when to harvest potatoes
L...@psuvm.bitnet
any time after the tops die is ok, also that you shouldn't leave them in
the ground too long after the tops have died or they'll rot, and also that
they're better after a frost. I live in central Pennsylvania. The tops
died about a month ago and we haven't had a frost yet.
Bermes
I start digging my potatoes when the plants start to flower. This is when
the potatoes are small, tender and buttery. These are called "new" potatoes.
I dig the potatoes as needed and dig the remaining ones before the ground
freezes. The only problem with this is if the fall is wet, there a better
than good chance that the potatoes will rot.
Happy eating,
Terry Bermes
Rick Buls
>When is the proper time to harvest potatoes for storage? I've heard that
>any time after the tops die is ok, also that you shouldn't leave them in
>the ground too long after the tops have died or they'll rot, and also that
>they're better after a frost. I live in central Pennsylvania.
Harvest anytime after the tops die, its not necesary to have all tops dead.
In fact it is nice to have the tops still semi-non-dry (is that a word),
but only for ease in digging, ie you can see where the plant was and can
grab the plant and pull up the potatoes as you dig. The important part is
that the spuds dry before you store them. Best to dig in the morning on
a sunny day, let them set on the ground for several hours, turn them once
so the underside can dry. Knock the loose dirt off as you sack them.
store in dark cool place( low humidity). Potatoes will not rot in the ground
unless the have the rot, but then they'll rot in storage. Spuds can be stored
in the ground, deep enough to keep frost away, but in WELL drained ground.
I know that they'll last, I have to pull up hundreds of volunteers each year
from the little spuds of a year ago.
Seth D. Alford
book recommends that you put your thumb on the top of the ear near the
silk and see if the ear is flat. If its flat its ripe, he claims. I
tried this. I might not be doing the test right, but the ear was
unripe. I also have tried splitting the husk near the silk to see the
ear to see if the kernels were ripe. They weren't. Raymond claims
that doing this allows bugs to get into the ear. That does work; the
bugs have gotten into the ears where I've split the husk.
Does anyone have a fool-proof test? Is the silk completely brown?
Does the size of the ear tell you anything? Any way to hasten
ripening?
--
--Seth Alford
Tektronix Walker Road
PO Box 4600
MS 92-823
Beaverton OR 97075
tektronix!teklds!setha
(503)-629-1145
L...@psuvm.bitnet
I couldn't get to all my corn before the silks turned brittle, and can say
that they tasted fine after the silks were brittle anyway.
Seth D. Alford
supposed to be. I looked at the seed package from my corn again. It's
a white variety. This would explain why the kernels never turned
yellow. We harvested most of the ears last night. I had one. Mmmmh,
delicious; nothing beats fresh corn. I'm glad I looked at the package
with the leftover seeds. I felt somewhat stupid, but not nearly as
stupid as I would have felt looking at the package next spring after
tilling under all of my "unripe" corn. I now recall thinking last
spring that the corn would be white and not yellow when harvested.
In my defense let me say that the corn seed I used was a freebie from
Henry Field's (the mail order seed & garden company). If I'd picked it
out myself from the garden store I would know that it was a white
variety. (I can just hear everyone say, "Sure you would have.")
I also know that the corn loses its freshness once its picked. However,
we're getting our fall monsoon here in Western Oregon and the corn stalks
are blowing over. Top heavy corn stalks don't stand up in mud.
Boiling corn is slower, but better than microwaving it. It's too easy
to overcook corn in the microwave.
Anyway, the moral of this is that you should keep good records of what
you planted and when.