Potato Clamp

This past fall, we tried an entirely different way to store our potato harvest, utilizing and old-style potato clamp. Clamps are a traditional way to store root crops, keeping them fresh by laying them on the ground and then covering them with hay followed by a thick layer of dirt. Some sort of ventilation should also be provided. We opted for a "chimney" made of hay.

  Mid-Winter, we dug into the clamp, and were rewarded with the sight of nearly perfect potatoes, looking as wonderful as when they went into the clamp some three months before.  Needless to say, we are delighted with our experiment. Potatoes are so fun to grow, and we can now enjoy our own, pesticide free, potatoes year-round.

Just for a comparison: on the left are potatoes harvested in late October, and stored in a cool basement. On the right are the potatoes from the clamp, collected almost 4 months later. Amazing!