Potato Harvest
It was a beautiful coolish, sunny day (still drought-y out there). Perfect for potato harvest. Potato harvest feels a little bit like Christmas. You can watch the potato plants growing - sometimes they yellow, sometimes they flower, sometimes they are green and lush and you just know that there is magic happening. That's what happened this year. The potato plants just kept growing and growing despite 115 degree temperatures and drought. My expectations were high and my excitement was that of opening a long-anticipated gift.
It's always fun and somewhat magical to dig up potatoes. This year it was slightly less fun as the soil took more "busting" than usual due to dryness. I try to work methodically so that I don't accidentally pierce the potatoes or lose any of the small ones. Large potatoes go into storage. Small potatoes go back to the garden shed for re-planting.
Potato skin is somewhat delicate when first emerging from the soil. I accidentally scraped a few when trying to remove dirt clods. The skin will toughen as the potato cures. Potatoes prefer to cure in the cool and shade. I usually give them a quick bath to remove most of the dirt but try to resist any sort of scrubbing. They will need to cure for about 2 weeks in a well-ventilated area. A garage or a basement works nicely if you have one.
After curing, you can store in a cool, dry place (not your refrigerator) for winter. As with all stored produce, check regularly for any signs of rot. It is quite unpleasant to find a box of liquified potatoes. I used to store potatoes and onions on the floor of my pantry and then I read that that is not a good combo. Onions will actually cause them to begin sprouting. Instead, I read to store them with an apple. I have not yet tried this trick out as my potatoes seem to store just fine on their own in the garage.
To check out a picture of my suburban potato harvest for 2021, click on the link below.
To finish out my day in the garden, I added compost to the spot the potatoes came out and planted cabbage and peas.
