Winter tuber storage

calico20hill · 2023-12-31T00:08:04+00:00

I just did a quick check on my tubers and I am encouraged. No whiff of mold, no wrinkles, and these were small tubers that would not necessarily store well...

Teddahlia

Or are we only concluding that since only Ceylon has been tested, only Ceylon can be used with confidence?
Yes

Teddahlia

One old time grower stated he did a tuber soak in a fungicide solution before storage. He used Clearys 3336. I never tried it(I do use it on fungus in hanging baskets, however) and I do not know anyone else that has tried it and I do not know if he still does it. It was the fungicide that Swan Island Dahlias used to use for powdery mildew control. They have gone on to different chemicals.

I am not into exposing myself to chemicals.

AndreaB

calico20hill It’s always nice to have a plan in place, Noni. Hopefully you
won’t need to implement! We’ve had a very mild Winter so far, with just a trace of snow.
That’s resulted in storage temps running 5-10 degrees warmer than what I’d like, but
I did a quick check yesterday and all seemed okay.

Krista

Well good grief. Seattles *rising to the occasion and meeting the rest of the country with temps in the high teens next week. There go my hopes of lot digging the back beds this year.

Krista

calico20hill The forecast does seem to be wiggling around a bit so we’ll just have to see what we end up with.

Krista lot

Edit: “not”

calico20hill

Well, don't get too excited yet, Krista. Our forecast has totally changed to warmer temps over the past two days....unless you are now going to get what we. were supposed to get...

Teddahlia

It is hilarious to watch the weather forecasters try to predict whether we will be really cold next week or not. They have their computer models and Portland and Seattle are probably just out of the cold weather area but are on the very edge of the cold weather and it could go either way. As we know however, the weather seems to be just a bit more variable these days and storms tend to be bigger. If it is just a bit bigger, we will be in for some cold weather here in the Portland area.

JillAnne

MissyWeitzel thank you so much!!! I wondered why my govee sensors didn’t work when I wasn’t home, but other peoples did. I will still use the ones I have as I like to dial in the humidity, but this will be a life saver (or a tuber saver) for when it freezes.

Teddahlia

Latest prediction is no really cold weather Thursday through Sunday. However, why not have high wind warnings for tonight when they expect enough wind to cause many power outages? Our mountains are expecting lots of snow and that means feet of snow.

calico20hill

Feeling a bit crazy with all the weather warnings and husband going in for a lot of heart tests. I don't drive in the dark or ice due to an eye condition. Today he is going for a 6 hour EKG. Our son is going as the "Reponsible adult". I'll drive them to a park and ride this morning . All kinds of weather mayham predicted for today. My old home and friends are digging out from one of the windstorms that threw Douglass fir branches all over the highways. (They detach from the trunk and come down like giant sails on the roadways, taking out phone and power lines). Calm down here so far but the temp is set to drop as the storm comes closer. Too much uncertainty for me! I get to stay home and tend the dog, chickens and ducks.

cmcramer

Experiment TIme! My 'lean-to'style greenhouse shares a concrete back wall with my heated basement, and therefore stays above freezing all winter. The coldest it has ever reached is 37-38F. With our unusally mild Dec/Jan so far, it hovers from 40 to 50. This greenhouse is where I store my tubers, and it has worked well over the last few years. Now...I just checked on a few clumps (in cardboard boxes with pine shavings) , and while the larger, robust clumps look fine, a few smaller, weaker clumps have some shriveled tubers; others have some soft, punky tubers. I would really like to save these varieties. It's another two months before I customarily 'wake up' tubers. Sooo, my experiment is to pot up any troubled clumps and bring them into the heated basement where it averages low 60's. And as soon as I see sprouts poking out of the soil, move the pots back into the cool greenhouse, keeping the soil barely damp: I'm hoping the plants will just mark time until mid to early March. Do you think tender young shoots and their tubers will tolerate temps in high 30's?

Cosey

cmcramer Put the tubers that are losing too much moisture in a plastic tote with new packing material like vermiculite or dry-ish potting soil. Grab yourself a Govee or acurite device that measures humidity and keep adjusting the tote conditions until it reads in the mid 80%.

Teddahlia

Dahlias just cease to grow when returned to low temps in the 40s. High 30s too.

cmcramer

Right. They don't have to grow, just don't continue to rot or shrivel any more. Suspended animation would be fine.

Teddahlia

Rot is much more likely to not occur in cool temps or more correctly it will not likely start to rot in cool weather. But if a tuber already has a rotten part it can rot in cool weather. If you took cuttings from a tuber, that means you gave it some water and it should not be shriveled when you store it.

calico20hill

Well, one more day of this freezy stuff. We checked the temp in the tuber vault and even though the inside of the garage is 35 the tuber vault is at 41. I could have left them out there. Now we know. It is lined with foam insulation boards and tape over the seams so I guess it is a good place . On the other hand, sorting through the bins has been good. Those seedlings that seemed too small..yeh, they are not storing well at all. But the Swan Island, HH, and River's tubers look just fine. And many of the Saliish ones are fine It is very informative sorting through. It should be a requirement in our Dahlia Growers curriculum....

calico20hill

Sadly, it is too late for those little ones. They are goners with no chance of saving them now. And they were the same ones that got over-watered in the beds. The issue here is way more basic then storage techniques. IT was a comfort to find that I do have some that are storing just fine. It seems like every year I learn a new lesson. I wish I could learn them a little sooner before I run out of years🙃

calico20hill

Checked another crate that were first year seedlngs and only had a few I had to toss. Things are looking up! Small tubers but still good!

Krista

How often are folks generally checking tubers? I’m just curious how wide the spread is. I’m sure its very individual and depends on all the variables regarding differing storage methods/weather/etc. I’ve been reminding myself to check about once a month but I’m curious what you all aim for, generally?

Photo of Bubbling Over’s pretty pink-flushed tubers:

SteveM

Krista For the average keeping varieties I check at one week and then every month after.

calico20hill

I uually do a mid winter check and then in another 6 weeks I might look through them to pull out ones to start early in the greenhouse.

Krista

Wow thank you so much! This varied more than I even thought it might.

calico20hill What determines which tubers you pull to start early?

SteveM My method is closest with yours, which surprises me so much since we’re such different growers. I checked mine first at two weeks though and after one week would have been better. I found some tubers weren’t as dry as I thought they were when I packed them away. I’ll make my first check at one week from now on.

Juliarugula I’m really impressed at your packaging, how you pull tubers for trades when storing. I’m going to think about this too — currently I just have them stored by variety with inventory noted in a spreadsheet. I planned to pull for trades when it’s time to ship but having boxes ready to go already sounds great! Also, your favorites box; cooool!

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