A fellow gardener as soon as requested me if rising potatoes was value it. Why waste the area, dig the trenches, mound the hills, intervene with tomato rotation, and threat battling with potato bugs for a vegetable that we frequently expertise in methods which can be removed from particular?

Right here’s why:

Not too long ago harvested potatoes have a tenderness, a silky texture, and a depth of taste that makes me sit up for rising these crops yearly.

And even a small area like a raised mattress or a giant container can yield a decent return on all types of potato varieties in dazzling colours, with quite a lot of makes use of within the kitchen.

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So that you sprouted, reduce, and dried your seed potatoes within the spring. You dug your trenches, mounded your soil, watered, and waited.

You watched because the sprouts grew into lush inexperienced stems. And when the stems began to yellow and die again, you knew it was time to strike!

Let’s get all the way down to the enterprise of digging up these spuds.

Tips on how to Harvest

You need to use bigger instruments like shovels and pitchforks or hand instruments like trowels and claws to reap, or – in case your soil is shallow and mushy sufficient, as mine is – your garden-gloved fingers.

Utilizing spades and shovels tends to end in chopped-up tubers, although, so backyard forks or fingers are really useful.

In case your potato vegetation nonetheless have robust stems, you’ll be able to pull them as much as begin the harvesting course of.

You’ll usually get a number of smaller specimens clinging to the roots. To get the remainder of the spuds, or in case your stems have completely died again, gently dig a number of inches away from the bottom of every plant and carry the soil up. Seize any potatoes that include it.

Use gloved fingers to sift by the upturned soil to ensure you get each final one. Don’t overlook to dig down deep so that you gained’t go away any specimens underground, the place they may rot or sprout subsequent season (which could not jibe together with your planting or crop rotation plans).

Now that you already know the “how,” let’s check out timing.

When to Harvest

For “new” potatoes – an exquisite midsummer deal with – you’ll be able to harvest when a couple of third of the potato greenery has began to yellow or die again.

These potatoes will likely be on the smaller facet, they usually’ll have a really delicate pores and skin that’s straightforward for shovels, forks, and even gloved fingers to wreck. They’ll even be scrumptious.

This could be a good time to examine on and harvest only a few potatoes to see how they’re coming alongside when it comes to dimension and pores and skin texture – in the event you’re planning to retailer potatoes, or if you would like larger spuds, they’ll want a number of extra weeks to develop. Prep and revel in your take a look at potatoes now for a scrumptious preview of future harvests.

You’ll want to get even the little marble-sized goodies. A farmer I do know offered these just lately in half-pint containers as “peanut potatoes.” For those who’re roasting, grilling, or frying your spuds, these little guys with their excessive skin-to-flesh ratio crisp up actually properly.

Now that you already know your potatoes are prepared, you’ll be able to harvest your spuds suddenly, or as you want them in the course of the hardening-off course of, which I’ll talk about within the subsequent part.

I have a tendency to reap the potatoes from every of my planting areas (in my case, raised beds and containers) suddenly, however I do that in levels.

I’ll harvest one container or mattress’s value in order that the rising area turns into obtainable for different crops sooner. However I nonetheless have a number of extra beds or container’s value of potatoes to reap in following weeks. That means, that I’ve obtained a reasonably good provide that may take me from midsummer to Labor Day.

In addition to preserving my root cellar or fridge stocked, this enables me to release containers or sections of plots for sowing fall crops like carrots, beets, and lettuce.

Talking of fall, you would possibly need to hold a big crop of potatoes recent for a number of months previous harvest time. Thankfully, there’s a easy course of that may enable you to do exactly that.

Hardening Off

For those who’d like your potato skins to be extra agency, or in the event you’re planning to retailer them long-term, go away them within the floor for as much as a month after the tops have completely died again.

You’ll want to hold them dry – no watering! Utilized irrigation and even heavy rains could cause your potatoes to rot or sprout at this level, so plan your harvest accordingly.

If there’s a number of moist climate within the forecast or a frost is arising, it’s a good suggestion to reap your remaining spuds earlier than this level – sadly you gained’t be capable of harden off underground with these situations. However you’ll be able to harvest your potatoes and convey them indoors to proceed the hardening off course of in the event you’re coping with rain or frost.

Correct Storage

Now that your potatoes have been unearthed, brush off any extra filth and retailer them indoors in a cool, darkish, dry place.

You may also retailer them within the fridge for as much as 2 months, wrapped properly in plastic or saved in a zip-top bag to maintain them agency and recent.

I’ve had success doing this with each unwashed and washed potatoes. For those who select to clean and refrigerate yours, ensure they’ve been dried properly earlier than storing in plastic to forestall rot.

For those who’ve hardened off your haul and plan to retailer your potatoes over the winter, don’t wash them! Brush off extra soil, let the soiled spuds dry indoors (out of the solar to keep away from damaging or sprouting the specimens), after which hold them dry to keep away from rot.

It’s fantastic if some dry soil clings to the skins of the potatoes. Examine your haul fastidiously and cull any with cuts, gashes, or damaged pores and skin – they gained’t hold properly, however you need to use them shortly with no in poor health results.

It’s additionally a great rule of thumb to drag smaller potatoes out of your storage inventory earlier than bigger ones – smaller taters don’t have fairly the preserving energy of bigger specimens.

The best temperature for long-term potato storage is round 50°F. You’ll need to stash them in a darkish place – no gentle in any respect! – in a well-ventilated container. A wicker basket, paper or mesh bag, plastic storage bin with cutouts, or a cardboard field will do the trick.

When you have a cool, dry, darkish basement or different cupboard space, that’s nice for this. And in the event you’re fortunate sufficient to have an precise root cellar, that’s good!

Remember that you’ll need to restrict entry to hungry critters as a lot as attainable.

In any other case, a pantry or closet that may keep darkish and funky for the long run and that isn’t accessible for pests to invade will do. Your potatoes ought to hold properly this manner for a number of months.

Extra Potato Suggestions

Now, for a number of essential professional ideas:

1. Don’t Eat the Inexperienced Ones…

As you get pleasure from your homegrown potatoes, it’s possible you’ll discover that the pores and skin of your spuds has taken on a inexperienced tint. You’ll generally see this on the grocery retailer as properly – don’t purchase these!

This implies your potatoes have been uncovered to gentle, which will increase ranges of alkaloids and creates a toxin known as solanine that’s toxic to people. This may additionally create a bitter taste in your potatoes.

To keep away from greening, make sure you hold them at the hours of darkness, with no gentle publicity throughout storage in any respect.

Whereas I positively advocate avoiding any totally inexperienced potatoes solely, specimens with only a trace of inexperienced on their pores and skin can nonetheless be eaten safely, so long as you chop away that portion.

2. …Or the Seeds

As your potatoes develop to maturity, however earlier than the inexperienced tops begin to die again, it’s possible you’ll discover what seem like tiny inexperienced cherry tomatoes rising among the many leaves. These are the seeds of the potato.

Please resist the urge to pop them in your mouth whereas weeding such as you would a Sungold, as a result of they’re poisonous!

Additionally they gained’t provide the similar potatoes, even in the event you have been to save lots of and plant them subsequent 12 months. Since potatoes don’t develop true from seed, we propagate them vegetatively, by saving seed potatoes from one 12 months to the following.

Since illness may be handed down from season to season this manner, it’s really useful that you just at all times supply trusted seed potatoes annually.

3. A Word on Rotation

I’ve touched on it already, however I’d like to supply yet one more be aware about rotation, with an city rising tip:

Rising potatoes and tomatoes on a three-year rotation is really useful – that means that if you wish to develop these crops yearly, you’ll want to take care of three separate beds or containers.

This minimizes the possibility that you just’ll exhaust the soil and construct up pests or plant illnesses in a single mattress such as you would possibly in the event you plant these crops in the identical place time and again.

In my very own backyard, I additionally develop in straight compost, since I can get it without cost. Yields appear fairly good to date, though the crops would profit from one thing a bit lighter, I’m positive. YMMV.

Since I plant my potatoes in a sequence of raised beds and containers in varied group gardens (in addition to my very own entrance yard), I be certain that to construct up my raised mattress soil ranges – which inevitably drop all through every season – by emptying my spent potato container soil right into a spent potato or tomato mattress.

This fashion, I’m preserving my rotation correctly, and the beds I take advantage of that didn’t develop potatoes or tomatoes this season will likely be prepared for them the following season.

Dig In!

Now that you just’re armed with the instruments you want to reap and retailer your spuds, it’s time to seek out your pitchfork and get digging!

Whereas a easy toss with olive oil, salt, and herbs (like this one) normally does it for me, I additionally love melting an Alpine-style cheese over boiled or roasted taters, Raclette-style.

What sort of potatoes are you rising this season? Tell us your harvesting and storage ideas and share a few of your favourite recipes within the feedback!

And for extra potato rising ideas, make sure you try a few of our different guides: