How to Harvest Your Potatoes

Many gardeners who grow potatoes are unsure of when to dig them up. Because potatoes grow underground, we can’t see their size, feel their firmness, or smell them to know when they’re ready to eat.

If we dig up potatoes too early, they may be too small. That could emphasize The plant and its root system.

So how do we know exactly when to harvest?

Jessica Damiano writes about gardening for the Associated Press. She said the best time to start digging up potatoes is when half of the plant’s leaves have turned yellow. This occurs between 60 and 120 days after planting, depending on the weather and the type of potato being planted. You can stop watering the plants at this time.

To help the potatoes tire, especially in wetter climates, you should cut the plants to ground level. However, this step is not necessary. If the plants are not cut, they will die back on their own. After two weeks, the potatoes are ready to be harvested.

If you’re still unsure about when to harvest, dig up a small test potato. Carefully dig into the soil near a test plant and take a potato from the outer part of the roots. The skin of a ripe potato will stick to the potato when you run your fingers over it. If the skin rubs out, refill the hole and check again in about a week.

When digging, try not to cut through the potatoes. Instead of a, you can also use a digging instrument shovel help. Leave 15 to 30 centimeters around the outer part of the plant before using the tool.

Then gently move the instrument back and forth to expose the potatoes by lifting the roots. Do this in a circle around each plant. Make sure you go through the soil and look for any remaining potatoes.

You can eat the potatoes right away maintain them for later.

To preserve the potatoes, place them on a piece of thick paper, such as B. Newspaper. Then place them in a cool, dark place that stays between 10 and 15 degrees Celsius. Keep them there for two weeks. This helps thicken their skin and close small cuts.

After canning, store the potatoes in a much cooler area, such as an underground room that has good air circulation and is darker. The temperature should be around three to four degrees Celsius. If kept and stored this way, they should last six to eight months.

Don’t put the potatoes in the fridge. This will intensify the sugars and change theirs taste. Damaged potatoes don’t keep as long, so eat those first.

New potatoes can be harvested earlier in the season, just after the plants flower. These young, thin-skinned potatoes should not be confused with the smaller, reddish varieties of ripe potatoes commercially referred to as “early potatoes.”

Real new potatoes are harvested from green plants. They have a high and a low water content Strength, making them a favorite for cooking. Be sure to eat them right away as they are not well preserved, stored or transported.

I’m Faith Pirlo.

Jessica Damiano wrote this article for the Associated Press. Faith Pirlo adapted it for learning English.

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words in this story

emphasize — v. feeling very worried or anxious about something: feeling stressed

tire — v. or adj. to grown or developed; mature or developed

rub — v. Press your hand or a cloth on a surface and move it back and forth

shovel — n. a long-handled tool used for lifting and throwing dirt, sand, snow, etc.

maintain — v. to keep something the same or to prevent it from being damaged or destroyed

taste — n. the taste of something

Strength — n. a substance found in certain foods (such as bread, rice, and potatoes)

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