Potatoes are one in all our favourite crops to eat, and so they’re not so tough to develop within the residence panorama, both. With their prolonged improvement time, the secret is figuring out when to reap and remedy potatoes for long-term storage. Hearty spuds deliver lasting yields for having fun with by way of the cool season.
After lifting an enormous crop, curing the tubers helps put together them for long-term storage. It helps thick pores and skin and heals any cuts and bruises for profitable storing. Good prep means the power to succeed in for potatoes to heat up chilly nights with baking, frying, roasting, mashing, and including to soups and extra. Benefit from the rewards of a homegrown harvest.
Rising Storage Potatoes
Potatoes, Solanum tuberosum, are an historical crop linked to the Peruvian highlands some 6,000 years in the past. Some potato varieties retailer higher than others. Crimson (“new” potatoes) and thin-skinned varieties usually develop earlier and retailer for a shorter size of time. These are greatest for contemporary consuming or short-term storing.
Later-season, long-maturing storage varieties are large and filling. Versatile in delicacies, they go a great distance on the plate and have a lengthy storage life. They develop properly within the floor, containers, and raised beds.
Potatoes sprout from “slips” or eyes from the primary root, planted in spring or summer time. Supply slips (seed potatoes) from a good supply to keep away from undetectable ailments. Skip holding over homegrown potatoes for a similar cause. It’s attainable to sprout grocery retailer potatoes, however they could have been handled to stop sprouting.
Plant potatoes in chilly climates as quickly because the soil is workable in spring, about 4 weeks earlier than the primary frost. Soils above 45°F (7°C) are greatest. In heat rising areas with sizzling summers, develop them in fall or winter for a spring yield.
Optimum rising circumstances for potatoes embody:
- Full solar with six or extra hours each day
- About one inch of water per week with constant moisture, holding off shut to reap
- Unfastened, loamy, sandy, barely acidic, and well-draining soil
- Plant in hills or ridges for ample root house, drainage, and straightforward harvesting
- Weed-free beds to scale back competitors
Harvesting
Potatoes take time to develop their dense, sizeable tuberous roots. Relying on the range, they mature in about 90 to 120 days. Figuring out the times to maturity is the primary guideline for when to reap the spuds, or no less than when to start checking for readiness.
The times to maturity on the seed packet are a gauge based mostly on optimum circumstances. Buffer in a number of days to every week to the times estimate to account for differences due to the season.
Harvest the rounds at consuming dimension earlier than a heavy freeze. They tolerate mild frost at 30 to 32°F (-1 to 0°C), however a tough freeze shortens their storage life and might trigger harm that results in decay. A chilly-damaged root might be grey or black.
Pull the crop to retailer, even when immature, if a tough freeze is forecast. In case you can’t harvest immediately, minimize away the vines and canopy the crop with soil or compost for insulation.
Vine Dieback
Because the rising season ends, the leafy vines flip yellow, brown, and die. This can be a signal that the tuberous roots are not drawing vitamins and moisture from the plant.
Use yellowing and wilting stems in coordination with different indicators of when to reap full-sized potatoes. Typically, yellowing happens prematurely whereas the spuds proceed to develop. Verify the tubers to substantiate readiness.
Tuber Check
To make certain of prepared potatoes, dig a few the roots to examine dimension, density, and pores and skin. The pores and skin needs to be agency and maintain to the spud. If it rubs away simply, go away the tubers within the floor to develop for a couple of extra days.
Lifting the Tubers
When all indicators level to prepared potatoes, carry them on a heat, dry day. Trim away the vines for simpler harvesting. With a spading fork, dig away from the central plant to seize the majority of the potatoes unscathed.
To reap, use a backyard fork or spade to loosen the encompassing soil and carry the potatoes, taking care to not harm tender skins. Separate any soil clumps and brush soil from the roots, however maintain off on rubbing or washing till after curing and storing.
On the harvest, type out potatoes for contemporary consuming (any broken throughout harvest) and people for storing. Compost any with delicate spots to keep away from rot.
Curing Potatoes
Potatoes do properly with curing for 2 weeks in a cool, humid location. Whenever you remedy potatoes for storage, you get a thick pores and skin and healed cuts. It additionally slows respiration, the conversion of starches and sugars to carbon dioxide and water.
Within the residence backyard, a porch, shed, mudroom, basement, or storage may go to remedy potatoes for storage. Temperatures between 45 and 60°F (7-16°C) are greatest for profitable curing. A relative humidity of 85-95% is perfect. As a result of the tubers comprise a lot water, they want a moist atmosphere to stop withering and drying.
Unfold the potatoes in a single layer within the house to permit for loads of air circulation between roots. Piling the group can contribute to the unfold of pathogens and influence the bunch.
Storing
After you remedy potatoes for storage, type by way of the batch once more to toss any shriveled, delicate, or discolored tubers. These can harm others as they rot in storage. And, most potato ailments happen post-harvest.
The greens retailer for over six months in a cool, darkish house like a root cellar, storage, or basement. A separate fridge at superb storage temps and humidity works, too. Optimum storage temperatures are 40 to 45°F (4-7°C) with a relative humidity of 90%. Retailer them in ventilated baskets, crates, or bins. If circumstances are too dry, spuds soften and shrivel.
If temperatures are above 45°F (7°C), the roots sprout and shrivel after a few months. Under 35 to 40°F (2-4°C), potatoes might develop a candy, sugary style. Preserve them at room temperature for a couple of days to revive a pure taste.
Preserve the spuds in dim mild, because the solar may cause inexperienced skins and a bitter taste. Greening additionally signifies the presence of solanine, a poisonous compound that may trigger sickness. Minimize away small inexperienced spots, and discard any completely inexperienced spuds.
Freezing
Whereas the feel and taste of potatoes change with freezing, for gardeners with a bounty of spuds and nowhere to retailer them, freezing is an choice for lasting enjoyment. Small potatoes are greatest for freezing entire. Prepare dinner the potatoes till they’re almost tender by way of steaming, baking, and boiling, and allow them to cool at room temperature. Peel and slice bigger tubers for freezing.
Pack them into an hermetic container or sealable bag for freezing, leaving half an inch of headspace.
Dehydrating, freeze-drying, and strain canning work for storing the abundance, too.