Frosted tatties

[snohare]

I am heartbroken, I went out to the kennel the other day and checked on my tatties, only to find a lot of them wet and spongy.
I had them insulated from the ground, in cardboard fruit boxes lined with a full newspaper thickness of paper, plus a winter jacket and a winter sleeping bag wrapped securely all round them - but it wasn't enough. All those nights at -8 and below have done their damage.
Is there anything I can do with frosted tatties ? Are they edible in any form ? Does that depend on the variety ?

[Snadger]

Hi, I had the very same thing happen to me a few years ago which put the kybosh on me growing exceedingly early spuds for ever.

I had mine in a cold frame with straw around them and even a small paraffin heater in with them ......but they still got frosted.

I know how you feel snohare and wonder whether its actually worth it?

I managed to save one, which I did get a crop from but only about a fortnight before the others!

[snohare]

These weren't seed potatoes I was chitting for early sowing Snadger, they were cropped tatties I had stored in readiness for eating !
I kept on thinking of checking up on them, but every time I go out my feet get wet and my chillblains are killing me. So I never did the wee trek through the drifts...serves me right !

[sewer rat]

As explained elsewhere, I am in Belfast at the moment and yesterday I watched a TV interview with a potato grower over here who said he had lost hundreds of tonnes of tatties that were still in the ground I thought most commercial growers lifted and stored their crops these days. Anyway, he said that any tatties that were within 8 inches of the top of the ground would be frost damaged and useless.

[Storming Norman]

It's heartbreaking isn't it when you put in so much work.

Earlier I checked my stored tatties on top of the freezer in the garage - one or two are now frosted. It seems I might have just got to the rest in time. Although I still have around 8 nicola pot plants undug [still in the raised bed]. Oh well it was a risk but I now know I should have dug last weekend instead of pruning.

The crown price squash I was saving for really foul weather food is also glistening with frost in the garage. Since the foul weather is it is here now I'm making squash soup - hopefully it will freeze OK - intentionally instead of accidentally.

[tattieman]

Our seed potatoes in hessian sacks or paper sacks are always kept on wooden pallets so that they can't draw the cold from the concrete. It has been a really cold time and I don't think it would matter what you do with them if you store them outside of your house. Best just to have a sort through them and dispose of the wasted tubers.

[solway cropper]

Slightly off topic but tattieman might know the answer. Will this prolonged spell of severe weather have any effect on the supply of seed potatoes for the coming season. There must be a few suppliers who keep them in big sheds which must get very cold. I'm reluctant to order any at the moment because if they're stuck in a cold sorting office then in the back of a van they might get badly frosted.

[Snadger]

No idea what some of mine will be like until the permafrost thaws!

[snohare]

I have worked out why my hamster mind is worrying away at the issue of edible potatoes that are frozen - and it's not just because I am a stingy Aberdonian.
You get freezer packs of oven chips - how does that work ? Are some varieties okay to freeze ?

[jayjay giant]

Gutted for you ! It can be really upsetting when this sort of thing happens.

[snohare]

But I still have my Oca to harvest - and they should be bulked up nicely with all this frost !
( I hope. )

[realfood]

I fear that you may find that your oca tubers have also been damaged by frost.

[Bulbaholic]

Our most memorable tattie experience came when we had a smallholding in Aberdeenshire. At the begining of the year our neighbouring farmer told us that a contractor had done a poor job of clearing the potatoes from the ground in one of his fields that he had leased and that we could help ourselves to those remaining. The potatoes were lying on the surface of the ground and all we had to do was pick them up. We brought a bag home and ate some for dinner that night. They were magnificent, tasting of chestnuts. This was our introduction to Desiree and these had been severely frosted and snowed on during the winter.
We went back the next day to collect many more for eating and for seed for our holding. Desiree have been a favourite ever since.

[Janek]

It is truly heart-breaking, Snohare! I feel for you. Why don't you try boiling up a few, discard the spuds and use what is left as a stock or go on to turn the 'stock' into a full-bodied soup or stew. By doing this, if it is a success you can use the rest of the spuds the same way. It's worth a try, I think.