Have I blown it with my seed potatoes?

[Heidi S]

I bought some lovely seed potatoes in late February at the Seedy Saturday, and stored them in the coolest part of my basement (which is fully developed and heated). When I went to get them out to plant, they had long, long pale shoots already, and they were mostly dying. The potatoes were fairly soft as well.

I have popped them in my ground, but am I kidding myself? Is there any hope?

[B_BQ]

Hi Heidi:
You may be lucky.
That happened to me one year with the lovely fingerling potatoes. I had nothing to lose so planted them. I didn't get a huge crop but I did get a crop. From that crop I saved more for the next year, this time storing them in a cold dry area.
~BBQ

[Mygrandmeresgarden]

I plant mine every year like this and they come up nicely. If the seed potatoes you are using are small, I would throw in a couple in each hole. I never cut my potatoes, I have better luck that way in my garden. But next year, I would store the seed potatoes in a much cooler place...as long as they don't freeze!

[Heidi S]

I NEED a cold cellar! Desperately - I want to keep dahlias, begonias, potatoes, and onions , but I have not got any space that is cold but not freezing. I just don't have any clear, workable ideas to solve my problem.

Our entire basement has been full developed, insulated and heated. I don't have a garage or carport. I do have a large storage shed, but with our -36C and colder winters, it will not be warm enough. So, short of digging a big hole in the back yard I am not sure how to make a cool space that would work.

I am currently putting the dahlias and begonias in tubs with vermiculite and sit them on the floor under the stair case, which is the coldest area, but not cold enough. I did manage to save about 60% of last years, so I was happy, but the potatoes totally didn't stay cool enough.

Ah, well, maybe I will end up digging that cold hole!

[Heidi S]

Hallelujah! Potatoes are showing - I thought I had ruined my seeds, but they are a coming up! Whew!

and, and, the asparagus are showing too - finally! Two weeks or more later than last year....

[Dumbo]

@Heidi,
Same boat, that's why I didn't bother with big Spanish onion, potato's and the likes.

heh I'm not the type to dig a hole and go shopping in my backyard dirt when I need to. I too would like to know the required specifics for this to try and figure something out, if possible. Or if this can be doable in the shed even?

I know people who keep carrots in their shed all winter long in a bucket of sand. But Onion and potato? No clue.

[Eeyore]

You can keep potatoes the same way. Sharon on this site digs a hole below the frost line and stores the potatoes covered in there for the winter. Onions and garlic should be dried brushed clean, dried in the sun for a few days and stored in a dry place but not in the fridge unless you want them to sprout. They are often braided and hung up in a dry location.