It’s nice to eat fresh potatoes from the garden, but sometimes you get too many all at once. You’ll need to store the extra – but which varieties will keep best over a long time?
So, which potatoes keep the longest? Some of the best storage potatoes that keep the longest are All Blue, Burbank Russet, Elba, German Butterball, Katahdin, Lehigh, Natascha, Pinto Gold, Purple Viking, Red Chieftain, Red Pontiac, Russian Banana Fingerling, Satina, Strawberry Paw, Yukon Gem, and Yukon Gold.
Late crop potatoes with thick skins generally last longer than early potatoes or those with thin skins.
In this article, we’ll take a look at 17 good storage potatoes that will keep for months at a time without sprouting or going bad. We’ll also take a look at some ways to store potatoes properly to make them last even longer.
Let’s get started.
The Complete Guide To Growing Potatoes
A complete reference and an ultimate guide that teaches you everything you need to know about potato selection, planting, care, harvest, and storage.
Which Potatoes Keep The Longest?
Late potatoes with thicker skin keep the longest in storage. Late potatoes (or late-season potatoes) take the longest to grow, and they mature in the fall, usually after more than 3 months of growing.
Early potatoes (or early-season potatoes) and potatoes with thin skins tend not to last as long, and so they are best for fresh eating.
Here is a list of 17 potato varieties that are great for storage in the long term:
- All Blue
- Burbank Russet
- Elba
- German Butterball
- Katahdin
- Kennebec
- Lehigh
- Natascha
- Pinto Gold
- Purple Viking
- Red Chieftain
- Red Pontiac
- Russian Banana Fingerling
- Satina
- Strawberry Paw
- Yukon Gem
- Yukon Gold
You can learn more about these potato varieties (and where to find them) below.
Best Storage Potatoes
Here are 17 storage potatoes that will keep for a long time:
All Blue
This heirloom potato variety really is all blue, boasting both blue skin and flesh inside! It is sometimes called Purple Marker, and it has nice flavor with a creamy texture, making it good for boiling or baking.
You can find All Blue potatoes from Hudson Valley Seed.
Burbank Russet
This thick-skinned potato variety has tan to brown skin with dry, white flesh that makes it ideal for baking, frying, or mashing.
(You can find a recipe for twice baked mashed potatoes here.)
It takes 120 days to mature, but it’s worth the wait, which is probably why it is one of the most popular in the U.S.
Often called the Idaho Baking Potato, the tubers are large and oblong, storing well in the long term, even during the winter.
You can find Burbank Russet potatoes from Gurney’s.
Elba
This potato has round tubers with brown skin and white flesh. They store well over the winter, but even better, they resist both scab and late blight.
The plants emerge slowly in spring, but they don’t need ideal conditions to survive, and they are forgiving to beginners.
You can find Elba Potatoes from Fedco Seeds.
German Butterball
This potato has light brown or yellow skin and yellow flesh. True to its name, the flesh is buttery and smooth, yet dry – perfect for roasting or frying in the winter.
This variety boasts high yields and it stores well. It has resistance to scab, but is susceptible to Rhizoctonia.
You can find German Butterball potatoes from Fedco Seeds.
Katahdin
This potato has tan skin and white flesh. It was released in 1932 by the USDA and the state of Maine (names after Mount Katahdin in Maine).
Some of the tubers grow very large, and they tend to move towards the soil surface, so be sure to keep up with hilling.
This variety resists mosaic, but is susceptible to spindle tuber, leaf roll, and scab.
You can find Katahdin potatoes from Fedco Seeds.
Kennebec
This potato variety is quite productive, with thin tan skin and smooth white flesh. It is good for frying, baking, or boiling.
Kennebec boasts high yields and disease resistance. It matures in 80 to 100 days.
You can find Kennebec potatoes from Gurney’s.
Lehigh
This potato has yellow skin and light yellow flesh. It was released in 2007 by Cornell, Penn State, and the University of Maine (it was tested in Lehigh County in Pennsylvania).
Lehigh boasts productive yields and excellent storage, with some tubers growing to over a pound. It also resists both scab and blackspot bruise.
You can find Lehigh potatoes from Fedco Seeds.
The Complete Guide To Growing Potatoes
A complete reference and an ultimate guide that teaches you everything you need to know about potato selection, planting, care, harvest, and storage.
Natascha
This early potato has yellow skin and smooth, creamy, yellow flesh. It produces a high yield of tubers with very few blemishes.
Natascha resists bruising, rhizoctonia, black leg, potato virus Y, and tuber rot.
You can find Natascha potatoes from Fedco Seeds.
Pinto Gold
This late potato has red skin and smooth, buttery, yellow flesh with an excellent flavor. It was bred by the University of Maine.
It produces a high yield of tubers, whose shape can vary from oval to fingerling. This potato stores very well.
You can find Pinto Gold potatoes from Johnny’s Selected Seeds.
Purple Viking
This early potato has thin purple-pink skin and creamy, white, buttery flesh. It is good for baking or mashing, and it is favored over Yukon Gold for flavor.
Purple Viking can produce up to 2 pounds of tubers per plant. Matures in 80 to 100 days.
You can find Purple Viking potatoes from Gurney’s.
Red Chieftain
This mid-season potato has thin pinkish-red skin and firm, moist, white flesh. It is good for boiling, or for use as new potatoes (harvested before maturity).
It has better flavor than Dark Red Norland (and stores better). It also resists late blight.
You can find Red Chieftain potatoes from High Mowing Seeds.
Red Pontiac
This potato has thin pinkish-red skin and crisp, white flesh. It a good choice for mashing, or if you want new potatoes (harvested before maturity).
It performs well in heavy soil and stores well, making it a favorite.
You can find Red Pontiac potatoes from Gurney’s.
Russian Banana Fingerling
This heirloom potato has tan skin and moist, buttery, yellow flesh. The tubers are small and oblong, perfect for boiling, baking, or roasting.
It is easy to grow, stores well, and has high resistance to scab. It was first grown by Russians who settled in the U.S.
You can find Russian Banana Fingering potatoes from High Mowing Seeds.
Satina
This potato has yellow-tan skin and smooth, buttery, yellow flesh. The tubers are large with few flaws – excellent for mashing.
It produces high yields and stores well. It also has high resistance to scab and tuber late blight, plus moderate resistance to Potato Virus Y.
You can find Satina potatoes from Johnny’s Selected Seeds.
Strawberry Paw
This mid-season potato has red skin and creamy white flesh. The tubers are large and round or oblong – excellent flavor.
It stores very well and also resists both scab and tuber late blight.
You can find Strawberry Paw potatoes from Johnny’s Selected Seeds.
Yukon Gem
This mid-season potato has light tan skin and buttery light yellow to white flesh, good for baking, boiling, or frying. The tubers are round or oval – excellent flavor (same as Yukon Gold).
Developed by North Dakota State University, it stores very well and also resists both scab and late blight.
You can find Yukon Gem from High Mowing Seeds.
Yukon Gold
This early potato has golden yellow skin and moist light yellow flesh, good for baking, boiling, mashing, or frying. The tubers have excellent flavor, and you can harvest them before maturity to get delicious new potatoes.
Maturing fast in only 60 to 80 days, Yukon Gold is favored by many gardeners.
You can find Yukon Gold from Gurney’s.
How To Store Potatoes
To make your potatoes last even longer in storage, follow the principles below:
- Stop watering potato plants just before harvest. This will toughen them up for storage.
- Let the potato vines die all the way back before harvesting tubers.
- Dig your potatoes carefully (treat them like eggs!) Avoid cutting, scraping, or bruising by dropping or rough handling.
- Set aside any damaged potatoes and eat them first. Store the undamaged tubers for the long-term.
- Do not leave harvested potatoes in direct sunlight. Otherwise, they will turn green (due to chlorophyll) and toxic (due to solanine).
- Clean (but do not wash) your potatoes before storage. Use a soft bristle brush to dust off the dirt. If you must wash them, dry them well (a fan might help) before putting them into storage.
- Cure potatoes for 7 to 10 days in a dark, humid area with good ventilation. This makes them last longer.
- Store potatoes long-term at 40 to 45 degrees Fahrenheit in a dark place. Higher humidity will prevent shriveling.
- Generally, thick skinned potatoes store better than thin skinned ones. Often, yellow and white potatoes last longer than red ones. Late potatoes tend to keep better than early potatoes.
The Complete Guide To Growing Potatoes
A complete reference and an ultimate guide that teaches you everything you need to know about potato selection, planting, care, harvest, and storage.
Conclusion
Now you know about some of the best storage potatoes that will keep for a long time. You also know a few key steps you can take to make your potatoes last even longer in storage.
I hope you found this article helpful. If so, please share it with someone who can use the information.
You can learn about heirloom potatoes, what they are, and some interesting varieties here.
You can learn about red potato varieties here.
You can learn about yellow potato varieties here.
Potato leaves are toxic, as well as other parts of the plant – you can learn more here.
You can learn all about main crop potato varieties here.
You can get an idea of how many potatoes to expect per plant here.
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~Jonathon
Some of the best storage potatoes that keep the longest are All Blue, Burbank Russet, Elba, German Butterball, Katahdin, Lehigh, Natascha, Pinto Gold, Purple Viking, Red Chieftain, Red Pontiac, Russian Banana Fingerling, Satina, Strawberry Paw, Yukon Gem, and Yukon Gold.