Sunday 1 July 2012

Harvesting new potatoes

Harvesting new potatoes is one of the most pleasurable events in the gardener's calendar. There's something very satisfying about unearthing a crop whose quality and size you can't really guage until the plants come out of the ground.


As many of you will already know, I grow my potatoes in tubs and containers (many of them recycled chicken manure tubs), simply because I haven't got space for them in my raised beds. As it happens, this style of growing suits potatoes very well. I find that it is easier to keep them properly watered if the plants are in containers, and it is also easy to harvest one container at a time without disturbing anything else.

For the sake of any first-time potato growers who may be reading this, my post is going to be a "How to harvest new potatoes" sequence.

The first thing you need to be able to do is guage when the plants are ready for harvesting. Once the potato plant has produced flowers you can be fairly sure that some worthwhile tubers will have formed down below. On the other hand, if you wait until the "haulm" (foliage) has died down, or at least turned yellow, you will get a bigger yield. Look at the photos below. Both show the yield from one plant of the variety "Charlotte", grown in the same type of container, using the same type of compost, and planted at the same time. The ones on the Right were harvested 10 days after the ones on the left. You can see that the second batch produced more bulk - 512 grams as opposed to 350 grams.


Still, for me quality is more important than quantity, so I always want to harvest my potatoes early! This is how I do it...

Stage 1. I spread out an old Army groundsheet and assemble the things I'll need: the potato plant in its container (notice yellow leaves!); secateurs to cut off the foliage; a container to put compostable material in, and of course something to hold the harvest.


Cut off the foliage and set aside for composting.


Up-end the pot onto the groundsheet and tip out the compost, revealing the lovely golden bounty.


Be prepared for the fact that the original seed tuber will be in there somewhere. It may still be intact, but on the other hand it may be soft and squashy:


Carefully collect up all the potatoes.


Run your fingers through the compost several times. You'd be surprised how often you find another tuber just as you think you have finished. The are several more potatoes in the next photo, compared with the previous one.



So that's it. On this occasion, one pot of "Charlotte" yielded 512 grams of potatoes - easily enough for a generous serving for two people.

As well as the Charlotte, I also harvested one pot of "Anya". This type of potato is actually a relative of Charlotte, being a cross between Charlotte and Pink Fir Apple (PFA). The result is a potato that comes out much less knobbly than PFA (hence much easier to prepare), whilst retaining the "nutty" flavour so distinctive of PFA.


The seed tuber of the Anya plant was still pretty much intact.


So here's the joint yield of both plants, side-by-side. This Anya plant yielded 463 grams of tubers.


Charlotte (left) and Anya (right).

With a bit of luck, this post might persuade a few more people to grow some spuds out on their balcony or patio next year. You don't need a lot of space, and it really is worthwhile!

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After a long absence, and now that I have a worthwhile harvest to report, I'm putting this post forward for Daphne's Harvest Monday

28 comments:

  1. They look so good. It's too bad I can't eat them anymore. New potatoes are so good.

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  2. I reckon there is easily enough for four people Mark!

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    1. Sue, I can eat a LOT of new potatoes when I try!

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  3. That is inspiring, Mark. I think I will plant some potatoes in tubs later on, probably in August as it is too hot and will have new potatoes for the fall. Thank you.

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  4. It is definitely persuading me to try some in pots. I don't have room anymore for potatoes in the beds so next year I will be trying them in pots if I can find enough empty pots.

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    Replies
    1. Becky, you should try asking your local traders if they have any surplus plastic containers. Lots of places like restaurants and shops get bulk supplies in huge plastic pots, which usually get thrown away when they are empty. They might agree to give them to you instead.

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  5. Hi Mark ,I also dug the first potatoes on my plot today Emerging From The Undergrowth.
    Can anyone identify them?
    For the last few years I've only been using containers in my garden and they always seem to do well in bought compost which is then put to good use in my raised beds.
    I've tried growing them in the raised beds but earthing up proves difficult and very wasteful of space.

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  6. They look amazing! I right treasure trove... A.

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  7. those anyas look so pretty, I've not had much success with potatoes in a bag but haven't tried a pot. We're still eating our summer harvest 4 months later, Im finding the purple congos have kept the best.

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  8. A brilliantly informative post today Mark,
    I'm definitely a convert for tatties in tubs! ;D

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  9. I just read your comment on a previous post about them being 10inch pots - that sounds like a pretty good harvest. I was averaging 1.5kg from 40cm(15inch) pots and whilst my maths is crude I reckon that the volume of a 40cm diameter/40cm high pot is around 4 times that of yours so based on that you are getting a better harvest. Oooohhhh (she says excitedly) now I need to test smaller pots in my garden and see what they produce.

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  10. I harvest mine in exactly the same way, and you're right, it is very satisfying tipping up the bucket and unearthing all those delicious spuds.

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  11. Thank you for the tutorial. I have never tried growing potatoes, but in a pot... hmm... I think I could do that. It wouldn't take any of that precious garden space that way.

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  12. Your potatoes are lovely! I grow them in containers, too, but hadn't thought about growing them in such small containers so as to harvest them regularly and easily. Brilliant!

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  13. A lovely crop of potatoes. I grow some of mine in pots and some in the ground.

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  14. What a difference 10 days makes, I too hadn't thought to grow potatoes in such small pots certainly worth a try.

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  15. Those are really beautiful new potatoes and your method of growing them is excellent particularly for those with limited space. My potato patch is just starting to show decent sign that it will be ready for me to steal some young potatoes soon. Maybe I can find a decent amount for the upcoming Fourth of July holiday.

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  16. Nothing beats fresh home-grown potatoes. You will be enjoying them in your meal very much.

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  17. That looks great, Mark! I have read that potatoes do great in containers. Good to see yours do well. I should grow my potatoes hereafter in containers as I still have a huge space in my balcony.

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  18. I thought about growing potatoes in pot but somehow never got to doing so. You have now convinced me to make the effort. What is best size pot to use?

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  19. I've got room for potatoes in the garden, but I experimented with Smart pots this year. It's not quite time to dig them out, but I have high hopes.

    I've never heard of Charlotte or Anya, but they look quite lovely!

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  20. Looking really great. We love new potatoes. We plant a bed each year that are intended for nothing other than early digging. We have been harvesting from that bed for a few weeks now and really enjoying the results!!

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  21. I love potatoes, your harvest looks awesome. Great site.

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  22. I got hooked on growing potatoes last year, this time I'm going to try a few different types and a few different growing methods, in pots sounds perfect.

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  23. Wow, that is an impressive potato harvest, especially from pots! I gave up on pot grown taters, they just never produced well for me. Your harvest is tempting me to try again.

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  24. Looks good! Potato foliage ravaged by storm - we'll see what happens next!

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  25. Love the tutorial, so little space and so many spuds!

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  26. very inspiring! ope i have as much luck!

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