Potato Question

[TReeves]

How will I know when my potatoes are ready for harvest? I read that when they start to flower then the tops die is this correct information?
Using the guide from the seed potatoes it says 55 days. 55 days would be mid June for me. Is this a typical time for harvest?
I naturally couldn't be easy and plant them in the ground I've done vertical gardening with them. I've already covered them with dirt three times and they're still coming up. Should I keep covering them until they reach the top of my enclosure?
The enclosure is the big wire looking thing in the front right hand corner. It has hay on the outside to keep the dirt in.

 

[thistlebloom]

Just let them continue to grow uncovered until they yellow and start to die back. There is no problem leaving them underground for a while even after the vines have died. Sometimes they don't bloom. It doesn't matter if they do or don't. Potatoes are a low stress crop.

 

[PhilaGardener]

Great looking garden - wish my season was that far ahead!

 

[Nyboy]

Love that stone wall !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Ridgerunner]

When they flower is when they start to set potatoes to grow. When the vines start to die they can be harvested, though they might store better if you wait until the vines are fairly dead before you harvest them. I'm in a hurry this morning so I'll let someone else tell you about groveling for new potatoes.

Some types of potatoes seem to set potatoes all along the stem, so the deeper you bury them the more potatoes you might have. Some apparently don't. I'm getting this from different photos different people have posted on here and their comments.

You can continue "hilling them up" until they start to flower, then it doesn't do you any more good. Don't totally bury the plant but leave a few leaves and buds showing, just raise the level as they grow. The potato plant will continue to grow. The potatoes set on above the seed potato so you need to put some dirt up there to give the potatoes room to grow.

If the sun hits potatoes they will turn green and contain solanine, which can make you very sick. So keep dirt over the developing potatoes. I plant mine in the ground and pull dirt up around them. Sometimes that dirt will crack and expose the developing potatoes so I pull a little more dirt up around them even though they have flowered.

Potatoes re a pretty low stress plant and can be pretty productive but they do need a little work. Mulching is good but after a certain point they pretty much self-mulch.

Don't put a whole lot of faith in that 55 day to harvest time. That's just something that they put out for comparison's sake between varieties. How long it actually takes will depend on your growing season. It probably won't be any less but it could be a lot longer.


Enjoy them and like everyone else, I'm envious of that photo.

 

[baymule]

Some of us have been known to dig under the plants like raiding squirrels, for a few early nuggets .......

 

[TReeves]

Love that stone wall !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We have them on all three sides. Every house has a wall of some sort. The reason is the rainy season. We get 3 months of rain starting in August/September and it keeps the yard and house from flooding. Not that it helps all the time. We had to sandbag last year.

Thanks for all the advice. I'll just keep watching them and waiting. I'm impatient to see if this will work.

 

[baymule]

Gardening will teach you patience. I always run out the next day expecting to see the seeds already sprouting. LOL

 

[Smart Red]

Yes, patience. It has been several years since spouse stopped digging up begonias to see if they were rooting yet.

 

[Hal]

I usually wait till after flowering and the plants are dying off.