Picking Potatoes
It's potato picking time at the farm.
This week, my outdoor grounds crew foreman, Chhiring Sherpa, harvested our first batch of potatoes. The potato is a starchy tuber of the perennial nightshade plant Solanum tuberosum. As the world's fourth-largest food crop, following maize, wheat, and rice, potatoes are grown from “seed potatoes”, which are certified disease-free and specially grown in nurseries for planting purposes. Many of this season’s “seed potatoes” came from Irish Eyes Garden Seeds, a small family-owned business in Ellensburg, Washington. Every year, we pick many healthy potatoes in a variety of shapes, colors, and tastes. I always look forward to sharing the bounty with family and friends.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
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- Here are two of the three long beds of potatoes we planted last spring. This is definitely a less attractive sight in the garden, but it is a well-anticipated one because it means the potatoes are ready.
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- The best time to dig up potatoes is on a dry day once all the vines have died back – when the tubers are done growing, and the potato plants have begun to turn yellow and withered.
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- To harvest potatoes, Chhiring uses a rounded gardening fork. It has four tines that can pierce the ground more easily than would a shovel or a spade.
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- Chhiring drives the fork into the soil at the outside edges of the plant and then carefully lifts the plant.
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- Once lifted, it reveals the potatoes below. The skins of mature potatoes are thick and firmly attached to the flesh. If the skins appear thin and rub off easily, the potatoes are still too ‘new’ and should be left in the ground for a few more days.
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- Always be careful not to scrape, bruise or cut the tubers. Damaged tubers will rot during storage. As they are pulled, the potatoes will be slightly cool to the touch.
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- It’s easy to see how the potatoes are connected to the plant at the root area. They’re very easy to pull off, and often come loose by themselves. Leave any green potatoes alone. When potatoes are exposed to light, they turn green, a sign the toxic substance called solanine is developing, which may cause illness if eaten in large quantities.
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- As the potatoes are picked, they’re placed into shallow trays, separated by variety and color.
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- It’s fun to dig and find multiple potatoes waiting to be picked. They are not too deep – any potatoes will only be within the first five-inches of soil.
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- An entire potato plant grows from just one potato eye, although when planting, always plant a piece of potato with at least two eyes to ensure germination.
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- Because potatoes grow underground, it is always a surprise to see how prolific the plants have been.
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- Chhiring picked every potato he could find, even the tiniest of them. If not, they may grow into new plants, where they aren’t wanted.
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- These ‘Montana’ potatoes have yellow skin and flesh, and are oval in shape with shallow eyes. They are good early to mid season potatoes that store well.
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- ‘Dark Red Norland’ potatoes have red skin with shallow eyes and white flesh. It makes excellent potato salad and also stores well.
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- Here’s Chhiring with a tray of ‘Sunrise Gold’ potatoes. These have yellow skin and moist yellow flesh. These large round to oval tubers have very shallow eyes. They make great breakfast potatoes.
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- These are ‘Russet Norkota’ potatoes – tubers with smooth, red-brown skin, shallow eyes and white flesh. It is excellent for baking, frying or boiling and keeps well.
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- Chhiring goes through all the potatoes, separating any that were not in good condition. Another tip – never wash potatoes until right before using – washing them shortens the potato’s storage life.
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- And don’t leave harvested potatoes in the sun as excessive heat could cause them to cook. Just brush off as much soil as possible and let them dry in a cool place.
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- Look at our first harvest! Chhiring harvested two-and-a-half rows of potatoes. The last row will be harvested later as needed.
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- All the crates of potatoes are ready to go up to my flower room, where they will be stored until ready to cook. Ideally, potatoes should be kept in an environment around 45-50 degrees Fahrenheit. They can be stored in bins, boxes, or even paper bags – just nothing airtight to prevent rotting. And, don’t store with apples – the ethylene gas will cause the potatoes to spoil. In addition, they should never be stored in the refrigerator. We have so many potatoes with even more still in the ground – I can’t wait to try them all. Thanks, Chhiring!
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