The sweet potato has aim to be one of my all - time favorite vegetables .
This starchy tuber is equal role nutriment , dinner , and afters – I even make out people who eat sweet potatoes for breakfast !
From sweet potato fries to sweet murphy pie , this versatile veg has so many purpose in the kitchen .
Despite the love I have for angelical Irish potato , I ’ve always struggled when it follow to uprise them . That ’s due in part to the fact that I always mess up the harvesting process .
My vines look great all year long . I ’m careful to water , weed , and fertilize – but then , as soon as I bug out harvesting , everything give-up the ghost out the windowpane .
Here are some tips for harvesting sugared potatoes so that you’re able to ( hopefully ) be more successful than I am when it number to harvesting , bring around , and storing these beauties .
Tips for Harvesting Sweet Potatoes
Now that you ’ve grown a bumper craw of sweet potatoes , it ’s time to get them out of the ground so you could enjoy them . Here ’s what you demand to know .
1. Get the Timing Right
When should you harvest sweet potatoes ? The answer to this question can alter bet on where you go and what sort of conditions you ’ve had during the growing season .
If the time of year has been fond , with lots of water and sunshine , you could loosely originate harvesting about 100 - 110 daytime after you planted the solecism .
However , it sometimes carry longer for sweet-flavored potatoes to be ready , especially if the conditions have n’t been optimal . catch for the first foretoken of yellowing leaves . This is generally in September or early October , just before the first frost .
2. Dealing with Frost
Why before the first frost ?
Some masses believe that frost wo n’t affect your crop . However , it does – and not necessarily in a good mode as it does with vegetable like cultivated carrot that become sweet with a tinge of rime .
Although sweet potatoes are fairly insulate in their location underground , they need to be harvested as shortly as the vine flex pitch-dark with a frost . Otherwise , the decay from the vines will quick pass to the tubers .
While you do n’t need to discard perfumed Solanum tuberosum that were hit by a frost , ensure you reap within a few day of the colder weather condition . Sweet potato will immobilise at 30 ° .
3. Harvest on a Cloudy Day
attempt to harvest your dulcet white potato vine on a cloudy Clarence Shepard Day Jr. or at least one in which the Dominicus is n’t shine too bright overhead .
sweet-flavored potatoes have slight tegument before they are cure . If you permit them sit in the sun too long , they can suffer from sunscald . This is kind of like a sweet potato erythema solare and it can cause infections to enter .
Of naturally , you ca n’t always control the atmospheric condition . If you have to harvest on a sunny day , just get the gratifying white potato into a shaded location as quickly as you’re able to or cover them up with a blanket or tarp while you reap the rest .
4. Watch the Skin
Again , sweet potatoes have very delicate skin . It ’s easy to break , tear , or offend the pelt when you ’re harvest home , so be careful about how you do it .
This is where I always run amok !
you could habituate a garden branching or spade to reap your sweet potatoes but it ’s authoritative to go under the tool far enough forth from your base that you are loosening nearby ground instead of digging directly into the works .
To avoid have to work too close to the soil , mark your planting spot . That way , you ’ll have sex more or less where the sweet murphy are rather than having to dig willy nilly . The vines can dish as a serious indicator but sometimes they can sprawl , so being open-eyed in your garden marking is key .
5. Don’t Cut or Bruise
A common misconception is that sweet potatoes heal themselves after being cut or bruise . While it is dead on target that they release a milky fluid over the injury , it , unfortunately , does not heal the wound in any way .
A minor bruise or scrape usually will heal during the curing process , but any of those with thick wound should be eat first and not put into storage .
6. Heal Injuries During Curing
Curing is something that can be done for all kinds of wintertime - stash away veg , from squashes to sweet-scented potatoes . It help the harvested vegetable recover from any wound , to release excess moisture , and to insure that they ’ll last longer in storage .
To bring around your sweet Irish potato , you should countenance them dry for around 3 or 4 hours . you could go away them outside as long as the weather is ironical and not too sunny .
Do n’t wait too long during this operation , though , especially if you harvest your perfumed potatoes in the good afternoon and fall is come on . The driblet in temperatures and the addition of wet ( from the dew ) can damage the sweet potato .
Once your sweet potatoes are mostly dry , move them indoors , placing them in a ironic , warm , ventilated location . Here they will stay for up to 2 weeks , but at least for a week to 10 day .
Ideally , you will keep your sweet-flavored tater at temperatures of 80 - 85 ° . Some growers put them near a furnace or other rut source to issue the needed warmth . I ’ve even used a heat lusterlessness ( the sort for germinating seeded player ) before !
Depending on the clime where you subsist , you might even be able to bring around your sweet potato southside . Just check that you put them on a table and that they are n’t touching so they have enough ventilation .
This resting operation helps the skin toughen up and also increases the scratch content . Small combat injury may heal up and the total sweet-scented Irish potato will change color to a deep , more vibrant orange ( for orange sweet potatoes ) .
7. Don’t Wash Them
Another fatal misapprehension you’re able to make while harvesting and storing sweet potato ? Washing them first .
Sure , you ’re going to want to get the grime off your sweet potatoes powerful before you eat on them . However , you should never wash sweetened tater that are going to be put into storage , as this leads to increased handling and the introduction of more moisture ( never a good thing ) .
Instead , harvested odorous potatoes should move right to the cure physical process . Here are somemore tips for bring around sweet potatoesthat you might find helpful .
8. Packing Sweet Potatoes for Storage
Once they ’ve been cure , you have the light-green Light Within to go ahead and lay in your perfumed potatoes . bundle them in baskets or boxes and store them in a cool , dry blank space for the winter . verify this spot does n’t get too much light , as this can affect the ledge faint .
Great storage spots for sweet white potato vine let in :
Do n’t store your sweet potato in the icebox , as this changes the anatomical structure of the cell walls in your potatoes and can cause them to develop a hard center and off - taste . Check your perfumed potatoes often for sign of decomposition and spoil .
One final tip – before putting your sweet murphy into storage , you may have to twine each one in a newspaper . This can provide them with a bit more security and detachment .
How Long Do Sweet Potatoes Last?
When stored correctly , sweet-smelling potatoes should last around 6 months or more – sometimes as farsighted as 10 months !
Just handle them carefully whenever you take one to run through – remember , they bruise easily .
Of naturally , following the tip above for harvest home sweet Irish potato ( andthese for grow them ) should help your perfumed potatoes hang on as long as potential , too .
Now , check outthese recipesso you have a few mind on what incisively to do with all those sweet white potato vine you ’ve store .
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