Never store potatoes with fruit, onions, or garlic. Fresh fruit can give off ethylene gas, a natural substance that causes the fruit to ripen. The ethylene gas will cause the potato to sprout.
Be careful about the neighbors: Just like garlic, you'll want to keep the onions in a ventilated space. In fact, it's perfectly fine to store the two alongside each other, says Davison. What you don't want is to have your potatoes and onions in close proximity, as gases from the onions can hasten sprouting in potatoes.
Potatoes are best kept around 45˚F to 50˚F, which means they shouldn't be stored in the fridge or freezer. The best place to store them for maximum shelf life (up to three months!) is a cool basement or garage—as long as it's dry.
Storing potatoes and onions together isn't the best idea. Onions produce a high level of ethylene gas, which will cause potatoes to ripen — and go bad — before you're ready to use them.
Storing fruits and vegetables together is not recommended. Apples and potatoes, stored together, produce ethylene gas which will make both apples and potatoes rot. Apples, pears, grapes and other fruits also can absorb odors from potatoes and other vegetables.
It's also a good idea to store potatoes away from produce, like onions, bananas, and apples which produce ethylene gas, causing nearby produce to ripen faster and potentially spoil more quickly. It's pantry-friendly, too. So many reasons to love this colorful spud.
Never store your potatoes near your apples.
If you want your potatoes to stay fresher for longer, there's one fruit you should never store them near: apples. According to vegetable gardening site Harvest to Table, apples produce high levels of ethylene gas, which cause potatoes to spoil prematurely.
Instead use burlap sacks or breathable containers like paper bags, cardboard boxes, baskets and bowls to allow for air flow. Don't freeze raw potatoes. Store potatoes away from onions, bananas, or apples. These items give off ethylene gas, which makes potatoes spoil faster.
The key is to store potatoes in a cool dry place, like in the cabinet of a pantry, in a paper bag or cardboard box. It's important to keep potatoes at the cool, ideal temperature (but not, surprisingly, the fridge) to prevent them from turning green, getting soft spots, or pre-maturely sprouting.
You need to keep your potatoes in a dry, dark place. Exposure to light or moisture can bring on rotting in the skin. You'll also need to allow your spuds to be well-ventilated so avoid any airtight containers or spots – a netted bag or wicker basket should do the trick.
Your potatoes should be stored in a cool, dark, dry place, such as a pantry or cupboard for up to 5 weeks. Use a storage container that is well-ventilated, such as a crate, a cardboard box with holes punched in it, or any container that will allow any excess moisture to evaporate.
Nestle your spuds into ventilated bins, bushel baskets, a Root Storage Bin or a cardboard box with perforated sides. Completely cover the boxes or baskets with newspaper or cardboard to eliminate any light. Even a little light will cause potatoes to turn green and be rendered inedible.
Tomatoes
The thing about tomatoes is that they are moderate ethylene producers. So, instead of storing them with ethylene-sensitive foods, store your tomatoes with other ethylene-producers. Keep them away from all members of the cabbage family, spinach, okra, pepper and sweet potatoes.
No—potatoes and onions should be stored far apart from each other. Onions produce ethylene gas, a plant hormone that encourages fruits and vegetables to ripen. When potatoes are exposed to ethylene in storage, they're more likely to rot, spoil, or sprout before you use them.
Don't store onions with potatoes
Fried potatoes and onions are a delish combo but don't store them together before you cook them, as the onions will cause the potatoes to go bad. “It's best to store items like potatoes and squash in an open-air wicker basket in a cool, dark place to preserve freshness,” says Tomlin.
Transferring your potatoes into a cardboard box will guarantee they have enough air to breathe. Light and temperature also have a significant impact on how long potatoes last in storage. Potatoes need a dark, cool environment to avoid greening, sprouting and decay. Potatoes stored in too much light may turn green.
Clean potatoes before storing them. You need only brush off the soil on potatoes grown in coarse, sandy soil. But if the soil is fine, sticky clay, your potatoes may need washing. If so, be sure they are completely dry before placing them in storage.
Potatoes like cool, dark places. The ideal temperature is 7–10 degrees: anything higher encourages them to sprout, and light will make them turn green quickly, meaning that they contain solanine. Ideally, keep potatoes in a basket or on an open shelf in a dry, dark space.
Placing an apple in the bag of potatoes when storing them will prevent the potatoes from sprouting.
Potatoes don't grow well alongside many plants, so take care when planning out your vegetable garden. When you plant potatoes, avoid planting them near: Apple, peach, and cherry trees. Fruit trees like peach, apple, and cherry often attract blight, a disease that can decimate a potato crop.