Agree in ground curing is best if your growing season length allows for it. If you aren't going to let them completely ground cure then they need to be cured out of the sun and heat - 45 to 60 degrees - and high relative humidity (85 to 95 percent) for two weeks. So depending on the weather, spread out in a single layer on an old blanket or tarp, outdoors in deep shade like under a deck works well. A basement or garage can also work. The skins thicken and any minor cuts heal over so they are ready for storing. Dave

Your SIL is correct, but with a couple of caveats. If you buy lime in a bag marked as 'dolomite' then it is calcium magnesium carbonate. If it is plain calcitic lime, it is calcium carbonate. Either one will work to store potatoes so long as it is completely powder dry when applied and the potatoes are stored in a dry environment. Dolomite is preferred if you are dusting it on tomatoes because they need the magnesium as well as the calcium. DarJones

Good to see you around again vgkg. Sweetpotatoes should be checked for maturity about once a week and when the majority of plants have a good harvest, all the vines should be dug up at once. The reason for checking them regularly is that there are differences in maturity for varieties and based on the temperature they grow in. Hotter temps = faster maturing taters. Georgia Jet at roughly 100 days is one variety that MUST be harvested on time. They just make huge split deformed and often diseased roots if you let them go too long. Okinawan is the opposite end of the spectrum with 140 days to full maturity and often does not make a crop even here in Alabama because our season is really not long enough. DarJones

Extension Service Garden Hints How to harvest and store your spuds to make them last CORVALLIS - Want to grow potatoes that stay fresh and store longer into the winter? Alvin Mosley, potato expert with the OSU Extension Service has sage advice for home gardeners. He's spent more than three decades studying the best ways to grow, harvest and store potatoes. Mosley advises gardeners to: * Grow potatoes that keep well. Red potatoes don't keep as long as yellow or white varieties. Thin-skinned potatoes don't last as long in storage as those with thick skins, such as Russets. * Toughen up your potatoes for storage before harvest by not watering them much after they flower. Let the vines die all the way back before you harvest them. * Clean your potatoes before storing them. You need only brush the soil off potatoes grown in coarse, sandy soil. But if you grow potatoes in fine, sticky clay soil, your potatoes may need washing. If so, be sure the potatoes are completely dry before placing them in storage. * Cure your newly dug and cleaned potatoes for a week to 10 days in moderate temperatures and high humidity and they will last longer. After digging them out of your garden and cleaning them off, store your newly harvested potatoes where the temperature is about 65 degrees and the relative humidity ranges from 85 to 95 percent. Keep them under these conditions for a week to 10 days to harden off and heal any injuries caused during harvest. * Sort out and cull your injured and diseased spuds before storing them long-term. Once they are cured, sort the potatoes, putting the best ones in well-ventilated containers. Eat the ones hit by your shovel and the ones with bad spots or disease in the first month or so after harvest, as injured potatoes don't last as long. They also may spread spoilage or disease microorganisms to uninjured potatoes. * Store your tubers in a cold, dark environment with moderate humidity. Store your best tubers in a dry room with constant temperature of 35 to 40 degrees and moderate humidity. Make sure to keep them dark, as light will turn them green and make them unfit for table use. Discard potatoes with an excessive amount of greening. Under these conditions, well-matured potatoes will stay in good condition for seven to eight months, said Mosley. When storage temperatures exceed 40 degrees, potatoes should keep for two to three months, but sprouting and shriveling may occur. If they sprout and shrivel, save them for planting in April. To learn more about how to plant and grow potatoes, you can view EC 1004 on the Extension and Station Communications Web site. Select "Gardening," and you'll find EC 1004 under "Vegetables." You can order it as well, for $1 per copy plus $3 shipping and handling per order. Send your request and a check or money order payable to OSU to: Publications Orders, EESC, 422 Kerr Admin., OSU, Corvallis, OR 97331-2119. By: Carol Savonen Source: Al Mosley