Potatoes: clean in time and store well. When to dig potatoes: signs and timing of ripening, ways to harvest potatoes When to dig early potatoes

17.06.2019

It is necessary to harvest vegetables and fruits in a timely manner, otherwise the fruits may begin to deteriorate, which will also significantly affect their shelf life. If the fruits that grow on bushes and trees are visible, and by their appearance you can understand that they are ripe, then with root crops everything is different. In this article, we will tell you about when to dig potatoes, what is the average ripening time for a vegetable, as well as how to harvest a seasonal crop.

First of all, gardeners should understand that there is no exact date that would indicate when to harvest potatoes. The fact is that several factors can affect the maturation of a culture.

There is a certain dependence on at what time the potatoes were planted in the ground. When planted in late April, harvest can be carried out as early as early August. According to statistics, the most favorable month for planting a crop is May. In this regard, the potato harvest may begin in late August or early September.

Be sure to take into account which varieties were used for cultivation in the current season. Early and late varieties can differ significantly in assembly time - from 4 to 6 weeks. Also, the timing will be influenced by how the owners looked after the site and crop during the summer, what the weather was like, how much moisture and fertilizer got into the ground.

You can dig a couple of bushes in the garden at the end of July, if the vegetables are immediately used for cooking, for example, young boiled potatoes. If the owners plan to store potatoes for a long time, then early picking should not be carried out in any case. The thing is that it will still have too thin a peel, which significantly reduces the shelf life. After the slightest damage to the skin, the tubers will subsequently begin to deteriorate and rot. And if the unripe crop starts to deteriorate, then you can stay for the winter without stocks and without preparations for the next season.

When growing potatoes seed, summer residents will find out the flowering time of the bushes, as well as the ripening period at the time of purchase of a particular variety. Also, the required terms are usually given on the packages. If, in the process of caring for the plant, the flowering time occurs on time, then this means that the growth of the potato is normal and it will ripen just right.

Usually, most summer residents are guided by the appearance of the bush. After the tops begin to turn yellow, there is every reason to believe that the potato is ripening and is already at the last stage. When the tops have dried, a liter has fallen, then after a few days you can start digging.

However, it often happens that some of the shrubs have already turned yellow and dried up, and some have not. This may be due to the fact that after digging up potatoes last season and harvesting tubers, they were not sorted by variety, and, accordingly, by ripening time. If you have a similar situation, then you need to dig up the mature bushes, and return to the rest in 10-14 days. At this point, you will be able to see the changes, and after that, dig out the remaining potatoes. However, we must not forget to continue to water the plantings.

When summer residents plant one variety of crop, then it will need to be collected after the same period of time. Usually the crop is harvested after 70-100 days.

In some cases, withered tops do not always indicate the ripening of potatoes. This can happen if there is not enough moisture in the ground during a particularly hot period. So after a few days the bushes will begin to dry a lot. To prevent this, you need to take care of the garden.

With an excess of moisture or nitrogen fertilizers, the tops are able to grow strong, while the root crops themselves do not have time to ripen by the time of harvest.

There are varieties in which the upper part will remain green even when fully ripe. In this regard, it is possible to conditionally determine the most auspicious time for harvesting - the end of August and the first half of September. When in doubt, you can always try to dig a couple of bushes to check the condition of the roots of this variety.

Another way to determine the stage of potato ripening is by peeling. If the peel is easy to wash and it is thin, then it is better to wait a little with cleaning.

Dig up one bush to test. If the peel is not yet ripe, then try in 7-10 days.

To determine how many tubers can be collected from one square meter seedlings, you need to know which variety was used at the time of planting. Please note that young potatoes will have smaller fruit sizes.

Cleaning methods

Many summer residents are interested in how many potato digging methods exist. Several methods can be used during harvesting.

The most commonly used common garden tools are a shovel and a pitchfork. At the same time, during work, one has to experience a considerable physical activity, and since most gardeners are no longer young, this can be a problem. Most of all, this will tense the lower back. For those who have problems with the musculoskeletal system, it is better to use other methods, since in case of poor health, back pain can appear after a few hours.

In large farms, it will be necessary to process much larger areas than summer residents. Designed for large-scale cleaning special devices which make the job much easier. These include a potato digger or walk-behind tractor.
Ordinary physical labor can significantly burden the gardener's back. In this regard, if the area of cultivation is very large, and you have access to special agricultural equipment, then it is better to use it.

Harvesting with this equipment can be carried out after you cut all the leaves on the surface. After a few days, you can get to work and dig up potatoes.

Having determined when to dig potatoes, you need to prepare the equipment. First of all, you need to pay attention to the state of the rotation elements. They must be well lubricated. The parts that will loosen the soil and help harvest the crop must be cleared of old hardened earth, clay and pebbles. If the sharp edges are dull, then a special sharpening will be required. It should be understood that the use of a walk-behind tractor implies compliance with a number of specific rules:

all rows of planted potatoes should be even so that you do not have to change the direction of the device;
the distance between all rows should be the same, since the wheels of the walk-behind tractor itself can drive into an adjacent landing, damaging the tubers;
when harvesting, it is better to use a special attachment for the cultivator, choosing a certain depth for digging the earth;
the walk-behind tractor must be set up so that it moves easily, then the tubers will rise to the surface;
to facilitate the process of working with a cultivator, it is best to dig potatoes through a row, otherwise one of the wheels of the equipment will move on plowed land, and the other on a trodden path.

Before starting work, it is recommended to immediately prepare a place where you will sort or dry the crop. It is better to try not to throw or drop the tubers in order to prevent mechanical damage fruits, otherwise they will spoil in a few weeks.

In the process of harvesting, it is necessary to immediately reject damaged and diseased fruits, so that later you do not waste time on this again. good harvest put in bags and place in a dark, dry, cool place. It is best to additionally cover the bags with a thick cloth so that sunlight does not break through to the harvest. Such a measure will delay the germination of potatoes. Please note that it is better to immediately disassemble the varieties into bags to avoid confusion.

When tops and weeds remain on the field after harvesting, they can be dried in the sun. After a few days, everything should be collected, and then buried in compost pit. If, in the course of work, you noticed that the plant has signs of disease or fungus, then it is better to burn the tops.

Try to follow these rules, it will help to facilitate your work on harvesting potatoes.

Video "How to dig potatoes with a mini walk-behind tractor"

This video demonstrates how to quickly dig potatoes with a Jikov motor cultivator or a mini walk-behind tractor with home-made attachments without a shovel.

Any person who has a dacha or a garden every year worries about the question of when they dig potatoes. After all, timely harvesting of potatoes is the key to a quality harvest. When starting mass harvesting, it is important to make sure that the potatoes are ripe. What signs should be paid attention to before harvesting, what to do later with potatoes and the plot, let's figure it out together.

So when to dig potatoes? The average time for harvesting potatoes in central Russia falls on the period from the end of August to mid-September. The timing directly depends on the specific variety and the weather in the current season.

For cleaning, it is better to choose dry sunny weather. If the weather forecast promises heavy rains in the near future, then you need to try to harvest faster. Heavy rains already at the end of the ripening period of tubers provoke the development of fungal diseases. Harvested in rainy weather, potatoes will be stored much worse. It is necessary to take into account the total amount of precipitation for the entire season, it also affects the ripening time. The drier the summer, the faster the fruits ripen, but at the same time the best way reflected in their quantity and quality.

Pay attention not only to the expected rains, but also to night frosts. Frozen potatoes have an unpleasant sweetish taste.

When determining the timing of harvesting tubers, consider the varietal characteristics of ripening. For example, for early varieties 80 days are enough, and for medium and late - 100-120 days, respectively. Early digging is a shortage of crops and unripe tubers, late digging increases the risk of infection with fungal diseases, the appearance of rot during storage.

Some gardeners are guided by the lunar calendar. Experts do not recommend starting harvesting on the new moon, explaining the continued circulation of juices in the stems. The tops are still actively growing at this time, so it is green. Having dug up such potatoes, the tubers will be of poor quality. Optimal timing on lunar calendar in 2018 - August 29.30 (August 31 is an unfavorable day). In September auspicious days- 3, 4, 7, 8, 26, 30 numbers, unfavorable - 13, 14, 23, 24.

Signs of a mature potato

How do you know if a potato is ready to be harvested? In addition to specific calendar dates, there are quite clear signs of the readiness of the crop, allowing you to visually determine the start time for harvesting potatoes.

1. Withered tops. If the aerial part of the bush dries up or the leaves turn yellow, then it does not make sense to keep the tubers in the ground. And even more than that, if not removed within 2-3 weeks, the crop will overripe and begin to rot.

2. If you are not convinced by the shrunken and yellow tops, determine the ripeness of the tubers in a different way. Dig up a couple of bushes for testing, take 2 tubers from them, rub them together or just with your finger. If the peel is not erased, while the tubers are of sufficient size, then the potatoes are ripe.

Harvesting potatoes from the garden

To harvest potatoes, use a pitchfork, a shovel or a walk-behind tractor. Using a shovel or a pitchfork is likely to damage the tubers, so you need to get used to these tools.

Before harvesting, it is necessary to mow potato tops in advance. Why, I wrote about it here. Tops cut in advance will not only protect further development on tubers, but it will also make harvesting easier, especially if you harvest with a potato digger or walk-behind tractor. Watch a video of how craftsmen harvest potatoes using a walk-behind tractor.

In case of rainy forecasts, prepare a room where you will dry the potatoes. In sunny, dry weather, leave the tubers to lie down in the garden for three hours so that the peel becomes rough. Well-dried potatoes will keep better in the winter.

When digging potatoes, it is better to stand with your back to the sun, so the potatoes will be clearly visible.

Before starting digging, prepare containers to sort the crop:

one for collecting seed potatoes,
the other - for medium and large potatoes, it will go for food,
the third - for small change to feed livestock,
the fourth - for damaged potatoes, it must be used primarily for food or livestock feed.

Preparing planting material for next year

After we dug up the crop, we immediately select planting material for next year. To do this, we select even healthy tubers of medium size from the most productive bushes.

The selected tubers are washed in the Maxim preparation, dried and kept for some time in the light so that they turn green. Only then are they removed to the cellar for storage.

Preparing the main crop for storage

The main crop is dried in the garden for 3 hours, of course, if there is no rain. Then the potatoes are sorted and transferred to a dark room for ripening in a well-ventilated room with a positive temperature.

Later, when they are taken to the basement, the potatoes are dusted with wood ash. This will provide additional protection against decay.

After harvesting potatoes, all plant residues (tops, weeds) must be removed from the site and burned. Otherwise, they will be an excellent breeding ground for pathogenic bacteria. The site is treated with Fitosporin and sown. Mustard and oats are used as green manure. Mustard perfectly heals the earth, oats give it airiness.

In conclusion, watch a video about when they dig potatoes.

Potato is one of the most common vegetables, without which it is difficult to imagine. country cottage area. The ripening period of potatoes depends on many factors. First of all, this is the tuber variety itself, as well as climatic conditions. If the first factor can be influenced, then the second one has to be simply put up with. If the summer turned out to be cold, then the harvest may be poor.

When planting potatoes, it is important to consider the region of residence. In different areas, the time from planting to harvesting the same variety may vary due to differences in climate.

An early potato that matures approximately 50–61 days after the tubers are planted in the soil.
The early ripe variety ripens on 66–85 days from the moment of planting in the ground.
The mid-season variety will ripen 86–95 days after planting.
Medium-late - from 96 to 115 days, after planting the tubers in the soil.
The maturation period of late potatoes starts from 115 days.

The growing season may vary up or down. Again, this depends on the weather conditions that prevail in the season. It's impossible to influence it.

What determines the rate of maturation of tubers?

But, even choosing a variety according to the ripening period of the tubers, after planting, one cannot be sure that the crop can be obtained exactly by a specific date. Vegetation is influenced by many factors.

Factors that affect the growth rate:

In what region is the cultivation of vegetables.
Planted potatoes will grow earlier if tubers are planted in early May.
Weather.
Application a large number mineral and organic fertilizers.
The growing season of potatoes is reduced if planted in nutrient-poor soil. On the fertile soil growth does not accelerate, and you can harvest until late autumn.
The lack of moisture also affects how quickly the tubers grow. If the summer turned out to be dry and there was little rain, then the potato harvesting period is reduced.

If the growing season is reduced for the last two reasons, then such potatoes will not be as tasty, and will also be poorly stored. Therefore, if possible, it is advisable to regularly water the potatoes (if there is no rain in summer) and before planting potatoes in open ground, apply mineral and organic fertilizers to the ground. When the tubers ripen on time, they turn out tasty and can be stored for more than one month.

How to speed up the ripening of potatoes?

You can try to speed up the ripening of potatoes after the flowering period so that young potatoes do not have to be dug up in late autumn. This will help those summer residents who are delayed with the landing of planting material. You can also try to increase the growth of potatoes in the event that it turned out to be a cold and rainy summer.

What to do if the bushes have grown strongly and it is impossible to delay harvesting?

The easiest way is to cut green tops when the planting material has recently begun to sprout, and the bushes have not yet begun to bloom.
In order for the potatoes to ripen earlier, it is possible to spray the bushes with a solution 14 days before harvesting blue vitriol. The tool draws moisture from the leaves and the maturity of the tubers comes faster. The tops of the same month begin to become covered with brown spots, curl and dry.
To speed up the ripening of potatoes, if it turned out to be a long and cold summer, you can use magnesium chlorate. For 1 liter of water, you need to take 25 g, dilute chlorate in water and spray the bushes with it. The stages of potato ripening will then be reduced, and after a while it will be possible to dig it out. If the weather is dry, then the potatoes ripen after spraying already on the 6th day.
In order for the potatoes to ripen earlier than expected, they can be treated with superphosphate. Spray potatoes after flowering. For 1 liter warm water 25 g of superphosphate. The time for the procedure is better to choose the evening.
Tubers ripen faster if they are germinated before planting in the soil. This is easy to do and takes a little time to germinate. Potatoes are germinated in a well-ventilated area. Straw or hay can be laid out on the floor. During the day the temperature should be no more than +15. At night, for full germination, it must be lowered to +7. Potatoes should germinate in 2-4 weeks. After the first roots began to grow on the tubers, they are watered with a solution of sodium chloride, ammonium nitrate and superphosphate (15:15:55 per 10 liters of water). After two days, the tubers need to be watered. This will help speed up the growth when the potatoes are planted in the soil.
Withering is another way for accelerated growth. The potatoes need to be laid out in one layer (it is not necessary to lay them out so that the sun hits the tubers). After a week and a half, eyes should appear on it. Then you can start landing. Plant dried potatoes in the usual way.

After these procedures, the stages of potato growth will be reduced and then you can safely dig up young potatoes without fear of damaging them in the ground. This issue is especially relevant for those summer residents whose plot is located in a lowland where water accumulates or when the ground contains a lot of peat and potatoes grow slowly.

When to dig potatoes?

As mentioned earlier, potatoes ripen in different ways. By what signs can you determine that it's time to dig up the crop?

The main signs of ripening potatoes:

The main sign by which it can be determined that the potato has ripened is dried tops. In early ripe varieties, this may begin at the end of July. After all the tops of the grown potatoes have dried up, you can start harvesting.
Second important point The thing to pay attention to is the weather. It is better to dig potatoes in dry and sunny weather. As a rule, potatoes ripen by the end of August. Therefore, it is better not to delay until autumn and do it before the rains. If the shade of the vegetative organs of plants (leaves, stems) is green, then you should think about artificially accelerating ripening.
Also, ripening depends on sowing. If the potato was planted at the end of May, then it will not be necessary to dig it out until September. This can be determined by the phases of development of the bushes. If the haulm is still green in August, it should take several weeks before it dries up.

You can dig up a potato crop at a temperature not lower than +17 degrees. Then during storage the potatoes will not turn black and not deteriorate. The worst time is morning hours when frost has already set in. If you dig up potatoes at such a time, they will quickly wither and it will not be possible to eat them.

After harvesting, it is necessary to collect all the tops and weeds. If this is not done, then on the next goal the plot may become overgrown with weeds and then it will take a long time to remove it from the garden.

When digging potatoes, you can immediately select the best and largest tubers for further planting. They need to be left for several days in the sun so that solanine begins to accumulate in the potatoes. The peel should take on a greenish tint. Such tubers will be stored longer and rodents will not spoil them. And on next year from them you can grow a good crop.

If space permits, then before you put the potatoes in the basement, you need to hold them for some time in the sun. In this way, you can kill all pathogens, as well as increase keeping quality.

Dried potatoes should be scattered in bags, after throwing out spoiled and gnawed tubers. Store potatoes preferably out of direct sunlight so that they do not germinate. The room should be well ventilated, the humidity in the cellar should be high. Observing all the rules of planting and storage, you can eat potatoes all year round.

After the flowering of potatoes, the question arises about the timing of harvesting. This article will help you choose the right time for harvesting root crops for food and further storage in the winter.

Harvesting should be done at a specific time. However, it is impossible to determine exactly when to dig potatoes after flowering. Each potato variety is unique in its own way, which has a direct impact on the timing of harvesting root crops.

Potato digging time can be influenced by many factors:

Potato variety.
natural conditions.
Soil fertility.
Date of planting potatoes.

flowering bushes

Potato varieties are divided according to growing time into:

Varieties of early ripening. Harvesting is done after 50-65 days.
Medium varieties. The time to maturity is 65-80 days.
Varieties of medium maturity. The maturation period occurs after 95 days.
Mid-late varieties. You can harvest in 95-110 days.
Late maturing varieties. Tuber maturation lasts from 110 days.

Collecting potatoes for storage

In order to determine the readiness of tubers for harvest, you can use a proven method that has been used for years. If the foliage and tops begin to turn yellow and dry out, then there is still a week left before the harvest.

The variety of potatoes for winter storage is selected from late-ripening varieties. They store much better than early maturing varieties. However, they are grown for more than 4 months.

dug up harvest

Before harvesting, preparatory steps should be taken. A week before the expected harvest, the tops should be mowed and removed from the site. It is believed that late blight spores can get on young tubers. The use of such root crops for planting in the coming harvest year will make them the spreaders of this disease at the very beginning of potato cultivation.

The tops should be thoroughly dried and burned. The fire will destroy any disease carriers, and the ashes can then be used to fertilize the soil.

Picking new potatoes

Young potatoes are famous for their excellent taste and the presence of nutrients. There are much more of them in young potatoes than in potatoes grown for winter storage.

You can dig potato bushes for food much earlier. As soon as the flowering of potatoes is completed, and the flowers fall, fruit set begins. After 2 weeks, you should start checking the readiness of potato roots.

An experienced gardener knows exactly when to dig potatoes after flowering, but a beginner does not know these mysteries of gardening. We will help you deal with the nuances of all the preparatory procedures that precede the digging of potatoes after flowering, as well as the main process.

The period when potatoes are dug up falls on the first weeks of August. For the normal conduct of the process, it is recommended to notice dry and sunny days, otherwise the potato tubers will get soaked before the rain, and the fruit itself will then be difficult to dry - it is likely that all the crops will rot.

How should potatoes be prepared for digging?

How to get rid of potato tops? Harvesting potato tops is, of course, a separate topic for consideration, but in short, it must first be dried on a site away from crops, and then burned. By the way, the ash that was formed after burning can be used to feed plants, loosen and enroll the soil - you don’t have to worry, there will be no phytophthora in it.

How to properly dig potatoes?

Digging potatoes is a whole science. It is necessary not only to extract it from the soil as quickly as possible and under favorable conditions, but to do it in such a way as not to damage the tubers. What is the best way to dig? We know that it is convenient to use a shovel in this difficult task, but some gardeners use a pitchfork. Are they needed? Forks can loosen the soil - it is better to introduce them at a distance of 20 centimeters from the base of the bush and turn the ground. after the loosened pits have formed, you can pry the soil with a shovel. Often the pitchfork is enough to see the potato tubers and easily remove them.

The main procedures are behind - now the potatoes are dug up. It must be sent for storage, but do it so that the crop does not rot. How to properly care for potatoes immediately after digging? The tubers that have been removed from the soil mixture should be laid out in one layer on the burlap. The potatoes should dry out a little. fresh air, but not wither, so we shade it a little from direct sunlight. The ground must also be dry. As soon as the potatoes are prepared, they are put into bags and sent for storage.

How to store potatoes after digging?

We went through a long process with you from harvesting the tops after flowering and extracting potato tubers, now we need to properly preserve the fruits of our labors. You can store potatoes in the cellar, in the basement, if it is deep and dry. The temperature should be constantly maintained between 2 and 4 degrees Celsius. Also, the cellar should be regularly ventilated so that the storage place and the potatoes in it are not damaged by mold.

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