When To Harvest Potatoes | Homesteading Guide

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Want to know when to harvest potatoes? If you want to know the best time is to harvest potatoes, read on to help you earn the greatest yield from you crop.

Potatoes are such an essential staple food that I feel the techniques and practices necessary to produce the best product must be shared. Since potatoes, like all plants, rely heavily on the outside elements, timing is everything. I am frequently asked about the sweet spot time to harvest potatoes and I’m here to let you all know that the simple answer isn’t buried in the soil with the potatoes, but on the vines above!

When To Harvest Potatoes | Homesteading Guide

How can you tell when to harvest potatoes? It’s definitely a tricky question when your crop is buried beneath a foot or two of your best soil. Without the use of ground entering radar, the clearest method is by digging the crop and take a look at it.

However, this method can bring about pointless damage to the potato tubers, especially when the potato is not yet at its suitable size to be harvested. Lifting it will just damage the current root structure and delaying any future growth.

How To Know When It’s Time

There is a far less damaging method to tell when to harvest potatoes and it is simply just waiting for the force of mother nature to demonstrate her hand. Meaning to let the plants tell you!

As long as the potato vines look green and healthy, the potatoes are still generously growing deeply in the soil. A potato plant can take around 120 days to completely develop and reach its full maturity, depending on the growing environment, watering practices, weather, and other elements.

image via Montana Homesteader

Once the vine starts to blossom, the tubers underneath the dirt start to swell. Shortly thereafter, the vines will slow down, and start to turn yellow and brown and fall over. It doesn’t look nearly so lovely but it is natural. Carefully remove the dirt from a small part of the ridge and inspect the tubers. Potatoes will be prepared for harvesting once they’ve reached the size of a hen’s eggs.

Several days before you decide when to harvest your potatoes, discontinue watering the potato bed. It is much simpler to dig through light, dry soil than through heavy muddy soil. Don’t forget to get the whole family involved, even the smallest child can share the fun and rewarding experience harvesting the potatoes!

Want to learn more about when to harvest potatoes? Let’s watch this video from HuwsNursery – Grow Organic Produce Inexpensively.

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