Thread: Root Vegetables

I saw an old tv program about victorian gardens (before supermarkets) where they had to grow everything the main house needed.
It was made in the 80's and followed one of the original victorian gardeners who was now ancient but worked there as a teen at the turn of the century.
they recorded a year and rebuilt the garden the way it was.

OK, What they did was pile them up on a straw bed on the ground.
cover them in more straw and then covered it with 6 inch layer of soil.

Whenever they needed spuds they dug thru side of pile and pulled a few out, then closed up the hole.

It was all about keeping the oxygen and light away from them.
Isn't that what inca's did with corn and grain, they bury in a pit and then cover and seal with soil, the veg uses up what oxygen is inside and then they go dormant.

modern method is keep keep them in the dark and cool, (the fridge is to cold) but no mention of oxygen,

This is the wiki of the program I saw.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Vic...Kitchen_Garden

Pete

I pock mine around November where I live and store them in a box in the dark. Every now and again I go tbnroigh them checking off any going bad as they will stink and cause thenothers to rot. They tend to last until April / May then they are starting to shoot but we are getting close to the end of them by then anyway.

Originally Posted by code4pay

I pock mine around November where I live and store them in a box in the dark. Every now and again I go tbnroigh them checking off any going bad as they will stink and cause thenothers to rot. They tend to last until April / May then they are starting to shoot but we are getting close to the end of them by then anyway.

the ones that have shot by then are the ones you plant for next year.

I store mine in hessian sandbags (cheap from Bunnies) right up the back corner of my concrete garage off the floor

No light - some air - carefully check for damage and leave them on the surface first to dry off - brush most of the soil off and I am usually good till mid winter

I always get my virus free seed potatoes from Tassie but the tiny ones I missed last season come up anyway and bugger up my rotation schedule

Neil

Ha Ha , don't you find that nature has a way of putting us back in our place?