Use a garden, “lifting” fork to carefully dig around the plants to find the potatoes. Push the fork into soil just outside the row and lift up under the potato plant to draw out the potatoes. When digging up fully matured potatoes, you’ll find that the skin is set and difficult to remove when rubbed .
Potatoes are ready to harvest at the end of the growing season . You can tell they are ready to be harvested when the flowers fade and the foliage turns yellowish-brown and starts to dry. This is an indicator that your spuds have matured.
When to pick potatoes?
On when to pick potatoes, pick a dry day because moisture tends to spread disease and rot, which is very undesirable. The right way to harvest potatoes is to do it carefully. You must avoid piercing or slicing the potatoes when digging them. If it’s inevitable, eat damaged potatoes right away.
When you see that the first flower has bloomed in the potato plant, be ready to harvest the sweet new potatoes. Instead of digging out the entire plant, carefully move aside the soil around the roots.
While we were reading we ran into the question “When should I dig up my Potatoes?”.
One source stated that Dig your potatoes about two weeks after the vines have died or been cut back. Lightly irrigating the potato crop prior to digging softens dirt clods and reduces potential bruising and tuber damage during harvest. Use a garden, “lifting” fork to carefully dig around the plants to find the potatoes.
What should you do with potatoes after harvest?
If any of the potatoes from your harvest are diseased or unhealthy, throw them away. There’s not set period for when your potatoes are ready to harvest, but you can usually tell when it’s time by getting to know your plant. When the green stalks and leaves begin to die back, it’s a sign that the tubers are mature and ready to dig up.
What are the stages of potato growth?
Potato growth is typically divided into five phases, which is helpful for understanding when potatoes are ready for harvest. During the first phase, sprouts emerge from the seed potatoes and root growth begins. During the second phase, photosynthesis begins as the plant develops leaves and branches.
Why are my potatoes so small?
If you have some that were small in one area that may be a sign of poor soil or lack of water, you want to check this out, so you are ready for the next time you plant. Making sure that you have good potatoes to dig up, starts with your soil.