Table of contents:
- How to understand that it's time
- Optimal timing of harvesting potatoes
- The main methods of harvesting potatoes
- How to prepare crops for storage
Video: When to dig potatoes by region and lunar calendar
2024 Author: James Gerald | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 14:00
One of the most important steps in growing potatoes is harvesting on time and correctly. When to dig out potatoes, and what does the timing depend on?
How to understand that it's time
The visual signs of potato ripening include drying of the tops completely, or in relation to most of the leaves. From this time on, it makes no sense to leave the tubers in the soil.
After the complete wilting of the tops, no more than 2 weeks should pass, otherwise the potatoes will start to rot.
If you have any doubts about the readiness of the crop, you can dig up a few bushes and look at the tubers. If they have already managed to grow to large sizes, this can be regarded as a good sign.
Optimal timing of harvesting potatoes
To determine the exact period, you should pay attention to various factors. The date when the potatoes are ready for harvest depends on several factors:
- from the time of boarding;
- what kind of potatoes you want to get: young or very ripe;
- from destination - for feed, for future planting or for use for culinary purposes.
The answer to this question helps you know when to dig out the potatoes after flowering.
According to the lunar calendar in 2021
You can choose favorable dates based on the Moon. It is believed that this esoteric tool helps to get a better crop that can lie for a long time while maintaining the taste.
Auspicious days, depending on the month, will be the following:
- June: 27-28;
- July: 1 and 6, 9-10, from 14 to 19;
- August: from 5 to 7, from 10 to 16, 24-26, 28-29;
- September: 3, from 6 to 13, from 20 to 24, 30-31;
- October: from 4 to 10, 13-14, from 20 to 23, 26-27.
Depending on the variety
Depending on the time from sowing to harvest, potatoes are classified into very early, early, mid-early and late varieties. Early hybrids can be grown on the garden plot. Late varieties are recommended when planning to harvest for the whole winter.
Different varieties of potatoes, including forty-day ones, have their own ripening period. The main indicator of the maturity of a vegetable is the dryness of the upper leaves, yellowed and wilted leaf stems.
The growing season for potatoes usually lasts 3 to 4.5 months. The so-called young potatoes can be dug at the end of June, that is, about 90 days after planting.
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It is harvested when the green parts begin to bloom by carefully selecting the largest tubers. The main crop is left in the ground for as long as possible. At the end of summer, the tops, aerial parts of the potatoes are cut off and the tubers are left in the ground for another 2 weeks to harden.
Depending on the variety, potatoes are dug from mid-August to late September.
Depending on the region of cultivation
In warm regions of Russia, where there is no fear of frost until autumn, late varieties can be dug up until October 10.
How to check if potatoes are ready for digging? If the tuber has already reached full maturity, its skin will not wear off when pressed with the thumb. In addition, the aerial part of the plant begins to die off.
As for the regions of Russia, where the summer is short, the ripening of late and mid-late varieties becomes a problem. Here it is better to consider mid-season or mid-early hybrids. Moreover, it is also important to look at the indicator of their keeping quality, which should be good enough.
The cleaning calendar may vary from region to region and looks something like this:
- middle band: from 20 to 30 September;
- northwest: from the third decade of August to the beginning of September;
- Siberia and the Urals: the second decade of August.
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Depending on the weather
The weather is an important factor. If it is dry, then during this period it is good to do the sorting of tubers and drying them in the open air. This time should be used to remove all excess soil, which is especially comfortable to peel off the potatoes.
If you dig in rainy weather, the tubers will take longer to dry. An excessive amount of moisture leads to the formation of diseases and the start of putrefactive processes, which is why the entire crop is preserved worse. A clear, windless day is a great option for those who want to make digging potatoes a convenient process.
The best conditions for harvesting potatoes are guaranteed by warm and dry weather. The soil temperature should be above 10 ° C, and the moisture content should not exceed 15%. At lower temperatures and higher humidity, potato tubers are exposed to mechanical damage.
Low temperatures during the late harvest period increase the sugar content in the tubers and deteriorate the quality of fried foods.
The main methods of harvesting potatoes
The potatoes can be harvested by hand or using a harvester. Manual harvesting is carried out after the potatoes are dug out by an elevator excavator, and the harvester is done by a single-row or double-row potato harvester.
Mechanical harvesting is carried out when the lobes of potatoes turn yellow and their peels are peeled, i.e. when the tubers reach the stage of full technical maturity. Only early potatoes with such ripeness are not harvested. On rocky soils, you can carry out a two-stage harvesting, which consists in digging out the tubers in the morning and then harvesting them with a combine.
When picking young potatoes, peel off the topsoil and carefully remove the tubers with a pitchfork or stick. Remove the largest tubers and then cover the hole to increase the yield over time. Always dig up late potatoes on dry and sunny days. Otherwise, the potatoes are spoiled and rotted, and the harvesting efficiency is reduced.
After digging up the tubers, leave them in the sun for about 2 hours to dry. Beware of mechanical damage that increases the risk of bacterial infections and results in large crop losses. Combine harvesting is usually not used for smaller crops. Potatoes in the garden can be harvested by hand.
You can use a shovel by wrapping it around the plant and lifting the tubers from under the soil on it. When digging up and preparing vegetables for storage, remove any defective tubers from the crop to avoid spreading the disease.
How to prepare crops for storage
Early potatoes are not suitable for long-term storage, as they lose their aroma, wither and turn green. Therefore, consume it immediately after collection.
Late varieties are stored in a dry and frost-protected room for up to 6 months. Do not wash them before storing them. The basement will be the perfect place for them. Boxes and buckets that can easily get air into are best for storage.
Storage conditions
The purpose of storage is to create conditions that will protect the usable crop (in this case tubers) from adverse external conditions. Potatoes are usually stored in a cellar. In the case of a large amount of harvest and in the absence of cellars, the vegetable is stored in mounds. This is the cheapest storage method and the biggest loss.
In good conditions, losses range from 3 to 20%, 50% - in bad ones, in the embankment or in winter. Sources of losses are: moisture evaporation, spoilage and rot, premature germination.
An important condition for the correct storage of tubers is to provide them with a proper microclimate (humidity and temperature).
Good quality of the crop and an increase in the shelf life of potato tubers are ensured by a set of correctly performed agrotechnical measures. These include soil cultivation, variety selection, timely planting, care and protection, preparation of the site for harvesting and carrying out it in a technically efficient way.
Outcomes
The timing of harvesting potatoes depends on various factors. Early potatoes can be harvested from the end of June. The optimum temperature for digging potatoes is from +10 to + 17 ° С. It is good to clean in dry weather. The timing may vary, depending on the region of Russia. In most cases, the wilting of the tops indicates the readiness of the potato for harvesting.
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