Potato Growing in Colorado 
23 
STORAGE 
Pits and Cellars .—Pits are not utilized in the West to' the ex¬ 
tent that they are in the East, Many of our potato growers have 
now regular cellars for storage which fulfill all the requirements. 
Storage cellars are really necessary structures in connection with 
potato growing, as they enable the growers to avail themselves of 
higher prices which usually follow harvest time. Where potatoes 
are grown on a smaller scale, the pit can be utilized without any 
material loss of the crop. In fact, potatoes stored in pits properly 
made are as good, or better, in the spring than potatoes stored in 
cellars. 
The following method of pit construction has been employed 
by the writer, with complete success: 
Level off a piece of ground of sufficient size to hold the potatoes 
intended for storage, then excavate to the depth of four inches, and 
An Up-to-date Potato Cellar; Capacity 25,000 bushels; at Carbondale, 
Colorado. 
use the earth taken from the excavation as sides, that is, heap the 
dirt up along* the edges of the cleared space. This cleared space 
should then be firmed down and the potatoes piled into this erea. 
A convenient size for the pit is ten feet in width, making it any 
length needed. The ten feet should measure from embankment to 
embankment. 
The potatoes should be piled up in the shape of a pyramid, or 
like the roof of a house, making the pitch to' the sides as steep as 
possible, and yet keep the potatoes in place. 
