Young potatoes fall on the table of the summer resident long before they are completely dug up. Selected bushes undermine and select several tubers. They are used for food throughout the summer season. In this way, the summer resident assesses the degree of ripeness of root crops and determines the most suitable time for digging them. It is known that the development of potato tubers occurs from flowering to yellowing tops. It is during this time that he manages to form and gain the necessary mass. As soon as the stems begin to fade and turn yellow - you can dig up potatoes.
Cleaning periods in different areas are different. If you harvest everywhere at the same time, you can get low-quality fruits. A sign that the tuber has ripened is the density of its peel. If you scrape it with your finger, it is poorly removed. Such tubers have accumulated enough starch and will be well preserved until next year.
Useful Tips
- For harvesting, it is better to choose not a rainy day. Air temperature should not be lower than four degrees. Under such weather conditions, lumps of earth do not stick to tools and do not complicate the process.
- For processing a small suburban area, a pitchfork or a shovel are suitable. If you have to collect potatoes from a large field, it is better to use special equipment.
- Vegetables must not be thrown into the basket with force, they may be damaged. Moreover, the resulting mechanical defects will not allow them to be stored in the winter. A damaged or diseased vegetable lost among others will spoil the entire crop.
Dates of harvesting potatoes of different varieties
The most optimal time for harvesting potatoes can be selected based on its variety. For example, the earliest varieties mature in 60 days. That is, if planting was carried out in early May, then in early July, the root crop can be safely dug up.
Mid-early varieties are harvested after two and a half months (approximately 70–80 days). Medium - after three months (85–95 days), medium and late - after 97–107 days. Early varieties are suitable only for food consumption, they are not suitable for winter stocks (stored only until December-January). At the same time, the harvesting time for early potatoes allows you to collect the entire crop before the onset of cold weather.
Late varieties do not have time to ripen in all regions. Indeed, in mid-September in the middle zone of Russia, as well as in the northeastern regions, the rainy season is already beginning.
When is the best time to dig up potatoes in the Leningrad Region?
Basically, for planting in this region, tubers of early and mid-early varieties are chosen. Indeed, in the conditions of late spring and cold autumn, it is very difficult to grow late root crops. Usually plants planted in May bloom in June. After two weeks from the end of flowering, subject to warm sunny weather, they can be dug up. If the weather turned out to be cold, then the potato harvesting dates in the Leningrad Region are shifting closer to the second half of August. Farmers determine the degree of maturity by the state of the tops.
Mid-season and mid-late varieties are more suitable for harvesting for the winter. But in harsh climatic conditions, potatoes, the harvesting dates of which have not yet come up, have to be dug up until the leaves are naturally dying. Typically, this process occurs in mid-September until the nighttime temperature drops below zero.
Potato Care During Ripening
In late July - early August, the lower leaves on the stems begin to dry. This means that potato harvesting is approaching. At this time, watering of the plants is stopped (with an excess of moisture, fungi will develop, and the tubers can be affected by bacterial decay). The stems should change color from green to yellow. The tubers will acquire the greatest mass, their peel will harden, and the degree of starch content will increase. This is the time to harvest. If the moment is missed - early potatoes, lying in the ground, begin to lose their optimal mass, and are affected by late blight, rot and other diseases.
When is the best time to dig potatoes in the suburbs?
As in the Leningrad Region, late varieties in the Moscow Region are very difficult to grow. They do not always manage to mature before the onset of cold weather. If the first autumn frosts made themselves felt, the tubers may partially freeze. In this case, they can no longer be left for long-term storage. Therefore, many summer residents prefer the early, mid-early and mid-ripening varieties. Potato harvesting dates in the suburbs usually come in the second decade of August. To speed up the ripening process of the root crop, it is recommended to mow the stems one week before digging. During this time, the peel hardens and the tubers ripening process is completed. Also, this technique increases the shelf life of winter.
How to speed up the process of ripening tubers?
Experts know several ways to grow potatoes faster, the harvesting time of which is running out. This is the aforementioned method of mowing tops a week before digging. In addition to it, a chemical treatment method is used. To do this, the stems are sprayed with a solution of copper sulfate at the rate of 50 g per 1 liter of water. As a result of processing, greens dry out, tubers are saturated with nutrients and are much better separated from the tops. At the same time, an increase in the level of productivity by an average of 10% is recorded.
You can also increase productivity with the help of fertilizers. 21 days before harvesting, the tops are treated with a solution of superphosphate at the rate of 150-200 g per 1 liter of water. Due to this, the amount of chlorophyll in the leaves increases, the photosynthesis process improves, tubers receive more trace elements and oxygen.
How to harvest?
In order to select tubers from a large field, you need a potato digger or a walk-behind tractor with a digger. If there is no such equipment, use a plow or a shovel. Experts recommend pitchfork - when using them, the percentage of damaged root crops is an order of magnitude less. If more than one variety of potatoes is planted, then it is worth digging them separately. If necessary, seed specimens are selected from each variety.
All harvested crops must be dried. To do this, it is poured onto polyethylene in a dry, ventilated room into which direct sunlight does not penetrate. In a couple of weeks of aging, the vegetables will be prepared for wintering, their peel will get stronger, imperfections and diseases will appear on some specimens. Next, the entire collection is sorted and sorted by size and placed in different containers. If seed samples have been taken, they are placed in separate baskets or nets. Then they are labeled in order to know the variety and the time of collection. Damaged, sick, cut potatoes are sorted separately or completely rejected. Dry material, cleaned from the ground and tops, is placed in storage.
How to prepare a place for storage?
Winter storage for vegetables can be a basement or cellar. It is necessary to prepare it for the new season in mid-summer. To do this, garbage, the remnants of last year's stocks, cobwebs, etc. are removed from it. The room is well ventilated. If necessary, the shelves are repaired and the ventilation system is checked. After carrying out repair work, disinfection is done in the room. All surfaces are treated with formalin solution, slaked lime or a weak solution of bleach. So that the smell does not dissipate immediately, the cellar is closed for a day or a couple of days. Then air. If rats or mice are found in the vault, they are poisoned. The walls and ceiling of the cellar are bleached with lime mortar, and then dried. After these events, you can put potatoes in the cellar, the harvesting dates of which fall at the end of summer.
How to prepare seed material?
Seed potatoes are selected specimens of early varieties weighing about 80 g, mid-season and late varieties weighing about 50 g, selected from healthy and productive bushes. If you properly prepare the seed material, you can achieve good results for next year. Tubers are selected according to this principle: from early bushes - medium specimens, from later ones - the largest ones. Next, the selected root crops are again sorted out and placed for two weeks in a ventilated, shaded room. During this period, the future planting material must be provided with high humidity (about 80%) and a temperature of about 18 ° C. After this, the tubers are again sorted and packaged in labeled containers.
Knowing how to determine the time of harvesting potatoes, how to properly collect and put it in storage, the summer resident will easily get a rich harvest. At the same time, he will be able to save it until next year. After all, it is important not only to grow a large and beautiful root crop, it is important to dig it out in time, select a part for food and prepare seeds for spring.