Picking Potatoes from the Garden

July 18, 2024

My garden continues to produce bounties of beautiful fresh vegetables. Our latest harvest - potatoes!

Yesterday, before a thunderous rainstorm, my gardeners harvested the season's first batch of potatoes. Potatoes are from the perennial nightshade, 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. I always look forward to sharing the bounty with family and friends.

Here are some photos, enjoy.

: Here at my farm, I plant potatoes every year – they’re great for baking and enjoying with my favorite caviar, and for making my mother’s famous mashed potatoes. This particular batch is an extra harvest from last year’s crop – and there are so many!

: This was one of the potato beds in June, when the potato plants flowered. This happens when they are mature and have enough resources to reproduce. The flowers can be white, pink, lavender, or purple, and they attract pollinators to help the plant make more seeds. Flowering is also a sign that tubers are starting to grow underground.

: And just yesterday, they looked like this. This is definitely a less attractive sight in the garden, but it is a well-anticipated one because it means the potatoes are ready.

: The potatoes are ready to pick once the vines have died back – when the tubers are done growing, and the potato plants have begun to turn yellow and withered.

: The best time to dig up potatoes is on a dry day once all the vines have died. Here in the Northeast, yesterday was very hot and dry before the late afternoon showers began.

: To harvest potatoes, Josh uses a gardening fork. It has four tines that can pierce the ground more easily than would a shovel or a spade.

: Josh drives the fork into the soil at the outside edges of the plant and then carefully lifts the plant.

: Here, Ryan digs deep into the ground and feels around for potatoes – potatoes will be slightly cool to the touch.

: It’s important to dig them up carefully, so as not to damage any of the tubers. All these are from one plant.

: 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.

: Here’s our gardening intern Matthew after picking a few potatoes, Always be careful not to scrape, bruise or cut the tubers. Damaged tubers will rot during storage.

: It’s fun to dig around the soil and find multiple potatoes waiting to be picked. They are not too deep – any potatoes will be within the first several-inches of soil.

: 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.

: In the next bed – red potatoes. 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.

: There are more than 200 varieties of potatoes sold throughout the United States. Each fit into one of seven potato type categories: russet, red, white, yellow, blue/purple, fingerling, and petite.

: It doesn’t take long to fill the entire trug bucket with beautiful potatoes. And this is just one! Because potatoes grow underground, it is always a surprise to see how prolific the plants have been.

: As the potatoes are picked, they’re placed into crates, separated by variety and color. They can be stored in bins, boxes, or even paper bags – just nothing airtight to prevent rotting. Another tip – never wash potatoes until right before using – washing them shortens the potato’s storage life.

: After all the potatoes are picked, the beds are cleaned up, raked, and prepped for the next crop to be planted.

: Meanwhile, the potatoes are stored in my carport. 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 place them in a cool, dry place.