Potato harvesting and storage. My garden, vegetable garden. Piggy bank of country experience.

The gardening season is nearing its end. You managed to save, nurse. Protect from "competitors" - numerous people who want to enjoy our second bread of insects. Block the road to disease.

Ahead is no less responsible business: harvesting potatoes. From how it will be carried out, how you lay the long-awaited potato crop for storage, its safety will depend.

Do everything "on the level" - provide the family with a conveyor potato turnover.

The tubers of our own cultivation will feed you in all seasons, until the next harvest.

Therefore, let's first arm ourselves with knowledge, and then proceed to harvest potatoes.

Features of harvesting potatoes

The fact that the real harvest is not in the field, but already in the bins, at least briefly, but many have heard.

The folk wisdom of proverbs is not from the “red word”. These statements have been verified by experience.

What is the use of weighty tubers if they rot in the bin in the first month?

To make it different, the “harvest issue” must be approached seriously.

When to dig potatoes?

Of course, it’s good when the availability of time, good weather, the opportunity to get together as a family “team” coincide ...

It often happens this way: they decided - they decided, they came together on a fine day off.

We leaned together, and by the evening the potatoes were on the surface. It remains to dry and collect.

But an important point: the state of the potato bush itself is not always taken into account. This is a serious mistake.

Potatoes must go through all the stages of growth and ripening that are due to them. Are you ready, and he, the potato, is ready? Yes, first you need to ask the potatoes: is it time or not.

Ripening uniformity. You can make cleaning easier on yourself. Never mix different varieties - plant them separately.

Do not flatter yourself if they are all early or mid-late and so on. The terms of readiness of varieties may differ by several days, then the picture will not be pleasing.

A potato plot that looks like a chess field: here the tops have died, and here it is still green, and next to it it has already stood, dried up, almost invisible. How to dig? Selectively?

Ripening uniformity is achieved by non-mixing varieties. Determining when potatoes will soon need to be dug is easy.

According to external signs:

• The tops turn yellow, lie down, lose turgor, fade slightly;
• The growth of the bush stops, which means that the tuber also no longer grows;
• The dug out tubers do not come off, but, as it were, fall away from the stolons that feed them with little effort;
• The peel is strong, mature, when you press and try to move it with your finger, it remains in place. So the potatoes are ripe. Nearly.

But the cleaning time has not come yet. The tops just grafted, it still has a lot of nutrients. The outflow of these substances into the tubers continues.

It is necessary that the tubers take this nutrition completely. Then the yield will increase, its quality will improve.

We are waiting for the tops to dry. Dried up - start cleaning. The tops should be clearly visible; it is not necessary to overexpose the potatoes in the soil.

Otherwise, landmarks are lost, more damage to the tuber during digging. Yes, and pathogenic flora is looking for food.

And it is nearby - delicious juicy tubers. Not grown for a fungus! And not for a bear. We dig without delay.

We considered the "southern" option. It is also acceptable for other zones, but only on early ripening varieties that have time to ripen.

The weather may change the timing. Dig up potatoes not in slush.

Damp, rainy weather is not only an inconvenience to you. Potatoes harvested at the wrong time do not store well.

This one becomes ill immediately, before being placed in the intended storage. Even if the disease is not visible at first.

Why do they cut the tops before harvesting potatoes

In Siberia, in the North, in the regions of a short summer, the tops do not have time to dry before the cold weather. Tubers, respectively, do not have time to ripen.

Such tubers are of worse quality, their storage is difficult. The same happens in wet seasons with late varieties even in the southern regions.

The situation is fixable. With the onset of cold weather (not frost, approximately + 7 °), the tops must be mowed.

For the week remaining before harvesting, the tubers, devoid of the influx of substances, complete the growing season and ripen.

This is necessary for successful storage and reduction of traumatization of harvested tubers.

Do not mow the tops early: the harvest will decrease. The optimal ripening time is a week.

Immediately after mowing the above-ground part, the underground part (tubers) begins to prepare for wintering. The peel coarsens, forms a protective layer. It doubles in a week.

The harvest of potatoes is approaching, already physiologically mature, ready to be moved to storage.

If it rains after mowing the tops, and the cold has not yet set in, problems are possible.

New sprouts will appear from the remains of the tops, and the consumption of nutrients from the tuber reserves will go to their growth.

This option is undesirable, but possible. The situation can be corrected.

There is an agricultural technique called desiccation. Treatment of green mass with special preparations that cause the tops to shrink.

Stages of harvesting potatoes

Harvesting tubers consists of several stages:

• Potato digging;
• Drying tubers;
• Transportation (or transfer to a storage location);
• Bulkhead, sorting;
• Bookmark for storage.

The last step can be very different. It depends on the capabilities of the gardener (availability of storage facilities) and his preferences.

Someone has a cellar, someone only has a balcony for storage.

You can store tubers in pits, and with a large number and space, you can build trenches.

Potato Digging

It’s easier, of course, to dig potatoes mechanized: with a walk-behind tractor. But not everyone has such a mechanism.

Yes, and the areas under the potatoes are mostly small, you can handle it with a shovel or a pitchfork.

Therefore, we remove potatoes in these two ancient, but relevant, ways.

What exactly is up to the grower.

They try to grow potatoes on light soil, if so, the pitchfork will do the job. Dense soil is too tough for the pitchfork, they can break or not turn the bush well.

On a dense one, you will have to dig with a shovel.

Task: if possible, choose all the potatoes and preferably a whole one. It doesn't work 100%, but you have to strive.

Damage is inevitable: a shovel sometimes cuts a tuber, a pitchfork pierces.

Therefore, it is so important not to overdo the harvest: while the tops are visible, it is easier to navigate.

Procedure:

• The bush is dug up with a shovel, or it is hooked with a pitchfork, and then there is a manual selection of tubers. You can help yourself with a small garden shovel or wire-toothed digger. "Comb" the holes with these teeth.
• Accidentally damaged potatoes are immediately sorted separately: they will go first for food, they are unsuitable for storage.

• If dry, the tubers are laid out directly in the field to dry. But if there are pests, especially potato moths, the products must be removed immediately. And away from the place of cultivation.
• When the potatoes are healthy and free from pests, along the way, you can set aside separately - seed. And do not remove it as soon as it dries out, remove the food one from the field first.
• Seed a little green: so it will become more stable, it will not get sick in storage. Or the waste will be minimal. Pests also do not like solanine, except for the Colorado potato beetle. But the beetle is not present during storage; it prefers soil for wintering.

When greening, remember moderation. Overdoing the tubers in the light, getting an intensely green peel, you risk overdoing it.

The germination of such tubers will decrease, some may even become dissimilar.

Only a slightly greenish color is allowed.

Bookmark for storage

Potatoes are stored in different ways, it depends on the availability of storage space for the gardener.

Potatoes are stored that require a low positive temperature - 3 °, preferably not higher, usually in:

• cellars;
• Special pits;
• trenches;
• Boxes on balconies.

There is another option - underground or basement. But it is suitable only for northerners.

Where there is already permafrost below the basement, the desired temperature is possible in the underground equipped directly under the kitchen.

In warmer latitudes, the underground will not ensure the safety of potatoes.

Cellar, storage of potatoes

The cellar is located either under non-residential premises, or in general a separate building.

Under the house it will be too warm, but the garage, barn, household building - that's it.

True, animals or birds should not live in the building.

The cellar under the building is made durable - it will also support it, like a foundation. Outside buildings may have walls - thinner.

Drainage is required - the bottom is according to all the rules: sand, gravel - 20 centimeters. It’s good to add a layer of clay mashed to a plastic consistency from above, press bricks into it.

Align, dry. Top the floor with a thin layer of cement (mortar). Waterproofing will be great.

You can simply concrete the floor - if the groundwater is low.

The walls are good from any material at hand: brick, blocks. Can be made concrete.

If you have a ready cellar - even better. Dry it before laying the tubers, cool in the fall to the optimum.

Potatoes, dried and sorted after harvesting, are placed in the cellar either on racks or in boxes.

Sometimes it is stored in bags - as it is more convenient for the owner. If racks - you can make trays there.

Potatoes are laid in a meter (or less) layer.

This is the maximum that allows you to monitor storage, take timely measures if spoilage or morbidity occurs.

Convenient and sorting: sometimes there is a need.

You need to place the tubers so that the potatoes do not touch the floor or walls, they are in the container. Especially if the walls are concrete.

When there are a lot of potatoes, and it is laid in storage with a layer of maximum thickness, there is a danger of sweating of the upper layer - the difference in temperatures at the lower level and at the top affects it.

The way out will be filling the top layer with beets. It is she who sweats, and the potatoes remain dry.

Beetroot easily tolerates sweating, is in sight, usually does not rot. The damaged one is easy to remove.

Home "temperature regulators" in the cellar are ordinary plastic, five-liter bottles are better.

If it suddenly gets warmer, and conditions for the germination of eyes have arisen in the storage, you can put bottles with ice in it at the level of the stored potatoes (or lower).

In case of a sharp cold snap, the danger of freezing and damage to the tubers, hot water is poured into the bottles - several bottles will warm the air in the cellar.

Additionally, you can temporarily cover the potatoes with old clothes during severe frosts.

storage in pits

If there is no cellar in the country, and the harvest is not bad, it is important to keep it to the maximum. To do this, you need to achieve conditions with low temperatures.

In the cold, the tuber itself slows down its vital activity, remaining viable, and the infection (possibly) that has got into the storage facility cannot progress either, it has a different temperature range.

You can bring the conditions closer to natural ones by organizing the storage of potatoes on the site - in the pit.

The pits are either equipped with storage containers (barrels, buckets), which are dug into these pits, or simply lined with dry material.

Sawdust is suitable, coniferous is better. Shavings, straw are also good.

The second option is preferable where there is no dominance of rats and mice on the site. Usually it is controlled by cats.

Owners can also expel rodents.

Plants that mice - rats can not stand will help:

• Plant around the perimeter of the hole with daffodil bulbs. Mice won't go there. Daffodils are poisonous, and in general they repel rodents. And in spring, flowers will decorate your vault.
• If a wild rosemary lives in the region - not the one that is sung in songs, but the real one - with white flowers - invite him to the site. Mice will not stand the neighborhood.
• Don't forget about the elder, also a good protection, and not only for storage pits. For all wintering horticultural crops. You can simply add black elderberry branches to the pits. And then lay the potatoes without fear of rodents. You can add mint, tansy, chamomile to the straw in the pit.

Potatoes in containers or in bulk are placed in a pit, sprinkled with straw, sawdust, or peat on top.

Stored well, almost waste-free. It is advisable to cover the pit with slate, making a slope so that late rains or water from sudden melting of snow do not flood.

Yes, and it will be more convenient to get it by moving (removing) the shelter.

Water will flow from this roof. So that it does not fall into the storage - a pit, along the perimeter, a groove must be broken through to the bayonet of a shovel deep. This will take the water away.

In such a storage, it is not necessary to heat or cool the tubers, they will be preserved.

If record frosts or thaws are established, you can cover the pit from above with old blankets and mattresses.

This will serve as a thermal layer, keep the temperature at the desired level. A kind of thermos is formed.

Potato trenches

In small areas, gardeners rarely build trenches. But if there are a lot of potatoes, such storage is also possible. It is close to production.
Trenches in the plots are arranged if the underground water is not high, otherwise it makes no sense - it will flood.

Well, if there is a slope, such a place is more suitable.

Trench device:

• A trench in length can reach 15 m, doing more is impractical. If the size is such, then it is necessary to delimit the partitions into three parts. This will help in case of disease of part of the tubers to stop the spread of the disease.
• The further north the area, the deeper the trench. In the south it is warmer, half a meter is enough, a maximum of 80 cm. In areas with cold winters, the depth is a meter.
• In trenches, especially long ones, they make ventilation. Small ones do not ventilate, they are called "deaf". The walls of the trenches are made vertical or inclined (the bottom is already the top).
• The bottom and walls are reinforced with slats or lined with brushwood, and straw on top. Then the potatoes are loaded. From above, they also cover with straw and sprinkle with earth. The layer is made thick, nothing more is covered. If the winters are snowy, they throw more snow on top, this keeps the temperature stable.

It is important to open the snow in the spring so that it does not moisten the potatoes when they melt.

Potatoes on the balcony

Citizens are not always able to build storage on the site. But the apartments have balconies. Or - loggia.

A great place for wintering potatoes, if you work hard on arranging the box.

The box is built in size, convenient for placement on the balcony. To be compact and easy to fit. Take into account the sheathing from the outside, insulate from the inside.

It is important to consider waterproofing and control the temperature. So that it was possible to ventilate and insulate, if necessary.

These techniques also affect the humidity. A cold balcony will not warm potatoes in cold weather.

In this case, it’s a good idea to bring a wire with a bulb holder into the box. An incandescent lamp will save potatoes from freezing during force majeure weather.

The bottom of the box is equipped with a grate - this is how air exchange is ensured.

Eco-friendly box made of wood. But suitable chipboard, other improvised means.

Insulate with foam or other material, but from the inside, the tubers should not come into contact with it. You need a natural layer.

The lid is made in the same way as the box itself.

These are the main points on how to store potatoes, having only a balcony for this.

Storage of seed potatoes

Potatoes for seed purposes are preliminarily:

• Selection;
• Drying and greening;
• Cooling down in the shade;
• Additional sorting and sorting.

Only after the tubers are placed in winter storage.

Selection. Healthy tubers are selected, approximately the same size.

The weather permits - this selection is done immediately when digging, laying seed potatoes in a field in a separate area.

Greening, drying. Seed potatoes are kept in the light longer than food potatoes. Waiting for a greenish hue of the peel.

This will help storage and protect the health of the tuber.

cooling down. Only cooled tubers can be determined in the storage. In the field, they warm up in the sun.

The dried material is placed in the shade, in coolness. Its temperature is dropping.

Sorting. The prepared potatoes are inspected again. Check for damage (damaged discard), signs of disease.

Trying to avoid overkill. Varieties must be stored separately. The tubers are laid out in separate boxes, compartments, bags, etc.

Seed potatoes are stored under the same conditions as food potatoes. He is satisfied with the same temperatures, the same humidity.

At the end of winter, and to the north - at the beginning of spring, it gets warmer in the storage. The temperature is lowered by ventilation, in other ways.

Storage is over, the vernalization phase begins - germination, preparation of tubers for the upcoming spring planting.

The list of activities seems complicated. But once you go through all the stages, then the automation “turns on”.

Each summer resident, on the basis of experience gained by his own labor, learns all the subtleties.

Gets acquainted with varieties, correlates their features with the climatic zone. Adapts the methods of cleaning, storage - to its capabilities.

Using the knowledge gained by other potato growers and your own too, you can always harvest the grown crops correctly and preserve the crop for a long time.

See you soon, dear readers!