Harvest before frost

[gary350]

I dug up 120 lbs of new potatoes this year. We have 2 college boys living with us for 6 months they ate all those potatoes.

 

[skinyea]

I love growing potatoes! It is my wifes favorite thing to help with( harvesting) I have grown enough the last few years to not have to buy seed potatoes. Last 2 years I have gotten spring and fall Potatoes.

some times I miss a few and they grow the next year.

 

[Meadowlark]

I love growing potatoes! It is my wifes favorite thing to help with( harvesting)

Funny how that works...seems like everyone likes digging potatoes. Kind of an Easter egg hunt I guess, but it's just fun to see those beautiful spuds come out of the soil. I never get tired of it or take it for granted.

 

[gary350]

I dug up the last of the potatoes yesterday. Instead of digging up 1 big harvest I dug up a few potatoes a few times every week. Every time wife wanted to cook potatoes I dug up potatoes. We never did this before. Plants start making tiny potatoes in 1 month and potatoes are not large but big enough to eat in 2 months. This could have been a 100 lb harvest at 3 months but we probably only got 20 lbs of new potatoes digging them up early. Cold front is moving in 2" of rain is forecast for Monday & 28°f Wed. Once my garden becomes a swap potatoes will rot and nothing will grow. Picture shows what the garden looks like most of the winter, last year it snowed 5 times.

 

[cntrlwagdnr]

Them's some nice looking spuds, Gary. Back to the original question - my Dad always grew parsnips and never harvested them until they had been frosted. I did the same last year and tested his theory by trying a few before the frosts. He was right, they were noticeably better. Didn't grow any this year. Still a lot in the freezer and my wife doesn't like them. I cut a few in slices, but most in finger sticks. My favorite ways to cook them are either braised in a shallow pan in the oven, sometimes with celery or just sauteed in bacon fat or butter.

 

[FromCali]

Should we harvest potatoes early if they are not matured, but if frost is about to come? OR can they survive frost? If so, what temperature can they survive? How to mulch to protect against cold if plants are tall?

 

[gary350]

Should we harvest potatoes early if they are not matured, but if frost is about to come? OR can they survive frost? If so, what temperature can they survive? How to mulch to protect against cold if plants are tall?

Frost might kill all the plants but it will not hurt your potatoes. Plants will try to grow back. When calendrer says its time to dig then dig up your new potatoes.

 

[FromCali]

Planted russet potatoes mid November . I think they are 2 weeks away from maturity. What should I do?

 

[Meadowlark]

You planted them 12 days ago and they are 2 weeks away from maturity? Sorry but that is not possible.

 

[gary350]

You planted them 12 days ago and they are 2 weeks away from maturity? Sorry but that is not possible.

Most potatoes are 3 month crops. If eyes are growing roots and you plant them May 1st, Aug 1st plants should be turning brown and dying. They are ready to dig up but most people wait 1 more month to allow skins to become thicker.

My seed potatoes are not all ready to plant the same day so I plant a few every 2 weeks so I can dig some up every 2 weeks for 4 months.

 

[gary350]

Not many people know the secret to growing new potatoes. Plants have the ability to grow more roots and more new potatoes every place soil touches the plant. If you kill soil up 3" high then maybe the plant will grow 3 new potatoes. If you hill soil up 6" then maybe you get 6 new potatoes. If you hill soil up 9" high then maybe you get 9 new potatoes. Plants have a built in clock 3 month and plant die. Keep soil hilled up so there are never very many leaves for the first 6 weeks. Once you have seed potatoes hilled up 12" high that is good enough.

My grandfather did not hill potato plants he pushed the plants over on the soil then shovel soil on the plant stems to cover them up. He planted a 3 ft wide bed 40 ft long, he made all the plants lay on there side then he shoveled soil on them. It seems like more work to me but he had how own way of doing hilling. His 3' x 40' bed produced 400 lbs of new potatoes. His Illinois soil was soft and sandy and every evening about 5 pm it rained for about 10 minutes. It was very rare for it to get hotter than 90° in Illinois.

I live in TN summer now it is 100° f hot dry desert all summer with 1 small rain per month. If I don't want I don't have new potatoes.

 

[FromCali]

You planted them 12 days ago and they are 2 weeks away from maturity? Sorry but that is not possible.

I made a mistake in typing. I planted them mid September.

 

[Meadowlark]

I made a mistake in typing. I planted them mid September.

Ok, that makes more sense. Give them a couple weeks more keeping them watered. When the tops start falling over and turning brown the spuds are ready to harvest. If frost is imminent before they are ready, protect them if you can.

 

[Oliver Buckle]

Dad always grew parsnips and never harvested them until they had been frosted. I did the same last year and tested his theory by trying a few before the frosts. He was right, they were noticeably better.

The frost turns some of the starch to sugars, something most people like in parsnip but not in potatoes. Strangely I am told the people in places where potatoes originate think our methods of cooking with them are inedible, and that they freeze them, then turn them into a flour to cook with.

 

[gary350]

The frost turns some of the starch to sugars, something most people like in parsnip but not in potatoes. Strangely I am told the people in places where potatoes originate think our methods of cooking with them are inedible, and that they freeze them, then turn them into a flour to cook with.

Every plant is different and potatoes are not all the same. Hard frost on cauliflower makes it become sweet. Frost on carrots make them sweet. Pontiac Red potatoes love TN hot dry 100° summer desert weather they out produce other potatoes 4 to 1. Peas are sweet when its 70°f but 30° they have no flavor and not sweet but pick peas and keep them in the kitchen 3 days at 70° they get sweet. Pick tomatoes keep them in the kitchen 3 days the acid turns to sugar.