Let the potato plants and the weather tell you when to harvest them. Wait until the tops of the vines have completely died before you begin harvesting. When the vines are dead, it is a sure sign the potatoes have finished growing and are ready to be harvested.
Potatoes are tubers, and you want your plant to store as much of that flavorful starch as possible.
Dig up a test hill to see how mature the potatoes are. The skins of mature potatoes are thick and firmly attached to the flesh. If the skins are thin and rub off easily, your potatoes are still too new and should be left in the ground for a few more days.
Don’t leave the potatoes that you have dug in the sun for long after they have been dug up from your garden, otherwise your potatoes may turn green. Green potatoes have a bitter taste and if enough is eaten can cause vomiting and diarrhea. Small spots can be trimmed off, but if there is significant greening, throw the potato out.
Potatoes can tolerate light frost, but when the first hard frost is expected, it’s time to get out the shovels and start digging potatoes. An interesting place you might not be aware of is the potato museum in Washington, D. C. that contains lots of history, information and artifacts relating to potatoes including antique harvesting tools.
As you dig, be careful not to scrape, bruise or cut the potatoes. Damaged potatoes will rot during storage and should be used as soon as possible.
After harvesting, potatoes must be cured. Let them sit in temperatures of 45 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit for about two weeks. This will give the skins time to harden and minor injuries to seal.
After the potatoes have been dug, brush the soil off. Do not wash potatoes until you’re ready to use them. Washing can easily reduce the storage life and encourage mold.
Store potatoes in a cool, dark area after harvesting. Too much light will turn them green.
Sometimes before harvesting some potatoes become exposed to the sun because they are just barely underground and not covered with soil. Keep soil over the potatoes to prevent sunlight from turning them green. If you want new potatoes, which are small, immature potatoes about 1 to 2 inches in size, harvest them just before their vines die. Remember though that the more baby potatoes you dig, the fewer full-sized ones you will have for later in the season.
After you decide when to dig up potatoes, get the whole family involved. Equipped with a small basket, even the smallest child can share in this fun and rewarding experience.
To learn even more about potatoes, go to MSU Extension’s Michigan Fresh website. This site has a wide variety of fact sheets that will help you use, store and preserve fresh, locally grown fruits and vegetables. You will also find information on flowers and ornamentals.
IN LATE SUMMER. NEXT TIME YOU PLANT POTATOES, IF YOU WILL USE THE METHOD MY FATHER USED YOU WILL BE ABLE TO HARVEST THEM THROUGHOUT THE GROWING SEASON. HE WOULD PLANT THE POTATO EYES IN A SHALLOW ( ABOUT 2 INCHES DEEP ) TRENCH, COVER THEM UP AND THEN SCATTER ABOUT 14 INCHES OF STRAW OVER THE TOP. WATER THEM WELL AND THE POTATO PLANTS WILL COME UP THROUGH THE STRAW ( WEEDS WILL NOT ) . THEN WHEN THE POTATO PLANTS STARTED TO BLOOM, HE WOULD GENTLY LIFT UP THE STRAW AND SEE HOW BIG THE POTATOES WERE ( THEY GROW ON TOP OF THE GROUND OR IN THE STRAW) AND WOULD PICK THE LARGEST ONES TO HAVE FRESH " NEW POTATOES " TO EAT LONG BEFORE ANYONE ELSE HAD FRESH POTATOES . AT THE END OF THE GROWING SEASON HE WOULD DIG TO SEE IF THERE WERE ANY POTATOES THAT HAD GROWN I THE GROUND. USUALLY VERY FEW OR
TO ANSWER P.J. WISE; WHEN MY FATHER USED THE STRAW METHOD, HE WOULD PICK THE LARGER ONES AND THERE WOULD BE MORE SMALLER ONES TO TAKE THEIR PLACE. THEY WOULD IN TURN GROW TO BE LARGE ONES. ONE YEAR THE POTATOES CAME UP THROUGH THE STRAW AND GOT FROST BITTEN AND DIED. DAD THOUGHT HE WOULD HAVE TO REPLANT THEM, " WRONG " THEY CAME BACK AGAIN AND THEY GOT FROST BIT. AGAIN HE THOUGHT HE WOULD HAVE TO REPLANT, " WRONG AGAIN " . AND HE THOUGHT HE WOULD HAVE TO REPLANT. THEY CAME BACK THE THIRD TIME AND HE HAD THE BIGGEST POTATO CROP HE HAD EVER SEEN. WHEN HE WAS YOUNGER , HIM AND HIS BROTHER USED TO RAISE POTATOES AND TOMATOES TO SELL TO THE ALLEN CANNING COMPANY IN BENTONVILLE ARKANSAS. THEY WOULD ALSO PICK WILD POLK GREENS ( SOME PEOPLE REFER TO THEM AS POKE WEED OR POKE SALET ) AND SELL THEM TO ALLEN CANNING COMPANY.
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I have always been told when the plant dies back.
Michigan State University Extension has these tips for winter storage of homegrown potatoes:
Potatoes are tubers, and you want your plant to store as much of that flavorful starch as possible.
Sometimes before harvesting some potatoes become exposed to the sun because they are just barely underground and not covered with soil. Keep soil over the potatoes to prevent sunlight from turning them green. If you want new potatoes, which are small, immature potatoes about 1 to 2 inches in size, harvest them just before their vines die. Remember though that the more baby potatoes you dig, the fewer full-sized ones you will have for later in the season.
After you decide when to dig up potatoes, get the whole family involved. Equipped with a small basket, even the smallest child can share in this fun and rewarding experience.
To learn even more about potatoes, go to MSU Extension’s Michigan Fresh website. This site has a wide variety of fact sheets that will help you use, store and preserve fresh, locally grown fruits and vegetables. You will also find information on flowers and ornamentals.
This article was published by Michigan State University Extension
i do my last harvest when the plants are dead, but i dig them up throughout the season for some tender yummy small potatoes to fry up.
IN LATE SUMMER. NEXT TIME YOU PLANT POTATOES, IF YOU WILL USE THE METHOD MY FATHER USED YOU WILL BE ABLE TO HARVEST THEM THROUGHOUT THE GROWING SEASON. HE WOULD PLANT THE POTATO EYES IN A SHALLOW ( ABOUT 2 INCHES DEEP ) TRENCH, COVER THEM UP AND THEN SCATTER ABOUT 14 INCHES OF STRAW OVER THE TOP. WATER THEM WELL AND THE POTATO PLANTS WILL COME UP THROUGH THE STRAW ( WEEDS WILL NOT ) . THEN WHEN THE POTATO PLANTS STARTED TO BLOOM, HE WOULD GENTLY LIFT UP THE STRAW AND SEE HOW BIG THE POTATOES WERE ( THEY GROW ON TOP OF THE GROUND OR IN THE STRAW) AND WOULD PICK THE LARGEST ONES TO HAVE FRESH " NEW POTATOES " TO EAT LONG BEFORE ANYONE ELSE HAD FRESH POTATOES . AT THE END OF THE GROWING SEASON HE WOULD DIG TO SEE IF THERE WERE ANY POTATOES THAT HAD GROWN I THE GROUND. USUALLY VERY FEW OR
SOMETIMES NONE.
TO ANSWER P.J. WISE; WHEN MY FATHER USED THE STRAW METHOD, HE WOULD PICK THE LARGER ONES AND THERE WOULD BE MORE SMALLER ONES TO TAKE THEIR PLACE. THEY WOULD IN TURN GROW TO BE LARGE ONES. ONE YEAR THE POTATOES CAME UP THROUGH THE STRAW AND GOT FROST BITTEN AND DIED. DAD THOUGHT HE WOULD HAVE TO REPLANT THEM, " WRONG " THEY CAME BACK AGAIN AND THEY GOT FROST BIT. AGAIN HE THOUGHT HE WOULD HAVE TO REPLANT, " WRONG AGAIN " . AND HE THOUGHT HE WOULD HAVE TO REPLANT. THEY CAME BACK THE THIRD TIME AND HE HAD THE BIGGEST POTATO CROP HE HAD EVER SEEN. WHEN HE WAS YOUNGER , HIM AND HIS BROTHER USED TO RAISE POTATOES AND TOMATOES TO SELL TO THE ALLEN CANNING COMPANY IN BENTONVILLE ARKANSAS. THEY WOULD ALSO PICK WILD POLK GREENS ( SOME PEOPLE REFER TO THEM AS POKE WEED OR POKE SALET ) AND SELL THEM TO ALLEN CANNING COMPANY.