When and how to harvest potatoes for storage: we dig up the crop on time

For the vast majority of summer residents and gardeners, potatoes are a vegetable crop that is doubly loved. How else! After all, the so-called “second bread” is easy to care for and has no complaints about taste. As you know, eating with him is not only healthy, but also satisfying. However, it is not enough to grow enviable tubers in order to harvest the crop correctly and in a timely manner, you will also have to sweat. We will talk about how to do this most effectively and without loss in our article.

When to harvest potatoes for storage

When summer comes to an end, every gardener begins to look forward to a quick harvest.

First of all, it is worth remembering that it is necessary to collect potatoes for storage in a timely manner, that is, not earlier and not later than the required dates.

If you dig ahead of time, then a protective crust will not have time to form on it, or it will be too thin, which means that the tubers will be easily damaged and poorly stored. In addition, the yield reaches its limit precisely at the end of the growing season.

Note! For food, such tubers are more than suitable. Therefore, it is possible to dig up potatoes for consumption much earlier. There is no point in waiting for the formation of a thick crust; on the contrary, it will be possible to cook and eat it along with the peel.

If it is too late to dig out, then the potato can start growing, its vegetative processes will resume, that is, sprouts will begin to form, which in turn will begin to take all the nutritious juices from the tuber. This means that in the end it will not be able to be stored for a long time, and besides, its taste will noticeably deteriorate.

How to determine the optimal time when you can and should dig potatoes from the garden for storage?

signs of readiness

The most proven and reliable guide that will accurately indicate that it is time to dig potatoes is appearance his tops. When she completely wither and dry, and, therefore, the growth of tubers will stop with it, you can start cleaning. After the tops die off, you have about 3 weeks to remove the entire crop from the garden.

Note! Often, potato tops can dry out not naturally, but because of its phytophthora lesions. In this case, it turns black and dies, but the tubers may not ripen by this time.

Some summer residents are guided by maturation of potato seeds located in the tops of the tops, they are also popularly called green potato "tomatoes".

Important! In fact, these are potato seeds that can be harvested, then next season

Important! Again, this is by no means a sign of tuber maturation, but it is from this point on that the tubers can be dug up and eaten. It is too early to lay it for storage, because its outer shell (skin) has not yet strengthened.

One of the most important factors to keep in mind when planning a potato dig is weather forecast:

• if your bushes are really affected by phytophthora, then in case continuous rains, the fungus will definitely get into the ground and infect the tubers themselves. And if you lay them in storage, then your crop may all die. Excessive moisture generally provokes various rot.
• dig up all potato tubers before the onset of persistent autumn frosts.

Advice! You can always dig up one bush to visually assess the readiness of the tubers. The peel should be dense, not flaking or peeling when rubbed.

Thus, in order to accurately determine the maturity of potatoes, all possible signs and methods of checking the degree of readiness for harvesting for storage should be used.

Video: signs of potato harvest readiness for storage

What affects the ripening time of potato tubers

There are several factors that affect the timing of crop ripening, namely: the planted variety, soil fertility and the degree of fertilizer and top dressing, the number and frequency of irrigation (rains).

Variety

One of the best ways to determine if a potato is ready to be harvested is to know its varietal ripening characteristics.

According to the ripening period, potatoes can be conditionally divided into the following varieties:

• ultra-early (harvest can be harvested after 35-55 days);
• early (55-75 days);
• medium early (75-90 days);
• mid-season (90-105 days);
• medium-late (105-120 days);
• late (120-140 days).

Advice! Naturally, you need to choose exactly the variety that, in terms of ripening, will have time to fully mature in your climatic zone, that is, before the onset of frost.

Soil fertility and the amount of fertilizer application

The more fertile your land, the longer the potatoes will ripen. This means that if you also feed potato plantations, then the harvesting period can be significantly postponed, but the tubers will definitely grow larger. Another thing is, if your land is scarce, you don’t fertilize it at all, then the tubers will take all possible nutrition from the soil quickly enough and stop growing.

Note! About what, when and how to properly feed potatoes during the entire growing season, read

Number and frequency of irrigation (rainfall)

If the summer is very hot, and there is practically no rain, and you forget to water the potato beds or do it rarely, then it will sing quickly, but in this case you should not wait for a good harvest, as the tubers will grow small.

Cleaning times depending on the region of residence

Naturally, potatoes are harvested in different regions and climatic zones at certain times. Indeed, it is imperative to take into account the weather conditions, namely the moment of temperature drop, the beginning of autumn frosts, in order to choose the appropriate (optimal) variety for cultivation.

So, in the Middle lane (Moscow region) potatoes begin to be dug up in the second half of August and usually finish in the second half of September.

In the Urals and Siberia harvesting of potatoes in most cases takes place in August, sometimes dragging on until the first days of September.

But in the southern regions(Krasnodar Territory, Kuban, Crimea), on the contrary, it is not so important when the cold snap and frosts begin. The thing is that under local conditions, potatoes stop growing due to too high summer temperatures, that is, as a rule, harvesting takes place in the summer - in late July and early August.

How to properly dig potatoes from the garden: necessary tools and other tips

When you decide on the timing of harvesting potatoes from the beds, which means you are completely sure that the tubers are ripe, you will need to choose a suitable day for digging up the crop.

It is optimal for picking potatoes to choose a dry and clear day, when it is still warm, that is, the air temperature is about + 10-20 degrees. Under such conditions, the harvested crop can be well dried in the sun, besides, the earth quickly flies off and does not stick to the tubers. However, it is not recommended to do this in the morning, when the soil temperature is noticeably higher than the air temperature.

Important! Potatoes should not be dug up while it is raining, while the soil is damp and wet. Firstly, it will be quite problematic to dig it out. Secondly, you will have to bring dirty tubers into the room to dry.

How and how to dig potatoes

This issue also often causes a lot of controversy. Many people think that it is better to dig potatoes with a pitchfork, because in this case the likelihood of damage to the tubers is much less than when using a shovel. On the other hand, if you prick a tuber on a pitchfork, then it definitely will not be stored, but a potato cut in half can still lie down. In general, it all depends on you, it is convenient to dig with a shovel - dig, with a pitchfork - that means with a pitchfork.

Advice! But still, it is better to send only whole tubers for storage, chopped and damaged, it is more practical to immediately eat them.

If your soil is loose, then you need to slightly pull on the potato tops to pull out the bush along with the tubers, and then, with the help of a shovel or fork, find the torn off residues that are “lost” at a depth.

If the soil is heavy and dense, then you should not pull the tops with your hands (just tear off). It is imperative to carefully dig the bush from the side with a more convenient tool for you, and then pull the tubers to the surface.

Video: how to properly harvest potatoes

By the way! Cleaning an entire potato plantation, of course, is more convenient to carry out using a special walk-behind tractor. As well as landing. But it hardly makes sense if you have a dacha of 6 or 12 acres.

Video: harvesting potatoes with a walk-behind tractor (potato digger)

Do I need to mow potato tops before harvesting?

If you notice such a misfortune as phytophthora, then before digging up potatoes, you should definitely get rid of all its tops. Moreover, this must be done in advance - somewhere in 2-3 weeks, so that the spores of the fungus definitely do not have time to penetrate the ground and hit the tubers.

Also, mowing the haulm to a certain extent can help speed up the process of tuber ripening, for example, if frost is expected soon according to the weather forecast. Again, this must be done in advance, allowing the root crops to lie in the ground for 10-20 days.

By the way! There are certain varieties of potatoes that require mandatory cutting of the tops before harvesting.

Video: do I need to mow potato tops and how to properly care for them before harvesting

Preparing and storing potatoes for the winter

If the weather is sunny, then leave the tubers on the ground, let them dry and disinfect under ultraviolet rays. Such processing will help in the future to prevent the development of diseases and rot during storage. Thus, after digging, potatoes can be dried in the sun, but no more than 2 hours, otherwise it will begin to form toxic substances (solanine), and before he can turn green.