This guide is your one-stop shop for learning how to dig up and store potatoes for eating throughout the winter!

The vegetable garden is slowly being emptied for the season – since the spuds are definitely ready, here is how to dig up and store potatoes so you can eat them over the winter. If I get one row of potatoes harvested every day, it doesn’t take long for the potato bed to be emptied.

Every year we grow enough potatoes to eat all winter long, plus enough stored to use as seed potatoes the following year! 

Watch this short video where we will show you how to grow great potatoes! We’ve got a link below the video where you can learn everything about growing potatoes.

They take up garden space, but if you have enough room, it is well worth it. Potatoes are expensive to buy in winter – often 10 pounds here can sell for $8.

 

Want to learn our tricks for growing potatoes?

We often get over 3 pounds of potatoes from 1 potato – seriously!

We know how to grow potatoes here.

 

But it’s not enough to know how to grow vegetables, you need to know how to dig up and store the tubers! Growing potatoes is a lot of the work, but you need to store them properly. If they aren’t, they will start to mold or rot. Then the mold spreads to the other potatoes in storage – and – you have a big problem.

 

How to Dig Up and Store Potatoes

One important thing to remember when harvesting potatoes is to start digging with a garden spade or garden fork about one foot away from the plant and the stems. It really does help to avoid cutting the potatoes, which is pretty easy to do.

Potatoes don’t just grow vertically under the plant – the roots spread out a bit and potatoes grow from there. So cut a wider swath and then work your way in!

Mature potatoes like to hide under foliage and dirt – it is so easy to miss a few here and there. Once you have dug around your potato plant, get your hands in the loose soil and feel around. Move the dirt around and go as deep as you need to, to find that original seed potato.

If you leave a potato or two behind, the following year they could easily sprout. Some people don’t mind volunteer potatoes popping up in the garden, but we always pull them.

They can lead to scab so we try to make sure we get them all dug out in the Fall. Then, in the spring, we pull volunteers out wherever they pop up!

 

After Digging Up Potatoes

Once we dig up the potatoes, we like to let them sit on the garden for most of a sunny day if the weather allows.

I go down and turn them after several hours – it helps them dry a bit more in the sunlight on both sides. I can lightly brush off the worst of the dirt that is clinging to them.

We never leave potatoes outside over night. We can’t take the risk of a frost happening, which can happen at almost any point here in the growing season. Too much moisture at just about any temperature can also ruin potatoes.

Leaving potatoes outside overnight can ruin them; once touched by frost they are no good anymore for eating.

So we dig up as much as we feel we can deal with during the day and leave the rest in the ground for another day.

Frost Hit Potatoes

Here’s a photo of our potatoes that had been hit by a frost. Not much can be done about this, but just because there is light frost damage does NOT mean the potatoes are ruined.

We’re thankful there are still plenty of green leaves on the plants. These potatoes didn’t yield as much as they could have, but we still had a harvest!

Sorting Potatoes for Storage and Eating

One of our tips for learning how to dig up and store potatoes is this: Sort the potatoes by size BEFORE you put any potatoes into storage for winter. We like to sort the potatoes right there in the garden. We bring lots of paper bags and some of our large empty paper feed bags.

These feed bags are nice and thick so we don’t have to worry about the bags breaking. You can see we just keep reusing the bags for several years. Waste not, want not!

You can also use this kind of potato bag – they also work great!

The really nice sized and shaped potatoes go into paper bags, one kind to a bag. We write the variety and put right on the bag that they are for seed for next year.

What to do with tiny potatoes?

The really tiny potatoes? We toss them into empty canners and cook them up for the chickens or growing out pigs, if we are raising them. Any potatoes that we accidentally cut into with the shovel get put in another bag. We will be sure to use these up first for fresh eating.

Don’t save cut potatoes – it is too easy to introduce mold by doing that. Just set them aside and use them as soon as you can. They’ll be at peak tenderness then, too. By sorting in the garden, we find we handle the potatoes a lot less. And when we grow enough potatoes to last all winter, that’s a lot of potatoes.

Why handle each potato more than we have to? This way, we don’t have to sort again once we get them all in the house. We have found this to be the easiest way to save and store our seed potatoes.

The really small potatoes? We toss them into empty canners and cook them up for the chickens or pigs, if we are raising them. Since Valley friends are raising a few pigs this year, they will get all the little ones to be fed off.

You can certainly eat the baby potatoes! They are just as delicious as any other potato, they are just a bit more of a pain to wash and prepare for eating.

Our hallway during Potato harvest time – we are overrun with large bags of potatoes ready for storing in our basement Cold Room.

The seed potatoes get put on a separate shelf down in the Cold Room. We have no problem storing fresh carrots and potatoes down there, as it acts as a perfect root cellar. A garage during the winter can also be a good option for storing your potatoes.

See how I grocery shop right from my Cold Room – all winter long!

We’re always happy when the potato seed sorting is done, as we are assured of having enough seed for a good potato crop next year.

Once the little ones and the big ones are dealt with, all the rest go into the large empty feed bags. We label them with the variety name and mark them for “eating”. We can easily store 40 pounds in each one, often more than that.

Hauling those bags up to the house and down into the Cold Room is definitely a “blue job” as they are far too heavy for me to handle.

 

Curing Potatoes

If you really want to extend your potatoes’ shelf life, you can cure them. Once they reach maturity, rinse them with water (no need to scrub), then pat dry and cover with a towel in a cool room.

Wait a week to 10 days, then store in a cardboard box in a dark and cool place. This will thicken the skin and extend the life of your potatoes and prepare them for long-term storage. You can learn more about curing potatoes here.

 

Good Potato Varieties for Winter Storage

Seigland potatoes – what a fantastic yield and we are super impressed with this variety of potato. Look how big those things are. They always have a great shape to them as well, which makes them easier to peel or scrub. They are delicious being used for baked potatoes.

Since they are so big, we always have a great supply of them to use for seed.

I dug up the row of Fingerlings (also known as Banana potatoes because of their shape). As you can see, they are still sitting on in the garden. Later they’ll get sorted and put away.

Fingerling potatoes are very expensive to buy at the store – I have seen them for sale at $3 a pound! But they are very inexpensive to grow. Do yourself a favour and buy some Fingerling seed potatoes next year to get started.

These are wonderful potatoes to eat in the middle of summer. I love the taste of new potatoes and these are one of my favourites! Why pay $3.00 a pound when you don’t have to?

More Great Potato Varieties

We grew a few Yukon Golds this year and here they are. We are not as pleased with them as we find they don’t taste as good as they used to years ago.

I have no clue why that would be, but we have other varieties that we like much better. So we will stick with planting those. We also grow Russet potatoes, which are a good keeper.

A row of Cariboo potatoes was harvested too – these are really good. They used to be available as a seed potato, but you can’t find them anymore. The only way you can get some is to beg a few off someone growing them in the Cariboo.

We were fortunate to get a few several years ago and for the first couple of years we only ate the little ones and saved all of the others for seed. Now we get a good harvest of these as well. These grow so well in this area and are well worth trying to find.

Preparing Soil for Planting Potatoes

Wondering how to store pumpkins and winter squash? Here’s what we do – they last for months!

Growing pumpkins and squash can take up a lot of garden area, but if you have the room, they are definitely worth growing. After harvest, here’s how to store pumpkins and winter squash.

Since growing pumpkins and winter squash is easy and often lead to a huge harvest, it’s important to know how to ensure that your harvest doesn’t go to waste.

Being able to store food for winter is one of the biggest benefits of growing your own food

 

That’s why I want to make sure you know how to store your veggies for long term use, more specifically your pumpkins and winter squash.

Do you have a good harvest of pumpkins and winter squash that you need to store? If so then you’re going to love reading my tips to help you store your harvest this year.

I’ll lend some tips and advice to make certain you’re able to store and use your pumpkins and winter squash all year round. Then, use them for baking pies like this delicious Fireball Pumpkin Pie!

How to Store Pumpkins and Winter Squash

 

When to Harvest Pumpkins and Winter Squash

You’ll harvest your pumpkins and winter squash when they have ripened fully and have a hard rind.

Winter squash is ready to harvest when the skin has started to dull and a yellow spot where the squash sat on the ground as well as a dry stem.

Pumpkins are ready to harvest when they have similar appearances but must always be cut from the vine with their stem intact. When picking always cut the stalk with a sharp knife or a good pair of secateurs, leaving handles on each and always take care handling fruit. 

If your pumpkin loses the stem before you’re ready to store the pumpkins, they will start to decay quickly. Don’t store these with your other pumpkins – set these aside. Rot and bruises won’t take long to set in, so keep these in the kitchen and plan to use as soon as possible.

Pumpkins and Frost Damage

Since frost can happen here in central BC (at 2850 feet) pretty much anytime in August, we need to keep a careful eye on our squash plants and pumpkin plants. We harvest before a severe frost, because a hard enough frost will kill all the pumpkin leaves.

Keep a regular eye on expected night temperatures. Also check for any extended period of rain as too much moisture can lead to problems.

Adding a layer of straw under each of the pumpkins while growing can be a big help so the fruit is not lying right on the soil.

Cure the Pumpkin and Winter Squash

As soon as you’ve harvested your pumpkins and winter squash you’ll need to store them in a dry and airy space for 7-10 days.

This will help harden the skin and help immature pumpkins and winter squash reach true maturity level for use and storage. 

Best Environment for Storage

Proper Storage Conditions

Since pumpkins and winter squash can deteriorate quickly, you must store them in a location that’s well-ventilated, dry and remains a cool temperature of 50-55 degrees F which is 10 – 13C.

You may need to store your food in more than one area of your home. We have a cold room where we store much of our home grown food, but the ideal temperature for that room is lower than what squash can take.

So we need to store our squash in a different spot, one that is warmer than the cold room. Check the humidity level in storage areas in your home so that the humidity stays no more than 75% to ensure that your pumpkins and winter squash may be stored safely.

Make Shelving and Remove Ripe Fruit

Pumpkins and winter squash cannot be stored on concrete floors. You should make or buy heavy duty shelving to store your pumpkins and winter squash for the winter season.

At the very least, be sure to store them on something, even if it is a cardboard box. Do NOT set them on a concrete floor. You can set them on a good layer of straw or hay if they are right on a cool floor.

You may be able to store some of the pumpkins and squash on top of each other, rotating them frequently.

Do not store ripe fruit such as apples or pears near your pumpkins and winter squash as that will deteriorate the health of your harvest.

 

 

How Long can you Store Winter Squash?

Lastly, you may want to know how long you can store winter squash and pumpkins.

As long as you store your harvest in the appropriate location and conditions referenced above, you can rest easy knowing that winter squash and pumpkins can last for two to six months given the right storage environment.

Hopefully, these tips will help you store enough for healthy eating during the winter season.

Having ample veggies on hand to feed your family is an excellent way to save money and start learning to live off the land more often.

Varieties of Squash and Pumpkins this Method Works for:

Any kind of pumpkin or squash (except this one! see below) will store for months using these tips. These include:

• Hubbard or Hubbard-type squash – Hubbards are the longest keepers, up to about 4 months.
• Buttercup squash
• Acorn squash
• Turban squash
• Butternut squash
• Spaghetti squash
• Field pumpkins
• sugar pumpkins
• baby pumpkins – some people store these in paper bags, but I just set on the shelf making sure there is space in between each.

Summer Squashes – Storage

The only summer squash we really grow here is Zucchini – and we find it doesn’t last long. No where as along as any kind of winter squash. It’s more one of our warm-season crops, in that we are easily picking Zucchini by the end of July. 

We grow a few plants, which really is plenty for two people; then we eat it fresh for weeks. I’ve made Zucchini cake and even Zucchini butter!

More Pumpkin Recipes and Tips:

This Fireball Pumpkin Pie Recipe is one of our Fall Favourites! 

How to Make your own Home Made Pumpkin Puree – a great way to use pumpkins after Halloween

This Pumpkin Banana Cranberry Loaf is wonderful alongside a hot cup of coffee on a Fall afternoon

20+ Pumpkin Recipes You’re Going to Love

Make your own Pumpkin Spice for pies and lattes! 4 different ways right here

How to Store Pumpkins and Squash

 

originally published Sept 2020, latest update Sept 2024