Potatoes still going strong… I take it don’t harvest yet?
A few weeks ago I asked about the potatoes being finished…. Am I right to say I still have time with them?
by GeoAv3
16 Comments
nativeyeast
There are some varieties that you can harvest when the plant is still green, but most commercial varieies will indeed mostly die back before your harvest. Which type did you plant?
Admirable_Count989
Yes you still have time. Pick ‘em when they’ve done growing and extracting energy from the leaves. They’ll die back, turn brown and wilt.
Competitive_Pie9833
Not ready yet. I always let mine die completely back before harvesting. Bigger potatoes and better yield
Sh33zl3
Even when they died completely back I usually let them 1-2 weeks in the ground before harvesting. So… you still have weeks if not months ths to go.
SDL68
those need another month
McBuck2
I was watching a YouTube video from someone who’s family were farmers and mentioned you don’t have to harvest your potatoes all at once. Unless you want to use the space to grow something else, why not harvest only what you’ll eat in the next few days. They would harvest them into fall but ghe ground is like its own storage root cellar. Kinda made sense to me especially since I don’t have a cold cellar or place to keep the potatoes once removed from the ground.
Ok_Heat5973
If you want them to store longer, leave the foliage to die off and let them sit for a couple days, but if it’s too wet you can lift them and let them dry but don’t wash them
Conscious-Legume
My indeterminate potatoes still look like this more than 130 days after planting. Every so often I reach into the dirt and pull out a giant potato to eat. Other than cutting back on watering a bit as the weather cools down this week, I’m planning to leave them in until (a) they die back or (b) frost arrives, whichever happens first.
Good luck with your harvest! They look like really happy plants 🙂
Affectionate_Meet820
If you planted early / first / second or sallad potatoes, those can be harvested when the tops are still green. As you eat them small :).
If it’s late potatoes you can wait until the tops die back 🙂
If you for example try for baked potatoes, you wait until they die back so they have more time to grow big 🙂
pikinhos1995
Check if the foot is dry, if it is brownish you can take it out
Various_Counter_9569
Variety? Also, What’s your spacing for these? Havnt done any myself yet but want to, but thought you needed lots of room?
XXViperXX
I planted potatoes for the first time this year. I put them in a big grow bag. They looked to be doing good, like yours. Then the grass hoppers found them and had a all you can eat buffet with them. Now they’re leaf less. I wonder if I leave them in the grow bag over winter if they’ll regrow back next spring.
yakshavings
As long as it’s not too wet and the bugs don’t get them, you can leave them in with no repercussions, and you can pull them now if you want too.
As someone who has both killed the foliage on some potatoes in May and left them in container all summer (and they’re still good), and on another set having pulled them far too early, they’re still good eating but small. you can pull em now to eat or plant new stuff for fall harvest otherwise leave them in.
Ambitious_Swan_7282
Yield was quite low when I dig the plants, they were quite similar to yours. I’m not an expert but I think you still have time.
Master-Praline-3453
I was going to say that it’s great that you have a pumpkin coming along – but obviously I’m not a golfer.
Squasome
I harvested mine when they looked like that. I got lots.
16 Comments
There are some varieties that you can harvest when the plant is still green, but most commercial varieies will indeed mostly die back before your harvest. Which type did you plant?
Yes you still have time. Pick ‘em when they’ve done growing and extracting energy from the leaves. They’ll die back, turn brown and wilt.
Not ready yet. I always let mine die completely back before harvesting. Bigger potatoes and better yield
Even when they died completely back I usually let them 1-2 weeks in the ground before harvesting.
So… you still have weeks if not months ths to go.
those need another month
I was watching a YouTube video from someone who’s family were farmers and mentioned you don’t have to harvest your potatoes all at once. Unless you want to use the space to grow something else, why not harvest only what you’ll eat in the next few days. They would harvest them into fall but ghe ground is like its own storage root cellar. Kinda made sense to me especially since I don’t have a cold cellar or place to keep the potatoes once removed from the ground.
If you want them to store longer, leave the foliage to die off and let them sit for a couple days, but if it’s too wet you can lift them and let them dry but don’t wash them
My indeterminate potatoes still look like this more than 130 days after planting. Every so often I reach into the dirt and pull out a giant potato to eat. Other than cutting back on watering a bit as the weather cools down this week, I’m planning to leave them in until (a) they die back or (b) frost arrives, whichever happens first.
Good luck with your harvest! They look like really happy plants 🙂
If you planted early / first / second or sallad potatoes, those can be harvested when the tops are still green. As you eat them small :).
If it’s late potatoes you can wait until the tops die back 🙂
If you for example try for baked potatoes, you wait until they die back so they have more time to grow big 🙂
Check if the foot is dry, if it is brownish you can take it out
Variety? Also, What’s your spacing for these? Havnt done any myself yet but want to, but thought you needed lots
of room?
I planted potatoes for the first time this year. I put them in a big grow bag. They looked to be doing good, like yours. Then the grass hoppers found them and had a all you can eat buffet with them. Now they’re leaf less. I wonder if I leave them in the grow bag over winter if they’ll regrow back next spring.
As long as it’s not too wet and the bugs don’t get them, you can leave them in with no repercussions, and you can pull them now if you want too.
As someone who has both killed the foliage on some potatoes in May and left them in container all summer (and they’re still good), and on another set having pulled them far too early, they’re still good eating but small. you can pull em now to eat or plant new stuff for fall harvest otherwise leave them in.
Yield was quite low when I dig the plants, they were quite similar to yours. I’m not an expert but I think you still have time.
I was going to say that it’s great that you have a pumpkin coming along – but obviously I’m not a golfer.
I harvested mine when they looked like that. I got lots.