I dont grow a lot os potatoes but what I planted is now ready for lifting.I know the first frosts ar away a bit now but at present I can get help (grandchildren) to lift them. Digging is no problem but I suffer from vestibulation, ( bad balance) which means I would have to get down on my aged knees to pick them up. A real pita. For a small price I can get two grand daughters to help, bearing in mind they get fed up fairly quickly.
So what should I store them in ? I have a supply of (farmers)fertiliser bags but they are not porous. Could I just riddle them with holes?
Many years ago when I grew a lot of potatoes I made open sided boxes to store them in at the back of the garage. Ratty loved them

On 14/08/2023 11:16, Paul Mc Cann wrote:
> I dont grow a lot os potatoes but what I planted is now ready for lifting.I know the first frosts ar away a bit now but at present I can get help (grandchildren) to lift them. Digging is no problem but I suffer from vestibulation, ( bad balance) which means I would have to get down on my aged knees to pick them up. A real pita. For a small price I can get two grand daughters to help, bearing in mind they get fed up fairly quickly.
> So what should I store them in ? I have a supply of (farmers)fertiliser bags but they are not porous. Could I just riddle them with holes?
> Many years ago when I grew a lot of potatoes I made open sided boxes to store them in at the back of the garage. Ratty loved them
>
Tradition wouldsay clamps, but that encourages -sprouting.

--
Rusty Hinge
To err is human. To really foul things up requires a computer and the BOFH.

In article <9ef52434-7797-4ce8-a1ef-
fd2e8e596b8bn@googlegroups.com>, tpmccann@gmail.com
says...
>
> I dont grow a lot os potatoes but what I planted is now ready for lifting.I know the first frosts ar away a bit now but at present I can get help (grandchildren) to lift them. Digging is no problem but I suffer from vestibulation, ( bad balance) which means I would have to get down on my aged knees to pick them up. A real pita. For a small price I can get two grand daughters to help, bearing in mind they get fed up fairly quickly.
> So what should I store them in ? I have a supply of (farmers)fertiliser bags but they are not porous. Could I just riddle them with holes?
> Many years ago when I grew a lot of potatoes I made open sided boxes to store them in at the back of the garage. Ratty loved them

Ideally, hessian sacks, Marshallas sell 4 for £10. Last
for years. Or re-use the ones you bought with bird
seed/peanuts in.

If not hessian, paper sacks.

On a related topic, my current pet hate is
"biodegradable " bags that look like plastic but start
biodegrading as soon as a leaf/plant touches them.

Our council provides them for lining compost caddies;
before the caddy is full, the bottom of the bag has
already fallen apart. So I thought I'd use them for
harvesting crops instead; only to find full ones falling
apart in the fridge.

Janet

On Mon, 14 Aug 2023 16:14:29 +0100, Janet <nobody@home.com> wrote:

> On a related topic, my current pet hate is
>"biodegradable " bags that look like plastic but start
>biodegrading as soon as a leaf/plant touches them.
>
> Our council provides them for lining compost caddies;
>before the caddy is full, the bottom of the bag has
>already fallen apart. So I thought I'd use them for
>harvesting crops instead; only to find full ones falling
>apart in the fridge.
>
> Janet

+1

I used one for a pedal-bin liner. Came to take it out to put it in the
bin proper, only for it to disgorge its contents all over the kitchen
floor!

--
Chris

Gardening in West Cornwall, very mild, sheltered
from the West, but open to the North and East.

On 14/08/2023 16:14, Janet wrote:
> Our council provides them for lining compost caddies;
> before the caddy is full, the bottom of the bag has
> already fallen apart. So I thought I'd use them for
> harvesting crops instead; only to find full ones falling
> apart in the fridge.

Our council doesn't provide them, and doesn't let you put them in the
green bins with the food waste.

Andy

On Monday, August 14, 2023 at 4:14:34 PM UTC+1, Janet wrote:
> In article <9ef52434-7797-4ce8-a1ef-
> fd2e8e...@googlegroups.com>, tpmc...@gmail.com
> says...
> >
> > I dont grow a lot os potatoes but what I planted is now ready for lifting.I know the first frosts ar away a bit now but at present I can get help (grandchildren) to lift them. Digging is no problem but I suffer from vestibulation, ( bad balance) which means I would have to get down on my aged knees to pick them up. A real pita. For a small price I can get two grand daughters to help, bearing in mind they get fed up fairly quickly.
> > So what should I store them in ? I have a supply of (farmers)fertiliser bags but they are not porous. Could I just riddle them with holes?
> > Many years ago when I grew a lot of potatoes I made open sided boxes to store them in at the back of the garage. Ratty loved them
> Ideally, hessian sacks, Marshallas sell 4 for £10. Last
> for years. Or re-use the ones you bought with bird
> seed/peanuts in.
>
> If not hessian, paper sacks.
>
> On a related topic, my current pet hate is
> "biodegradable " bags that look like plastic but start
> biodegrading as soon as a leaf/plant touches them.
>
> Our council provides them for lining compost caddies;
> before the caddy is full, the bottom of the bag has
> already fallen apart. So I thought I'd use them for
> harvesting crops instead; only to find full ones falling
> apart in the fridge.
>
> Janet

Janet

I hadn't thought hessian sacks were available to buy. To me they would be ideal I've souced some locally now.

Many thanks

On 15/08/2023 09:41, Paul Mc Cann wrote:
> On Monday, August 14, 2023 at 4:14:34 PM UTC+1, Janet wrote:
>> In article <9ef52434-7797-4ce8-a1ef-
>> fd2e8e...@googlegroups.com>, tpmc...@gmail.com
>> says...
>>>
>>> I dont grow a lot os potatoes but what I planted is now ready for lifting.I know the first frosts ar away a bit now but at present I can get help (grandchildren) to lift them. Digging is no problem but I suffer from vestibulation, ( bad balance) which means I would have to get down on my aged knees to pick them up. A real pita. For a small price I can get two grand daughters to help, bearing in mind they get fed up fairly quickly.
>>> So what should I store them in ? I have a supply of (farmers)fertiliser bags but they are not porous. Could I just riddle them with holes?
>>> Many years ago when I grew a lot of potatoes I made open sided boxes to store them in at the back of the garage. Ratty loved them
>> Ideally, hessian sacks, Marshallas sell 4 for £10. Last
>> for years. Or re-use the ones you bought with bird
>> seed/peanuts in.
>>
>> If not hessian, paper sacks.
>>
>> On a related topic, my current pet hate is
>> "biodegradable " bags that look like plastic but start
>> biodegrading as soon as a leaf/plant touches them.
>>
>> Our council provides them for lining compost caddies;
>> before the caddy is full, the bottom of the bag has
>> already fallen apart. So I thought I'd use them for
>> harvesting crops instead; only to find full ones falling
>> apart in the fridge.
>>
>> Janet
>
>
> Janet
>
> I hadn't thought hessian sacks were available to buy. To me they would be ideal I've souced some locally now.
>
> Many thanks

https://www.amazon.co.uk/hessian-sack/s?k=hessian+sack
--
Religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as
foolish, and by the rulers as useful.

(Seneca the Younger, 65 AD)

On 14/08/2023 16:14, Janet wrote:

> On a related topic, my current pet hate is
> "biodegradable " bags that look like plastic but start
> biodegrading as soon as a leaf/plant touches them.
>
> Our council provides them for lining compost caddies;
> before the caddy is full, the bottom of the bag has
> already fallen apart. So I thought I'd use them for
> harvesting crops instead; only to find full ones falling
> apart in the fridge.

I'm sorry that happens to you , but could it be the council's supplier
problem?
Here (Balerno, outskirts of Edinburgh, Scotland) compostable bags last a
while before falling apart ( certainly long enough to line the wee bin
for food scraps) . Or should I say they were in the past as we now put
peelings, veg food waste(wont put meat of any kind in as it would
attract rats.) etc into a compost bin [1].

[1] Seems to be bottomless, it was full(ish) but we put more stuff in
and it still seems full. This has been going on for about a year now
only a small garden so doesn't need a lot of compost but when youngest
son[2] gets around to needing it...

[2] Son is the green fingered one (works in a plant nursery) all the
garden is his.

In article <ubfino$2p8dt$1@dont-email.me>,
invalid@invalid.com says...
>
> On 14/08/2023 16:14, Janet wrote:
>
>
> > On a related topic, my current pet hate is
> > "biodegradable " bags that look like plastic but start
> > biodegrading as soon as a leaf/plant touches them.
> >
> > Our council provides them for lining compost caddies;
> > before the caddy is full, the bottom of the bag has
> > already fallen apart. So I thought I'd use them for
> > harvesting crops instead; only to find full ones falling
> > apart in the fridge.
>
> I'm sorry that happens to you , but could it be the council's supplier
> problem?

It's not the bag seams that fail. The "biodegradable "
material itself just works too fast;as soon as it's in
contact with vegetabe matter it starts biodegrading into
large holes; even when the contents are dry (as I found
storing freshly picked fruit, peas etc in the fridge.

Our council provides a fortnightly compostable waste
food collection; they give you two collection caddied, a
counter-top one for the kitchen (with the liner bags,
presumably to precent mess when emptying it) and a larger
one kept outdoors by the other bins. The larger one is an
excellent design with a rat/gull proof lockable handle on
the lid and holds about four or five full kitchen caddies.
The bin service collects and empties the larger caddies
fortnightly.

Except mine, because I'm using thecouncil's excellent
caddies to collect and transport our veg kitchen waste to
my own compost bins.

Our larger wheelie bins are earmarked for recyclable
wastes (paper metal plastic etc), and non-recyclable,
sorted by the domestic user; collected on alternate weeks.
People who don't separate their kitchen waste have to put
it in "non-recyclable".

Janet

On 15/08/2023 14:02, Janet wrote:
> In article <ubfino$2p8dt$1@dont-email.me>,
> invalid@invalid.com says...
>>
>> On 14/08/2023 16:14, Janet wrote:
>>
>>
>>> On a related topic, my current pet hate is
>>> "biodegradable " bags that look like plastic but start
>>> biodegrading as soon as a leaf/plant touches them.
>>>
>>> Our council provides them for lining compost caddies;
>>> before the caddy is full, the bottom of the bag has
>>> already fallen apart. So I thought I'd use them for
>>> harvesting crops instead; only to find full ones falling
>>> apart in the fridge.
>>
>> I'm sorry that happens to you , but could it be the council's supplier
>> problem?

> It's not the bag seams that fail. The "biodegradable "
> material itself just works too fast

I was not aware that I implied it was the seams.

> Our council provides a fortnightly compostable waste
> food collection; they give you two collection caddied, a
> counter-top one for the kitchen (with the liner bags,
> presumably to precent mess when emptying it) and a larger
> one kept outdoors by the other bins. The larger one is an
> excellent design with a rat/gull proof lockable handle on
> the lid and holds about four or five full kitchen caddies.

Sounds like the same system as us.

> Except mine, because I'm using thecouncil's excellent
> caddies to collect and transport our veg kitchen waste to
> my own compost bins.

We use the "counter top caddie" for veg peelings etc, that is then
dumped in the compost bin.
Can't really remember what happened to the big caddie, but we don't
have it anymore