Potatoes. Done?

Maximus · Post by **Maximus** » Tue Aug 02, 2016 5:14 pm

My first potato bin has leaves that are going yellow and theyre all done blooming. Does that mean they're ready or does that mean they have bugs and need to be treated?

Post by **WLLady** » Tue Aug 02, 2016 7:35 pm

Theyre probably finishing up. Mine are just fonishing here. The tubers will grow as the leaves die back and stems shrivel so if you want big potatoes dont dig until the plant is lying on the dirt and almost dry. If you dig now you will get new potatoes...not huge but thin skinned.

Ontario Chick · Post by **Ontario Chick** » Tue Aug 02, 2016 10:21 pm

Just curious, how do you water the bins?

Maximus · Post by **Maximus** » Wed Aug 03, 2016 6:52 am

Just from the top OC.

Maximus · Post by **Maximus** » Wed Aug 03, 2016 6:54 am

Thanks WLLady. I'll wait till they're bigger. Yay! Potatoes

Ontario Chick · Post by **Ontario Chick** » Wed Aug 03, 2016 8:54 am

Don't forget to take some pics when you harvest, never actually saw the results of the barrel potato growing.
Ours are still green, and I harvest when the tops lay down, they go really fast after that and once the top disappears, its hard to find the potatoes, although now that everybody is talking potatoes, I might go and sneak few from the side, just to test

Post by **Home Grown Poultry** » Wed Aug 03, 2016 11:36 am

whats the best way to harvest potatoes from the ground? we planted 193 in total which didnt leave much space for hilling them up. I hilled up 4 rows, then realized I didnt have enough dirt to finish it properly and left the rest as is. learn from experience... plant half as many next year which should leave lots of dirt for hilling them up. so I need a pitch fork right? hmmm the only shovel like tool I dont have... guna have to visit the FIL and pick through his "shovel section." LOL

last friday we dug up one plant, it didnt have flowers on it like most of the rest and very tiny tiny potatoes, about 10 and apx. the size of a quarter. i tried my best to replant it.

so I see now that they are done when the plant is dead... but but LOL (im impatient) so do they have to flower first before the really produce good potatoes? got lots with flowers on it. heck I may just go dig one up. LOL.

Post by **Killerbunny** » Wed Aug 03, 2016 11:37 am

Weird thing is despite the weather my Yukon Gold are HUGE! Not dead yet but I've been sneaking then for supper!

Post by **Killerbunny** » Wed Aug 03, 2016 11:41 am

OK so this year they began to flower early so I picked off the flowers. We never hill up BTW and they've been fine. We plant close together both for weed reduction and digging early every other plant. We have Yukon Gold, Red Pontiac and Russett Burbank. DH thought it was a good idea to buy them by the sack because it was cheaper, only catch is I plant and harvest them LOL! That's a lot of potatoes.

Post by **WLLady** » Wed Aug 03, 2016 3:48 pm

i never hill. too much hassle. i just plant about 10 inches deep and mulch with straw or hay. sometimes the potatoes form just under the mulch LOL.
my yukon golds are much earlier than the norland reds. and much bigger. we've been eating ours, just digging up by hand....
Al, if you use a hay fork or a pitch fork to dig start about a foot out from the main stalk of the plant, dig as deep as you can and then flip the dirt out. then root around by hand. you'll stab some, but just eat them first, don't store those. for curing i put in a single layer in a bin with a slatted bottom to let the air circulate and leave in the shade for a day, brush (don't wash) the dirt off and store in a single layer in the cold storage room. if you pile them too deep the bottom ones will rot early and then the rot will spread like crazy. Don't wash until going to cook them. washing scars the surface and lets all kinds of nasties in, they store better without washing.