harvesting potatoes

[ShowMe31]

I tried something new this year and planted some potatoes in bottomless containers filled with topsoil/compost mix. I babied them and they were looking beautiful. The the drought hit, but I kept them watered, but decided to let my goats out. The first several weeks I remembered to keep a fence over them, then one evening I forgot to recover them and the goats found them. Now my experiment is just some stems with very few leaves. Should I go ahead and harvest them, or hope for the best and keep babying and watering them. I never saw them flower. They were planted around St Pats day, zone 5. I put in Irish cobbler, red pontiac and I'm thinking Kennebac. Thanks!

 

[lesa]

If all the leaves are gone- I think I would go ahead and harvest. Keeping them in that container could easily lead to rot...

 

[digitS']

I chop off all yellowing foliage from the plants before harvest. I try to give the tubers about 10+ days to develop firmer skins, then go after them with a shovel.

Yes, potato farmers often spray their fields a few weeks before harvest to kill what is above ground. An older way of doing it (& still used) is to run a chopper thru and mow them down.

I don't have any experience with growing potatoes in containers, however.

Steve

 

[ShowMe31]

Well I guess tomorrow I will go ahead and empty the containers. This was the first year I tried this. In the past I tried putting potatoes in the ground, but harvesting was so darn hard that I thought I'd try it this way this year. I'm all for experimenting in the garden. Somethings things work out sometimes not, but one thing is for sure it keeps things interesting. The containers are actually trash cans with the bottoms removed and cut in half. They drain great. If this works I would like to expand on it next year. Hopefully it worked out, I guess tomorrow we shall see. Thanks!

 

[lesa]

Looking forward to hearing your results...fingers crossed!

 

[catjac1975]

They should be ready-dry them a bit then store them in hay or straw . I use a trash barrel. But, I am zone 6 and leave them in the garden until the threat of a hard freeze. Then I dig and store. I would not do that because of the containers.