Harvesting the first potatoes of 2010

The time has come to harvest the first of the potatoes. When the eyes were planted, they broke through the ground at different rates. So that means that the plants may mature at different times, and the harvest will be spread out.

When is it time to harvest potatoes?

A lot of people ask the question – when do you know when its time to harvest potatoes. Its a simple question and a simple answer – when the tops of the plants start dying, its time to dig the potatoes up.

If you have access to a tractor, a plow can be mounted to the rear end. The tractor is slowly driven over the row, as the soil is turned up, the potatoes roll out the ground. People can then walk behind the tractor, dig through the dirt and harvest the potatoes.

If your harvesting the potatoes by hand, dig around the base of the plant, or just pull up the plant to gain access to the buried potatoes.

Try not to use sharp hand tools – such as shovels – which can slice through the tender skin of the potato.

On May 30, 2010 – we harvested about 4 gallons of snap beans and 5 gallons of potatoes.  I think the production of the snap beans is being stunted due to the lack of rain.  For the year 2010, in just the first 5 months, we are somewhere around 4 – 6 inches below normal.  If we would have received our normal rate of rain fall in April and May, I suspect that the beans and potatoes would produced a lot more.

Related Forum Post:
Kevs 2010 spring garden
Gardening Forum
Forum threads about potatoes