practice these tips on how and when to glean white potato so you could get the most out of this versatile vegetable .
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murphy are leisurely to raise in your garden where you may try out with different varieties . When to harvest potatoes depends on your realm and the type you ’re growing . Spuds are a fond - time of year craw in the North , because frost and light freezes will kill the tops , and acool - season cropin the South and West . Here ’s what you need to have it off about how and when to harvest murphy to get the most out of this versatile veg .
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Types of Potatoes
Each type of potato has been bred and selected for specific quality such as the colour of the skin and flesh or whether it isgood for baking , stewing , orused for salad . There are also three independent categories of potatoes based on harvest time : first other miscellany , 2d former variety , and main crop .
First former varietiesare planted between the end of February and early May . They typically are ready to be harvested 10 hebdomad after planting . These varieties are idealistic options when engraft in potato get travelling bag or large container . A few to look for include ‘ Arran Pilot ’ , ‘ Foremost ’ , and ‘ Pentland Javelin ’ among many others .
Second former varietiesare typically harvested 12 - 16 weeks after planting . They include ‘ Estima ’ , ‘ Marfona ’ , and ‘ Wilja ’ .
Main harvest varietiesinclude ‘ Cara ’ , ‘ King Edward ’ , ‘ Pink Fir Apple ’ , ‘ Romano ’ , and many others . These multifariousness are left the longest in the ground , ordinarily until fall . Then they are typically all harvested at once for storage .
When to Harvest Potatoes
Once the haulm ( stem & leaves ) start to flower on early varieties , that ’s a sure augury that the plant has potatoes ready to harvest .
If you want to glean a few cutter “ new ” murphy from around the boundary of each plant when the vines start to flower ( about 8 workweek after planting ) , use your handwriting to cautiously murder a few potatoes from the earth without uproot the intact plant .
“ New ” potatoes taste deliciously seraphic directly from the garden because their sugars have n’t yet convert to starch as it will in mature spud .
Harvesting Techniques
Each category of potato is glean differently .
How to Cure and Store Fresh Potatoes
If you leave tater in light for too long , this will encourage the genus Tuber to call on green and sprout . Pack clean , teetotal potatoes in gunny or paper release andstore them in a dark , coolheaded , but frost - free shoes . Alternatively , they can be lay in on trays as long as no sparkle get to the Tuber .
If any potatoes were pierced with the garden fork while harvesting , you could " bring around " them , which toughens up the white potato ’s skin and offer its storage life . To do so , bequeath freshly harvest potatoes for two hebdomad in a dark home with high-pitched humidness and a temperature of 50 to 60 ° F , generally pass over the tubers with burlap . bound and summertime harvested potatoes are n’t normally store , but you’re able to keep them for 4 to 5 calendar month if cured first at 60 to 70 ° F for at least 4 days and then stored at a temperature of 40 ° F .
After drying fall - harvest potatoes for 1 to 2 days on the ground , cure them at 50 to 60 ° F and eminent humidity for 10 to 14 twenty-four hour period . Once cure , put in your spudsin a coolheaded , dry stain in total dark in a single layer . Never layer or pile white potato vine more than 6 to 8 inches deep or they may rot more easily .
Frequently Asked Questions
Potatoes are disease prostrate , so it ’s best to only employ certified disease - free white potato as seed potatoes that you buy from a reputable informant . If you want to select seed potatoes from your harvest to constitute your next crop , select those that have been cured and appear to be gratuitous of any disease . The tuber may be a bit wrinkly , but throw out any that show sign of rot or disease .
The trick togrowing more potatoes , even in containers , is hill . Start with 6 inches of compost , add your seeded player potatoes , andcover with 3 to 4 more inches of compost . As the foliage appears , fill the barrel or bag with more compost until just the tip of the stem show . Continue adding to the container as the potatoes grow until the level is 1 to 2 inches below the rim . Your flora will fill up all those layer with tubers .
