Potatoes can stay fresh for up to one year with a straightforward storage method that involves removing them from plastic bags and placing them in a cardboard box with dry soil or newspaper, according to YouTuber Marandia Wright.
Why Potatoes Spoil Quickly
Plastic bags create a humid environment that encourages sweating and rot. Marandia explains: "This thing sweats, it gets them wet, it starts them rotting and rot starts spreading." Additionally, shop-bought potatoes are often washed, stripping away natural protective microbes. Marandia says: "When you harvest [potatoes] yourself you do not wash them. You leave them in the original dirt, the original microbes, the things that they grew with are going to help to protect and to preserve them."
The Simple Storage Solution
Marandia recommends a technique that requires no special equipment: "This works with any kind of potato," she says. "Even sweet potatoes, and all you need is a box and some dirt." The first step is to remove potatoes from plastic packaging as soon as you bring them home. Then, let them dry in a sheltered spot to ensure no moisture remains on the skins.
Next, gather soil from your garden and dry it in direct sunlight for a day. Place a layer of dry soil in a cardboard box, add a single layer of potatoes, cover with more soil, and repeat. Alternatively, use newspaper layers between potatoes. Marandia notes: "You can do this with newspaper by layering them: a potato layer and then a newspaper layer, then another newspaper layer."
Results and Tips
Using this method, potatoes can last up to a year. Marandia says: "Those of you who have grown potatoes know that, when you dig your potatoes up out of the dirt, you can put them in a cardboard box and just put them in a dark room. You can go and get them whenever you want them and they're good all the way through until the next growing season." For best results, store the box in a cool, dark place and ensure potatoes are not touching each other to prevent rot spread.
