boisdevie1
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Can you store potatoes on sawdust?I have an ample supply of sawdust. My loony idea is to make up some big boxes in the barn and store my potatoes, onions, shallots and garlic by putting them down in layers and covering them in woodshavings/sawdust. Would this work?
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vanessa
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As long as its really dry sawdust, I think it should work well. If it's at all damp, though, it'll introduce rot.
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Mutton
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I've heard of dry sand being used for storing carrots. Again, if saw dust really dry, don't see why not.
One thought though - is it sawdust from treated or untreated timber? If treated, don't know how much of the chemicals would come off onto/into the veg. Others here might have the answer to that.
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alice
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Why bother? Potatoes keep perfectly well in paper or hessian sacks in a frost free outbuilding. The alliums likewise, either strung up or on slatted shelves. I can't see how sawdust improves on that 
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sean
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In my experience of storing spuds at work it's lack of ventilation that's your enemy for longish term storage. I reckon you'd end up with them all going rotten.
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judith
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What Alice and Sean said, plus you don't want dry conditions for storing root vegetables, a bit of dampness is needed to stop them shrivelling and drying out. (The usual recommendation is for damp, rather than dry sand).
Think about the old-fashioned storage methods - potato clamps, root cellars - they are all cool and damp.
Alliums, on the other hand, defo need light, airy conditions, otherwise they are pretty guaranteed to rot.
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