Potato Harvesting

potatoes storage

Potato harvesting is certainly an experience that most people look forward to every fall. Here are some tips to make sure that your potatoes harvest and storing keeps you rife with potatoes all winter long!

1. Some Garden Hoses or a water source

2. Gardening Gloves

3. Enough shovels for each person taking part in the potato harvest

4. Spading forks for each person present.

The first tip to harvesting potatoes you will want to keep in mind is that you don't want to harvest all of the potatoes at once. You will want to leave some potatoes to grow and be harvested later.

The best time for when to harvest potatoes is after the tops of the vines have died but before the first frost of the fall or winter hits.You will also want to make sure to water your potato garden very well after each harvest. Harvesting is stressful on the plants and watering helps to alleviate that.

To harvest potatoes, you will want to dig under the plants with either your shovel or your spading fork. You want to be careful and try not to damage the potatoes in the digging process.

Fresh potatoes are fragile, so be very careful! When you have gotten underneath the plant with your shovel or spading fork, lift the entire plant and shake the soil off of it. Pull the potatoes you want from the vine. This is the most obvious part of potato harvesting and storing.

When potatoes harvesting, use the new potatoes immediately. New potatoes are smaller and are usually only a couple of inches big. The bigger potatoes can be stored for later. Mature potatoes can be kept for as long as six months, as long as you keep them in a cool, dark place that has enough humidity.

how to store potatoes

There are lots of techniques when it comes to storing potato, particularly if you want to store your potatoes for any lengthy period of time. Don't worry about rinsing the potatoes off before you store them. In fact, it's better for the potato if you don't rinse it at all! Potatoes are best served when stored in a bag that has holes in it. Plastic bags, burlap bags and brown paper bags work best for potato storage.

For potato storing, a root cellar is ideal. If you don't have one, a cool place that is dark and humid (or damp) will work equally well. Make sure that your potato storage space is between forty five and fifty degrees. Avoid the refrigerator, as it will cause the potatoes to be too sweet. You will also want to keep the potatoes away from the onions because when they are kept close to each other, they produce gases that are harmful to both plants. You see? Potato harvesting is not nearly as complicated as you thought it would be!

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