In Ireland we use rushes instead of straw but same idea. Except we don't dig down because then the potatoes will get wet. We dig a little trench around the edge of the dirt so the water will run off.
Great video MR! I told you after watching your previous clamp video that I was going to put this in a book - and I'm about to. Thank you for all of the information you provide. You are an exceptional resource for the RUclips community.👍
I live in Northwest Minnesota I tried this last fall with a hand full of potatoes in two locations but used wood chips to store them in and covered with lots of woodchips and leaves on to of that. I harvested one clamp the beginning of January and the potatoes were just like fresh harvested. waiting to the snow is gone to harvest the other clamp to see how they did over a full winter. I have stored carrot directly in the garden before but never dug them just buried them with lots of leaves and that worked perfect. This is the first time storing potatoes in the garden. I don't have good place in my home to store potatoes so I hope this brings my potatoes through a full winter for fresh potatoes in the spring. I am going to leave a few in the panty this spring to see how long they keep after pulling them out of the clamp.
It works for carrots, turnips, swedes, parsnips, beets. Great job We don't dig down, too much rain. Dried bracken fern works well for insulation and layers, then dirt.
Thank you for the share, MR. My area is too hot, plus my idiot nephew Great Dane dug my last two pits. Sweet potatoes, carrots , turnips. Good work. Great video.
Living in N. Minnesota I have a few problems with this. First is the frost line is 12 feet deep. Second is the water table in the spring is about 6" down. Temperatures down to -50F and on average -20F. Permanent snow cover at least 2-3 feet deep all winter, sometimes 6 feet deep or more. We have four seasons here: almost winter, winter, still winter and road repair. The almost winter part is what most people would just call winter. The only month without recorded snowfall is August. Somehow I have found potatoes still buried in the ground in the spring which have not sprouted and are still fresh. So I'm thinking of just re-burying seed potatoes in the ground for winter.
If you have enough potatoes, MR, then you can make your clamp a narrow rectangular trench. As far as I know, because you're using the clamp for root vegetables and as long as your soil is fairly dry, you can put the potatoes directly on the bottom of the trench. Directly on the soil. Taking into account how cold it will get in your area determines the depth of the trench. Then just cover the potatoes or whatever root vegetable you're storing for the winter with a good layer of straw for insulation. Dirt on top of the straw and then just keep opening up one end of the trench to get at as many potatoes as you need at one time. Close the end of the clamp up again when done. French fries and potato pancakes sound pretty good right about now. ;)
Outstanding. I planted waaaay toooo many potatoes this year, so I am going to try this. Potatoes over winter well here if only 8 inches deep, but if we have below 20 for several weeks, they might freeze. I'll insulate with fine saw dust.... BTW, the volume on the video could be higher.
Very Cool! I've been waiting for this since you mentioned it earlier this year. I am all sand. No rocks. As far down as I can dig. Will that be ok? Being a plumber who spent way too many hours with a shovel over the last 30 yrs. I'm guessing macomb or sanilac?
Penntucky Survivalists I do this every year. I find 30lbs is a good amount per clamp. Then I make 3 total so we have about 100lbs stored this way. As long as the potatoes are dried I have no problems. They are stacked on top of each other. I makes sure none have any blemishes on them so they keep. I hope this answers your questions.
Nice idea for those of us who don't have a root cellar. One question I have is - do you get any problems with worms eating the potatoes while they are in the ground for so long?
Stephanie Corporandy no you can make a small hole in the side and take out only what you need. Then replace the straw and dirt. If the ground is frozen I use a pick axe to take out a small piece of dirt, then use that hole. When I’m done I replace the straw and put the dirt plug back in the hole.
Corsair Trainers they will sprout eventually, but the cool earth and the straw wicking away moisture slows the process. The earth acts like a refrigerator slowing the natural processes down. At least here in my climate.
@@ModernRefugee ok cool. How are they not eaten by bugs and stuff? I know my questions sound like I am messing with you but really, I have never seen some of the stuff you do and I am really interested.
Corsair Trainers bugs are not a issue because anything that would eat the potatoes won’t be active in the winter months. By November the ground will start to freeze making it very difficult to be dug up. So basically my potatoes will be in a frozen cocoon, but the straw will insulate the potatoes ( because straw is hollow and dead airspace is insulation) from freezing.
Thanks so much for vid. Unfortunately, l cannot use this method.. Extreme rocky terrain makes this a battle in itself. Tried to bury a pet that had passed, few months back. Neighbor had to come by w/tractor & dig us a hole. Even then, kept hitting boulders, nearly as big as the tractor. Was only couple feet deep, but there are so many rocks, hand to bowling ball size, throughout. Thanks again. Be blessed.
jmf1976jmf the outside layers of the straw will get wet, but the potatoes inside will be fine. The last of those potatoes I dug in May this year. I gave what was left away to all the neighbors.
Hi, I have two questions. I really enjoyed this info but wonder how I will succeed with many burrowing animals on our WMD mountain land. Also, cost of straw is $6/bale. Can buy potatoes on sale at added cost and store less..but growing your own is a wonderful feeling and wondered about using newspapers, shredded leaves..lining the hole with bird mesh maybe? Any thoughts from that angle? Thanks again for the video and new word learned.
We don’t have a issue with animals digging ours up, but a liner of let’s say hardware cloth may work. Because it’s a finer mesh. Straw was always used, because it’s hollow and has good insulation properties. The other items like leaves or newspaper I don’t know about. I would be afraid that those items would attract more moisture and possibly cause problems, but that’s just my feeling. I hope this helps.
@@ModernRefugee what about mice? We live in the middle of the woods, I even find mice in my chicken feed trash can that has a lid lol any suggestions to keep mice away?
@@issuesthatmatter2825 I don’t have any problems with mice in my clamps, because there is a good amount of ground over top. Is your chicken feed container metal or plastic? Mom used to keep our chicken feed in a metal can, but we also had outdoor cats.
Well there is plastic everywhere to scrounge. Wheat is grown by me so straw would be available. Other dry natural materials could be substituted including leaves, dry cattail leaves, phragmites, or bean straw.
@@vray48 yes, if they are dry and put them down thick. Do a small test clamp first, with 10lbs and see how they work and adjust if necessary. Hope it works for you.
In Ireland we use rushes instead of straw but same idea. Except we don't dig down because then the potatoes will get wet. We dig a little trench around the edge of the dirt so the water will run off.
Great video MR! I told you after watching your previous clamp video that I was going to put this in a book - and I'm about to. Thank you for all of the information you provide. You are an exceptional resource for the RUclips community.👍
Integrative Preparedness thank you Sir!
I live in Northwest Minnesota
I tried this last fall with a hand full of potatoes in two locations but used wood chips to store them in and covered with lots of woodchips and leaves on to of that.
I harvested one clamp the beginning of January and the potatoes were just like fresh harvested.
waiting to the snow is gone to harvest the other clamp to see how they did over a full winter.
I have stored carrot directly in the garden before but never dug them just buried them with lots of leaves and that worked perfect.
This is the first time storing potatoes in the garden.
I don't have good place in my home to store potatoes so I hope this brings my potatoes through a full winter for fresh potatoes in the spring.
I am going to leave a few in the panty this spring to see how long they keep after pulling them out of the clamp.
Thank you for sharing your experience.
There is something so satisfying about a potato harvest, it’s the waiting that’s not as fun. 😳 I had never heard it called a potato clamp, cool. 👍🏼
I hear you about waiting for potato harvests!! It's painful!! And I am just not a patient person!! LOL!!
uppanadam74 yep, lol, me either. 👍🏼
the 'proper' word I think is 'ensilage' but everyone says clamp
Im extremely jealous of your dirt. So black and not clay.
Palmetto Prepared it’s clay just different lol.
Excellent video, Potatoes, such a versatile food. Thanks boss.
Nothing quite beats the combo of a stout shovel and a fork for fast hole digging! my 2 cents
This is awesome!! Never heard of that and am so glad you shared 👍👍
Interesting! This is a valuable skill and action. Almost like a stealth cache..
Great demo. Shoved it into my vegan gardening playlist!
Huples Cat EPL should work good for you seeing we are at about the same latitude.
@@ModernRefugee Yes. Won't be right at this stuff until the new place is built and I quit work but always looking out how to store real food long term
👏👏👏 sweet. Ive never done this. Didnt even know it was possible. Always thought an old dresser or root cellar were my only options
It works for carrots, turnips, swedes, parsnips, beets.
Great job
We don't dig down, too much rain. Dried bracken fern works well for insulation and layers, then dirt.
Thank you for the share, MR. My area is too hot, plus my idiot nephew Great Dane dug my last two pits. Sweet potatoes, carrots , turnips. Good work. Great video.
Thank you for this informative video! 👍
Great idea! Thanks!🥔🥔🥔🥔
Cheril Cooper your welcome.
Cool! Really like that idea! Blessings from NE Missouri!
Living in N. Minnesota I have a few problems with this. First is the frost line is 12 feet deep. Second is the water table in the spring is about 6" down. Temperatures down to -50F and on average -20F. Permanent snow cover at least 2-3 feet deep all winter, sometimes 6 feet deep or more. We have four seasons here: almost winter, winter, still winter and road repair. The almost winter part is what most people would just call winter. The only month without recorded snowfall is August. Somehow I have found potatoes still buried in the ground in the spring which have not sprouted and are still fresh. So I'm thinking of just re-burying seed potatoes in the ground for winter.
Yup, each area is different for us it works.
Thank you, very educational
If you have enough potatoes, MR, then you can make your clamp a narrow rectangular trench. As far as I know, because you're using the clamp for root vegetables and as long as your soil is fairly dry, you can put the potatoes directly on the bottom of the trench. Directly on the soil. Taking into account how cold it will get in your area determines the depth of the trench. Then just cover the potatoes or whatever root vegetable you're storing for the winter with a good layer of straw for insulation. Dirt on top of the straw and then just keep opening up one end of the trench to get at as many potatoes as you need at one time. Close the end of the clamp up again when done. French fries and potato pancakes sound pretty good right about now. ;)
burrowing animals?
Thanks for the great demo!
Mary Gallagher your welcome
Very helpful information and greatly appreciated. Thanks for sharing with us👍😃💖
Outstanding. I planted waaaay toooo many potatoes this year, so I am going to try this. Potatoes over winter well here if only 8 inches deep, but if we have below 20 for several weeks, they might freeze. I'll insulate with fine saw dust.... BTW, the volume on the video could be higher.
Tunnel - What’s your climate?
@@jessoakley3746 NW Montana., We can have -20 to 30 below.
very cool..
Very Cool! I've been waiting for this since you mentioned it earlier this year. I am all sand. No rocks. As far down as I can dig. Will that be ok? Being a plumber who spent way too many hours with a shovel over the last 30 yrs. I'm guessing macomb or sanilac?
Baron Ratfish I’d say about 3 feet up where you are. The sand will be easier to dig then my clay. No not Macomb or Sanilac.
@@ModernRefugee so the sand. The way it wicks moisture will not create a mold issue?
Baron Ratfish I don’t have problems with mold, but the straw will get wet.
👍🏻Great video. Modern. I take it this not your first go round. Looks great. Just 30lbs all on top of each other ???
Penntucky Survivalists I do this every year. I find 30lbs is a good amount per clamp. Then I make 3 total so we have about 100lbs stored this way. As long as the potatoes are dried I have no problems. They are stacked on top of each other. I makes sure none have any blemishes on them so they keep. I hope this answers your questions.
That is fabulous. !
I grew in tires this year with mostly leaf and ground debris. Did ok 😘
Oops 👍🏻🤣
Nice idea for those of us who don't have a root cellar. One question I have is - do you get any problems with worms eating the potatoes while they are in the ground for so long?
I don’t have any issues with worms or rodents where I am.
AP said to subscribe to your channel👍
First off, thank you for sharing. Do you ever have issues with mice eating the potatoes you store this way ? Respect from Canada.
No, I have never had critter problems. However we do have a outdoor cat.
Do you have to take all the potatoes out of the clamp when you open for the first time?
Stephanie Corporandy no you can make a small hole in the side and take out only what you need. Then replace the straw and dirt. If the ground is frozen I use a pick axe to take out a small piece of dirt, then use that hole. When I’m done I replace the straw and put the dirt plug back in the hole.
I wonder if you could use leaves instead of straw?
The thing with straw is that it is hollow. So
It insulates better the leaves. If I was to use only leaves it would double the thickness.
Do you get snow? What happens when it rains? Thanks
Yes we get snow.
Do you know if this would work in warm climates where 0 degrees is rare?
I don’t. It’s always colder here.
Never seen this before! I have a ton of questions! My first would be, why don't the potatoes start to 'grow' when they are in there?
Corsair Trainers they will sprout eventually, but the cool earth and the straw wicking away moisture slows the process. The earth acts like a refrigerator slowing the natural processes down. At least here in my climate.
@@ModernRefugee ok cool. How are they not eaten by bugs and stuff? I know my questions sound like I am messing with you but really, I have never seen some of the stuff you do and I am really interested.
Corsair Trainers bugs are not a issue because anything that would eat the potatoes won’t be active in the winter months. By November the ground will start to freeze making it very difficult to be dug up. So basically my potatoes will be in a frozen cocoon, but the straw will insulate the potatoes ( because straw is hollow and dead airspace is insulation) from freezing.
@@ModernRefugee cool. How do you find them in the winter? I know stupid question but doesn't it snow there?
Corsair Trainers the tuft of straw is like a marker. Plus it’s in my yard so it’s easy to find.
What about an old stock barn to bury them in?
Give it a try.
Question? Do ground rats eat your potatoes stash. It just looks like rats would have a field day with this style of storage.
fallenSkys prepper no I have no issues with them. We have outdoor cats and the ground will start to freeze in November.
I need cats!! Like big tigers or something 🤣🤣🤣
fallenSkys prepper yes they are vicious even to me lol.
What about groundhogs, moles?
I have never had a problem with rodents. We have hard clay soil.
Thanks so much for vid. Unfortunately, l cannot use this method.. Extreme rocky terrain makes this a battle in itself. Tried to bury a pet that had passed, few months back. Neighbor had to come by w/tractor & dig us a hole. Even then, kept hitting boulders, nearly as big as the tractor. Was only couple feet deep, but there are so many rocks, hand to bowling ball size, throughout.
Thanks again. Be blessed.
Very cool but I cant imagine this working when it rains. What am I missing?
jmf1976jmf the outside layers of the straw will get wet, but the potatoes inside will be fine. The last of those potatoes I dug in May this year. I gave what was left away to all the neighbors.
alaska prepper sent me .... what about the moles eating them???? i have to grow in bags becasue if in the ground they will eat them as they grow
mai pi thanks for stopping by! I don’t have any problems with anything eating them. I do have outdoor cats that help with pest control.
Hi, I have two questions. I really enjoyed this info but wonder how I will succeed with many burrowing animals on our WMD mountain land. Also, cost of straw is $6/bale. Can buy potatoes on sale at added cost and store less..but growing your own is a wonderful feeling and wondered about using newspapers, shredded leaves..lining the hole with bird mesh maybe? Any thoughts from that angle? Thanks again for the video and new word learned.
We don’t have a issue with animals digging ours up, but a liner of let’s say hardware cloth may work. Because it’s a finer mesh. Straw was always used, because it’s hollow and has good insulation properties. The other items like leaves or newspaper I don’t know about. I would be afraid that those items would attract more moisture and possibly cause problems, but that’s just my feeling. I hope this helps.
@@ModernRefugee what about mice? We live in the middle of the woods, I even find mice in my chicken feed trash can that has a lid lol any suggestions to keep mice away?
@@issuesthatmatter2825 I don’t have any problems with mice in my clamps, because there is a good amount of ground over top. Is your chicken feed container metal or plastic? Mom used to keep our chicken feed in a metal can, but we also had outdoor cats.
What if s&!t does hit the fan and you can’t go buy a hay bail ? And plastic?
Well there is plastic everywhere to scrounge. Wheat is grown by me so straw would be available. Other dry natural materials could be substituted including leaves, dry cattail leaves, phragmites, or bean straw.
@@ModernRefugee true. I have an abundance of oak leaves. Do you think it would work the same?
@@vray48 yes, if they are dry and put them down thick. Do a small test clamp first, with 10lbs and see how they work and adjust if necessary. Hope it works for you.
What about ants eating your harvest? Lots of ants here
I don’t have a problem with ants.