Minimum storage temperature for potatoes

Potatoes can be considered the main ingredient for any dish. And any housewife knows a sufficient number of recipes for its preparation. Thanks to the resourcefulness and far-sighted plans of Peter the Great, potatoes boldly settled in Russia. Having in its arsenal a lot of useful vitamins and nutrients, such a delicacy rightfully deserves respect and love from both adults and children. So that the whole family can enjoy their favorite delicacy for a long time, it needs to create all the necessary conditions for proper storage. To do this, you should know that the optimal temperature for storing potatoes is +2 degrees Celsius.

Currently, there are many ways to store potato tubers. It all depends on the financial capabilities, knowledge and ingenuity of the owner. Those who have their own plot of land in the village or a private house benefit especially - the problem of where to store potatoes immediately disappears. As for thrifty urban housewives, they have to look for ways to save potatoes for the long winter days.

Temperature conditions and its special role for storing potatoes

Yellowing of the green part of the potato bush on the eve of harvesting indicates that the growing season is ending and the plant is entering a dormant state.

All metabolic processes slow down.
The above-ground part of the bush has died.
Nutrients are collected in the tubers.
The modified stem, the tuber, is in a state close to dormancy.

Immediately after harvesting, for a month before storing in a cellar or other vegetable storage, potatoes undergo quarantine and gradual cooling. Metabolic processes in tubers practically freeze at a temperature of +2…+4 °C.

All biochemical and physiological processes inside the tubers almost stop - the potatoes are ready for long-term storage. To ensure that the quality of root crops does not suffer during this process, a constant temperature of +2...+4 °C and air humidity of 85-90% should ideally be maintained. Violation of the regime leads to loss of product quality.

As the temperature rises, the potatoes begin to sprout, and the tubers themselves become deformed, wasting juices on the formation of sprouts. Simultaneously with germination, the synthesis of the poisonous alkaloid solanine begins. As a result, potatoes become unsuitable for consumption.
When the temperature drops below critical, a chemical reaction of starch decomposition occurs with the formation of sugars. The appearance of a sweet taste is the first sign of freezing of the tubers.

Deviations from the resting temperature of +2...+4 °C, especially repeated jumps in both directions, lead not only to the loss of taste of the tubers - various rots develop.

Optimal storage conditions

Not all potatoes are suitable for storage. Ultra-early and early varieties begin to germinate in the fall, and their taste noticeably decreases. If there are a lot of early tubers, then it’s worth trying to save them. But the storage conditions for such potatoes must be carefully observed. Middle and late varieties are more shelf-stable, the temperature indicators for them are identical to the early ones, but at the same time they are less susceptible to rotting.

Dug up
cleared of pieces of earth,
Place the root vegetables on a tray to dry in the air in the shade for 3-4 hours.
Then the tubers are placed in a cool, dry room where there is no sun (for several days).
Afterwards, you can transfer the potatoes to a permanent storage location.

Temperature

Suitable storage temperature for potatoes is +2-+4°C. The fact is that such indicators stop biochemical and physiological processes in the culture, and the growth of tubers and sprouts finally stops.

A decrease to 0°C or minus values should not be allowed.

When frozen, a chemical reaction occurs during which starch breaks down and sugar is released. This primarily affects the taste. The shelf life of vegetables is significantly reduced, and vitamins are lost.

The thermometer will tell you the exact temperature

It should be noted that temperature changes occur during the entire storage period. If there are only a few potatoes, it's not a big deal. But temperature fluctuations in hangars can become a critical factor for large harvest volumes.

Attention! It is necessary to limit the entry of light into the storage so as not to cause the synthesis of solanine. In large quantities, the substance is poisonous to animals and humans. You can identify a vegetable with solanine by color. The color of the peel in this case will be green.

A thermometer is an assistant in maintaining temperature conditions. It should be located half a meter from the door.

If the winter turns out to be cold, and the temperature in the cellar is close to zero, then the crop must be covered. For this you can use straw, sawdust, dry sand, burlap and even a blanket. Another option is to insulate the walls in advance with tarpaulin or other modern materials.

With the arrival of spring, the temperature, on the contrary, rises. Maintaining indicators at a given level is not easy. In small basements, frozen eggplants with water help, which release the cold when thawed.

Humidity

An equally important indicator for long-term storage of potatoes is humidity.

The optimal indoor humidity value is 75-80%.

If the indicators are higher, then there is a risk of mold development. Dampness can be determined by condensation. Moisture appears on the first rows of potatoes. The vegetables begin to rot, and in this case it is unlikely that the remaining harvest will be saved.

Psychrometric hygrometer

To determine the exact humidity, it is recommended to install a psychrometric hygrometer. If the indicators are reduced, then you can increase the level using a sprayer. Fill the eggplant with cool water and spray the liquid onto the walls. This is enough to raise the indicators by 5-10% for about a few days.

When there is not enough moisture in the room, the root vegetables will dry out.

At what optimal temperature can you store potatoes in winter?

It is not easy to maintain optimal storage conditions for potato tubers in winter (+2…+4 °C at a humidity of about 90%) - this requires, at a minimum, a well-equipped cellar prepared for the season, or better yet, a specialized potato storage facility. Therefore, when choosing a storage method and temperature, they proceed from an assessment of the specific situation: “what” they are going to store and “for how long”.

Long-term storage

For successful long-term storage of tuber crops throughout the winter, until a new harvest, special conditions are required - constant temperature and humidity. The main task is to prevent temperature changes.

Even a short increase in degrees can cause dormant eyes to sprout and potatoes will lose quality.

Optimal temperature conditions of +2...+4 °C for such a long time can only be maintained in industrial-scale potato storage facilities, which are owned by large agricultural producers.

Spring storage

At the end of their storage period, potatoes are especially sensitive to temperature changes. Only tubers of late varieties retain good consumer properties during this period. A summer resident can use sprouted potatoes to obtain planting material to grow an early harvest.

Short term

Potatoes, as already noted, are not perishable products and can be stored at home for quite a long time without loss of quality. To do this, it is important to meet certain conditions:

lack of access to sunlight;
temperature not higher than +20 °C;
adequate ventilation;
air humidity not less than 80%.

In such conditions, tubers without signs of disease can remain until the new year.

If we are talking about short-term storage of potatoes in the period after the New Year (the potatoes were taken from the cellar), it will not be possible to maintain their quality for a long time. As soon as the vegetable “feels” the heat, the growth mechanism is activated - the tubers become flabby and sprout. But this is not the worst thing: at the same time, solanine, a nightshade alkaloid, begins to be produced. These potatoes are dangerous to eat.

Maximum and minimum temperature

With the minimum temperature limit for storing potatoes, everything is simple - 0 ° C, when the breakdown of starch into sugars begins.

The upper limit of the temperature regime cannot be defined so clearly. Various factors come into play.

Tubers easily tolerate short-term storage (1-2 weeks) at temperatures above room temperature with high air humidity (not to be confused with dampness!). The main danger is loss of moisture and germination. Being in a dark place helps to delay the growth process.
If force majeure happens (a hot water pipe bursts, for example), the tubers can withstand a short-term increase in temperature up to 80 °C. Such potatoes lose their germination, but the nutritional value of the product is preserved.

Until the new year, potato tubers are in a dormant state and are stored better when compared with keeping them under similar conditions, but in the spring.

Potatoes turn black inside, what should I do?

Why do potatoes turn black inside when stored? There are several reasons that cause blackening of tubers inside, ranging from improper fertilizer during the cultivation period to violation of storage conditions. Blackness is caused by various diseases that the plant can contract from the soil or from other plants. Some potato varieties are not suitable for long-term storage; they are eaten in early autumn. Excessive watering during cultivation also provokes blackness, as rot forms. Another reason is that the crop was harvested too early: the root crops did not have a thick enough skin to protect them from diseases.

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Temperature conditions: methods of control

When storing potatoes in winter, it is very important to maintain a constant temperature of +2...+4 °C. Deviation in one direction or another is unacceptable.

For cellar and basement

The most common type of storage for potato crops is a traditional cellar. During the storage period, summer residents consistently experience 2 problems that are opposite in nature.

Immediately after laying and already in the spring, the main task is to quickly reduce the temperature in the cellar. The problem can be solved using a conventional hood, possibly reinforced with a fan.
In the middle of winter, the main danger to the safety of the potato harvest is frost. In this case, the influx of cold outside air should be limited: plug the ventilation ducts with rags, insulate the door to the cellar, etc.

Indoor balcony or loggia

A balcony or loggia is best suited for storing potatoes in a city apartment. You should take care in advance about arranging an impromptu “potato storage” - equip a special wooden box with a thermometer. Its walls should be insulated with polystyrene foam and covered with an old blanket or fur coat.

For winter storage of small quantities of potatoes on the balcony, there are industrial household thermal containers. In fact, it is a double bag made of dense material, insulated with a synthetic padding layer. Additionally, the container is equipped with an electrical thermoregulation system. Automation maintains the set temperature, and potatoes in such a container can survive even -40 °C in the environment.

Specialized vegetable storage

Large producers of agricultural products prefer to invest once in the construction of modern potato storage facilities, which are equipped with universal heating and cooling devices and ventilation systems. Thanks to automatic control, the optimal potato storage temperature is maintained: from +2 to +4 °C.

In large industrial-scale storage facilities, the method of ventilation depends on the atmospheric temperature outside.

When the outside temperature is above 0 °C, outside air is taken in for ventilation.
When the outside temperature drops to 0 °C and below - only the internal air of the potato storage.

Some recommendations on how to properly store potatoes at a certain temperature can be found in the video.

Storage on the balcony

The balcony is a good place to store vegetables for residents of apartment buildings. Leaving the harvest on it or a loggia is practical and convenient, but you must follow certain recommendations so that the products are preserved and do not waste their qualities.

How to equip a balcony for storage

The balcony or loggia should preferably be glazed. The crop should be placed so that it is not exposed to water or sunlight. As long as it’s warm outside, you don’t have to worry about the safety of the potatoes, but the first autumn frosts can harm them.

The most important thing is the choice of containers for placing the potatoes. Often an old refrigerator or an insulated box is used for these purposes. The best option would be a thermal cabinet that provides ideal storage temperatures and continuous ventilation. But such a cabinet will require electrical power.

Important! If vegetables are stored in a tightly closed space, rotting processes may begin in them. Proper storage requires constant ventilation and air humidity.

At what temperature do potatoes freeze when stored on the balcony?

If the balcony is insulated, then additional protection for the crop will not be required. In a room with double-glazed windows and thermal insulation, potatoes can be stored even in harsh winters.

You just need to make sure that the room does not cool to -1°C or lower - for this you will need a thermometer on the balcony. At stable temperatures above 0°C, the crop can be placed in bags, nets or ordinary wooden boxes.

Storage nuances:

As spring temperatures warm, potatoes may require additional cooling or a cooler location.
The temperature on the balcony should not exceed +17°C, otherwise the vegetable will spoil.
In the spring, at the end of the storage period, temperature changes are especially harmful to the crop; you should try to avoid them.
At the end of spring, only late varieties usually retain good taste. The remaining specimens can be used as planting material.

Storing seed potatoes - choosing temperature

For seed potato tubers, it is doubly important not to make a mistake with the choice of storage temperature: frozen material loses its germination completely, and material that sprouted too early produces an inferior harvest.

In a well-ventilated storage, the biological dormancy temperature of the tubers is maintained at +2...+4 °C, the relative air humidity should be 85-90%.

Recommendations

To reduce humidity and simultaneously disinfect the premises, open containers with quicklime are placed in the storage area. In damp corners, lime is scattered on the floor - it effectively suppresses the development of pathogenic microflora.

Healthy, undamaged potato tubers can be stored at optimal temperature and humidity conditions for up to six months without creating any special problems. You just need to choose the right variety, prepare the tubers and load them into storage.

By regulating the access of fresh air through the ventilation ducts, a temperature suitable for long-term storage of tubers is created at +2...+4 °C and maintained at this level. This is the only way to preserve the properties and taste of the product for as long as possible.

At what temperature to store potatoes so that they do not spoil or germinate is a pressing question for cellar and basement owners. The following conditions are considered optimal: air temperature +2 - +3 degrees and humidity 70-80 percent. If the storage is warm in winter, the potatoes will “sense spring” and begin to sprout. When the temperature drops to zero, the starch contained in the tubers will turn into sugar. If the thermometer drops below zero, the potatoes will simply freeze and disappear. We will talk further about how to ensure optimal conditions for storing potatoes in a cellar or basement.

Preparing potatoes and storage for storage

When the tops begin to dry and turn yellow, this is a sign that the crop is ready for harvest. Digging is done in dry weather.

Why is it important to dry the tubers in several stages? First, this is done in the air (at t = +14+17°C), then in a barn (+10-+12°C), and only then put the vegetables in a cellar or basement, where the optimal temperature for storage does not exceed +5° WITH.

Thanks to this scheme, there is a gradual decrease in the temperature that the potatoes can withstand. The product retains its high-quality presentation, the likelihood of disease and, as a result, rot is reduced.

Basic principles of storage preparation:

clean from dirt, remove the remains of other crops;
ventilate the room;
disinfect with special preparations, for example, fumigate with sulfur.
Sealing the walls and floors will help protect your storage from mice and other rodents.

The steps are simple, but take time.

Basement treatment

Preparing the cellar

Storing potatoes in a cellar or vegetable storehouse becomes not the easiest task due to the high content of starch and water in the tubers. These factors significantly complicate the process, setting strict temperature limits and also requiring the maintenance of a constant level of humidity.

To prevent the cellar from freezing and overheating, you need to take care of its insulation from the external environment. It’s worth thinking about this even before harvesting. If you have a separate cellar, then it is not in danger of overheating in winter, rather the opposite. Cold will come from the snow-covered surface of the earth.

If possible, build a cellar above the cellar - a small covered superstructure that will protect the upper part of the cellar from direct contact with the environment. This way, the temperature inside and outside the storage facility will not vary too much.
The cellar hatch must be insulated with foam plastic or any other heat-insulating material. It must close tightly.
If the depth of the cellar is sufficient, install a second hatch at some distance from the first. An air cushion between the hatches will protect the room from the cold.
Cellar ceilings can be insulated with polystyrene foam or expanded polystyrene.
For additional heating, you can equip the cellar with several lamps in different corners of the room. You can manually turn on the lamps if you notice that the temperature is dropping, or you can install a temperature sensor. Lamps intended exclusively for heating are painted over with dark varnish.

Preparing Potatoes

Preparation for storing potatoes begins immediately after harvesting. It is worth mentioning here that the crop does not need to be left in the ground for a long time. There is an opinion that by lying in the ground, potatoes will be stored better. As soon as the potatoes are ripe, they must be harvested, otherwise they will absorb more moisture and spoil faster.

There is no need to wash the tubers before storing them.

Preparation for storage includes several stages:

Clearing the soil. Gently remove the stuck lumps of earth from the tubers with your hands. There is no need to wash potatoes before storing them in the cellar.
Drying. The dug up tubers should be scattered in one layer in a dry, ventilated area or under a canopy. Potatoes should not be exposed to direct sunlight.
Sorting. We sort through the harvest, sorting the potatoes by size and setting aside separately those that are sick, eaten by pests, or damaged during the digging process. If you grow potatoes and do not buy them in the fall, do not forget that part of the crop must be separated and saved for planting.
Collection. We collect the scattered potatoes into bags and move them to the cellar.

Bookmark in the cellar

You need to lower the potatoes into the cellar carefully, avoiding impacts.

Root vegetables are sensitive to environmental conditions, so potatoes should be stored in specially prepared boxes or bins. By simply pouring it onto the floor of the cellar, we risk losing a significant part of the harvest. Containers intended for storing potatoes should also not be placed directly on the floor or touch the walls. Build wooden stands for them 10–15 centimeters high or place bricks underneath.

Wooden bins are an ideal place for winter storage of potatoes.

Bins must have additional holes in the sides for air circulation. The height of the edge of the box should not be too high so that you can bend over and easily get the tubers from the bottom.

Before storing vegetables, containers must be dried and disinfected.

To further protect the potatoes from the cold, cover them with felt or burlap, and sprinkle sawdust or lay straw on top. In addition to protecting against freezing, these materials will collect excess moisture.

Root crops lying in the cellar undergo a respiration process, due to which moisture and carbon dioxide are released into the air. Moisture condenses on the walls and ceiling of the room, and from there it can get back onto the vegetables. To prevent this from happening, ventilate the room regularly. You can build an additional polyethylene canopy under the ceiling.

To reduce humidity in the basement, you can add an additional layer of lime and sand to the floor.

It is very good to store beets in the same box with potatoes. It is advisable to sprinkle it in a thick layer on top of the potatoes. The beetroot cushion will protect the potatoes from the cold and absorb excess moisture. It will be even better for beets.

To prevent parasites from multiplying on the tubers, leading to spoilage, you can sprinkle the potatoes with crushed chalk or ash. Folk craftsmen suggest that we place linen bags with natural phytoncides between the potatoes: wormwood, rowan and elderberry leaves. Some gardeners place a spoon or other small silver object at the bottom of the vegetable box, or sprinkle the tubers with onion skins.

Periodically check the condition of the crop in the cellar and remove damaged or rotten tubers. It is better to put all vegetables that come into contact with them separately - in quarantine. If you haven’t found any signs of vegetable spoilage, but there are Drosophila flies in the vegetable storehouse, it is likely that the lower layers of the potatoes have begun to rot. If, in addition to this, there is an unpleasant odor in the cellar, it is better to sort through all the potatoes.

Protect the cellar from mice. Rodents love to make nests in hay or sawdust.

Potatoes stored in the basement should not be exposed to direct sunlight. Therefore, if the basement has ventilation or light windows, cover the vegetables with thick cloth, burlap or a wooden lid. When exposed to sunlight, potato eyes begin to sprout, and the toxic substance solanine is formed in the tuber itself.

Potato storage boxes

In order to properly store potatoes in the cellar, you need to prepare special boxes or, as they are also called, “bins”.

Simple bins

Calculate how much potatoes you plan to store in winter and, based on this, mark the place.
Build the base of the box from thick boards or timber. The bottom of the structure should be raised above the floor by 10–15 centimeters. And the height of the sides of the future container should not exceed 1–1.2 meters, so that it is convenient for you to remove tubers from the bottom. The box should be a few centimeters away from the walls of the cellar.
Next, the base needs to be covered with plywood or thinner boards. If you are using plywood, drill holes in it for ventilation. Do not fill the boards tightly, but at intervals of a centimeter, as is usually done in vegetable boxes.
If there is a large amount of potatoes, the box can be made long and divided by partitions.

The bins are ready. You can add potatoes.

Wooden box design option.

You can line the box not only with boards, but also with metal mesh. The mesh must be galvanized or painted with oil paint.

The easiest option in terms of labor costs is to use ready-made plastic or wooden boxes for vegetables. They usually have holes for ventilation. Boxes cannot be placed on the floor. Build a special podium for them or use bricks. Individual boxes can be stacked on top of each other, making sure that there is about half a meter left to the ceiling of the cellar. This will improve air flow.

Sealed heated box

If your basement is cold and it freezes regularly, you can make a special sealed box with good thermal insulation to store potatoes. Such a box with a volume of 1 m3 contains about 320 kg of potatoes.

The design of the box itself is quite simple. We need to take two containers, one should easily fit into the other. It’s better to make these boxes yourself from boards or thick plywood - it’s easier to guess the sizes.

Scheme of construction of an insulated storage for potatoes. Click to enlarge.

We cover the bottom of the larger box with foam plastic or fill it with any other insulation. You can add a layer of sawdust.
We put the second box inside and also fill the empty space between the walls with insulation.
We knock together a lid for the container and insulate it.
To control the temperature, we place a thermometer inside the box and mount a couple of small 15-watt light bulbs. We paint the light bulbs with dark varnish. As soon as the temperature drops, turn on the light bulbs. A more advanced option is to put a temperature relay in the box.
We paint the outside of the box to protect it from moisture.
Cover the potatoes poured inside the box with a dark cloth.

Such a container protects potatoes well from the cold, but prevents air circulation. Therefore, the crop must be ventilated several times during storage.

Potato varieties for long-term storage

For winter storage, it is advisable to choose mid- and late-ripening potato varieties with yellow flesh. If you have different varieties of potatoes in your cellar, distribute them into different boxes. Early ripening potatoes will not be stored well, even if you create the right conditions for them. In the cellar it will quickly begin to sprout and become unsuitable for food.

Agronomist-plant grower, site consultant on the cultivation and storage conditions of vegetables, fruits and mushrooms.

If potatoes are covered with two blankets, what is the minimum temperature at which they can be stored? When is it best to bring it into the house?

Potatoes must be stored at a positive temperature, that is, ABOVE ZERO CELCIUS, it is advisable that they be stored at a STABLE temperature of + 15 - +5 degrees. If the temperature drops below zero, potatoes lose their consumer properties and keeping quality.

From personal experience, I can report that potatoes are stored on the balcony down to almost -10*C , because on a glassed-in balcony it is a couple of degrees warmer than outside (if, of course, the balcony is glassed). In this case, the potatoes will not be damaged if the container (box or bag of potatoes) is previously covered/wrapped with something. You can cover the potatoes with a blanket and old pillows, or you can build a special device from polystyrene foam and other insulation for storing fresh vegetables on the balcony, for example this:

Ideally, of course, potatoes should be stored in a special vegetable pit/cellar, but these days not everyone has such a luxury.

The question is twofold. Firstly, as for the temperature at which potatoes begin to lose their taste, the answer is at any very low negative temperature. This happens because the starch contained in potatoes, when moving to negative temperatures, begins to turn into sugar - here you have the notorious sweet taste of frozen potatoes. However, the question can also be understood in such a way that you can store potatoes on the balcony in conditions isolated from external frost, and in this case everything depends on the storage location. This could be a thermal tank, which allows you to maintain a positive temperature inside even in fairly severe frost, or wrapping it in various fabrics, including thermal insulation materials - this gives the potato a chance to reach an ambient temperature of -5 degrees. In any case, the potato will remain isolated from the outside air only until it is first removed from the container.

Storage methods

There are several storage methods, where and how to place root vegetables. The main thing is that there is no sub-zero temperature.

Potato harvest

In the cellar or basement

The most popular storage option is a basement or cellar. But even here, agronomists offer different placement methods.

In bulk. The potatoes are scattered neatly into the bottoms; the skins should not be damaged so that the root crops last longer. The height of the embankment should not exceed 1 meter. Since there is a possibility that the lower layers will begin to rot and spoil the upper and middle ones. It is desirable that air circulates between the boards. For this, holes or cracks are made. To prevent mold on tubers, they are placed at a distance of 10-15 cm from the wall. Or you can secure a moisture-absorbing mat between the fence and the wall.

Bulk storage

In boxes. The material of the boxes can be wood or plastic. The main thing is ventilation. The presence of a grid in the box is a prerequisite. To absorb excess moisture, a sawdust flooring is made on the bottom of the box. The height of the potato layers should be no more than 30 cm, then it is convenient to stack boxes or crates on top of each other. At the same time, you can track in time which particular box the spoiled root crop appeared in so that you can immediately remove it.

Storage in boxes

In bags. The fabric material should be breathable, such as thick cotton or burlap. The poured root vegetables should be of small height, approximately 40-50 cm, to reduce the likelihood of rotting.

Storage in bags

Attention! To prevent the possibility of diseases, you can cover the top layer of potatoes with onion peels, branches of rowan, juniper or wormwood. The smell and phytoncides contained in plants drive away unwanted rodents, extending the shelf life of the product.

According to statistics, gardeners have small cellars, about 5-7 sq.m. But if the height of the room allows, then it is more rational to arrange the boxes on top of each other with a height of 1.5-2 meters. This way, the root crops will not be piled on top of each other, the risk of rotting will be reduced, and everything inside the basement will be neat and tidy.

Personal experience of storing potatoes in the cellar

On a balcony, loggia or garage

An option for those people who do not have a nearby cellar or basement for storing potatoes. The balcony can be insulated, in which case you only need a ventilated container for storage, or it can be cold, but you will have to insulate the crop.

Storage on the balcony in an insulated box

How to make a warm box:

select 2 containers so that one is larger than the other around the perimeter by about 4-5 cm;
A layer of insulation is laid between the boxes: polystyrene foam, sawdust, sand;
Carefully lay out the potatoes in several layers, cover with a lid or plywood on top.

If the temperature on the balcony drops to -3-5°C, then the box can be slightly warmed up. Place a hot water bottle or a lamp on top, but first cover the potatoes with a dark cloth. In severe frosts, savvy gardeners covered containers on the balcony with a blanket heated at minimum setting.

Using the means at home, you can pour vegetables into a cardboard box. Place a layer of sawdust or sand on its bottom, make several holes on the sides for air circulation, distribute the root vegetables and cover.

If you have a mobile refrigerator, that will also work. The refrigerants are removed, the vegetables are added and the lid is closed. Foil insulation will keep you warm. But periodically the lid needs to be opened for ventilation. The culture can be stored in such a balcony container for 1 to 3 months.

If the size of the loggia allows, then you can construct a box-sofa from clapboard. Knock down a frame from chipboard, cover it with plywood, and attach a lid on top. This balcony cellar is suitable both for storing things and for wintering vegetables.

Storage in a box-sofa

Regarding the garage, it is worth noting that in this case a lot depends on how the room is equipped. If there is a shallow, warm basement inside, then most likely the tubers will begin to germinate in early March, when the average daily temperature rises. If the cellar inside the garage is from 2 to 5 meters, then this is a good option for long-term storage. Having ventilation will help prevent dampness.

In the apartment

Storage in the apartment

Potatoes do not keep warm for long. The average temperature in an apartment building is +20+24°C. The culture will remain in such a room for several weeks, maximum 1.5 months. Then it will begin to wither and sprout.