Harvesting Potatoes

By James Middleton - Added 21st of November 2008

This year, after getting hold of several large Hessian bags, I thought that it would be a good idea to dig up half of my crop of Kestrel Potatoes and place them in a sack in a dark, cool and dry place - under my stairs. However, several weeks after harvesting and slowing picking through the bag, I discovered a sticky brown liquid beneath the bag issuing from the underside. I was shocked to find that some of the potatoes in the center of the bag had rotted to a disgusting mess. Most of the surrounding potatoes had also been affected. What an idiot!

So, what went wrong? Many factors could have caused this. The potatoes may have been too damp, damaged or effected by a fungal disease. I did leave some of the soil on the potatoes to help draw any moisture away from the tubers. But what else could I have done to prevent this happening again?

Don't be in such a hurry to dig up all of your crop

Many of us feel that once the green leaves of the potato plant starts to yellow and droop, that we should then earnestly harvest our crop. This is simply not required. We can leave them in the ground and dig them up whenever required.

Keeping potatoes in the ground is an excellent way of keeping them fresh; on harvesting, they will taste as good as they were in the summer months. The only difference is that they may taste a little sweeter. As soon as the plant dies back the starch in each tuber starts to turn to sugar. Now one problem with leaving them in the ground is with your old adversary, the slug. Slugs crave the sugar content of older potatoes, so you will have to take measure to protect your crop.

My crop has now all gone. I just wish I had left the potatoes in the ground and taken only what I needed. Maybe next year. You can leave under the protection of the soil at least until Christmas. You must always make sure that your potatoes are covered (at all times and at any part of the growing cycle). If they are exposed to daylight, they will rapidly turn green and green potatoes are poisonous

Credits & Links

Article written by James Middleton - www.theallotmentgarden.co.uk.

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