Picking Potatoes 2025
My garden continues to produce bounties of beautiful fresh vegetables. Our latest harvest - potatoes!
Not long ago, just before a thunderous rainstorm, my gardeners harvested the season's potatoes. Potatoes are from the perennial nightshade, Solanum tuberosum. As the world's fourth-largest food crop, following maize, wheat, and rice, potatoes are grown from “seed potatoes," which are certified disease-free and specially grown in nurseries for planting purposes. This year's crop was grown from my longtime source, Johnny's Selected Seeds. I always look forward to sharing the bounty with family and friends.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
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- Here at my farm, I plant potatoes every year – they’re great for baking and enjoying with my favorite caviar, and for making my mother’s famous mashed potatoes.
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- In spring, cut seed potatoes are planted in long trenches that run the entire length of each bed and are about five to six inches deep.
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- The trenches should also be at least one to two feet apart to give the potato plants ample room to develop. Potatoes perform best in soil with pH levels 4.8 to 5.5. Potatoes are easy to grow as long as they have access to full sun and moderate temperatures.
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- They are pushed into the soil with eyes faced up and cut sides down. When selecting seed potatoes, avoid planting those from supermarkets in case they were treated by sprout inhibitors. After planting, little maintenance is needed – just watering.
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- This was one of the potato beds in June, when the potato plants flowered. This happens when they are mature and have enough resources to reproduce. The flowers can be white, pink, lavender, or purple, and they attract pollinators to help the plant make more seeds. Flowering is also a sign that tubers are starting to grow underground.
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- This is definitely a less attractive sight in the garden, but it is a well-anticipated one because it means the potatoes are ready.
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- The potatoes are ready to pick once the vines have died back – when the tubers are done growing, and the potato plants have begun to turn yellow and withered.
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- To harvest potatoes, Ryan uses a gardening fork. It has four tines that can pierce the ground more easily than would a shovel or a spade.
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- Ryan drives the fork into the soil at the outside edges of the plant and then carefully lifts the plant.
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- It is important to do this at some distance from the plants to make sure the potatoes are not accidentally pierced.
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- Ryan digs deep into the ground and feels around for potatoes – potatoes will be slightly cool to the touch.
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- All these are from one plant.
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- There are more than 200 varieties of potatoes sold throughout the United States. Each fit into one of seven potato type categories: russet, red, white, yellow, blue/purple, fingerling, and petite.
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- The skins of mature potatoes are thick and firmly attached to the flesh. If the skins appear thin and rub off easily, the potatoes are still too ‘new’ and should be left in the ground for a few more days.
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- It’s easy to see how the potatoes are connected to the plant at the root area. They’re very easy to pull off, and often come loose by themselves. Leave any green potatoes alone. When potatoes are exposed to light, they turn green, a sign the toxic substance called solanine is developing, which may cause illness if eaten in large quantities.
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- Always be careful not to scrape, bruise or cut the tubers. Damaged tubers will rot during storage.
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- In another area of the bed – red potatoes. An entire potato plant grows from just one potato eye, although when planting, always plant a piece of potato with at least two eyes to ensure germination.
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- These potatoes are not too deep. Most will be within the first 12-inches of soil.
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- After the potatoes are picked, they’re placed into crates, separated by variety and color. They can be stored in bins, boxes, or even paper bags – just nothing airtight to prevent rotting. Another tip – never wash potatoes until right before using – washing them shortens the potato’s storage life.
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- Don’t leave harvested potatoes in the sun as excessive heat could cause them to cook. Just brush off as much soil as possible and place them in a cool, dry place until ready to use.
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- This was a good harvest. I will have lots of potatoes to eat and share with my family.
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