box with bales of straw for insulation.

If you have the time, mount some brackets inside the box. Nothing fancy, just something you can put some wire shelves on. Potatoes keep best when stacked singly. Over time, the weight of potatoes on top of each other will cause bruising. So put a shelf in the box, cover with potatoes. Add another shelf, cover with potatoes. And so on.

Another option is ground storage. Dig a hole deep enough to hold the box. Or alternately, a trash can - metal or plastic. Air holes help! Put some straw in the bottom of the can. put in a layer of potatoes, another layer of straw, another layer of potatoes. Etc. Back fill around the can and put the lid on. Cover with a piece of plywood that has several bales of straw on top.

Good luck!
 
Laurane

Laurane

Canadian Loonie
How about putting them in an old frig which is on its back with the lid opening upwards? Maybe insulate around it with rigid foam - have it in a shed with no floor? Maybe you would need to drill air holes to stop moisture.
 
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