The Potato Spud Experiment

About 6 to 8 weeks ago my girls and I placed potatoes in different locations around the house to determine if spuds on potatoes grow differently in different conditions.  Potatoes were placed in the following four locations:

1. Bathroom - Warmer and humid.
2. Interior closet - Dark and room temperature.
3. Living room by heat vent - Exposed to warmer air coming from vent.
4. Refrigerator - Cooler temperatures.

Here are our results, starting with the bathroom potato.

This potato had an interesting spud growth coming out of one end, but very few spuds anywhere else.  The potato was slightly squishy.  Next, here's the potato next to the heat vent.

The heat vent potato had the greatest effect, becoming very shriveled up and showing a few larger spud growth regions.  Next is the potato in the dark closet.

This potato was still relatively hard and showed a few regions of very tiny spud growth.  Cut off these small spuds and the potato is probably still good to eat.  Last is the potato in the fridge.

This potato was still hard and showed no spud growth.

So what do our results mean?  Potatoes are best stored in a dark, cooler (but not cold) place.  As expected, the potatoes placed near warm air or in a humid environment (bathroom) showed the greatest effect.  The potato in the closet (dark, but not cool) showed a few effects.  The potato in the fridge should no spud growth, as expected given the cool conditions.  

Try this out at home with your own kids and look for other environments to put a potato in to study spud growth.