The method for harvesting, curing, and storing candy potatoes is straightforward when you get the hold of it, however there are a selection of steps to find out about. Right here’s your step-by-step information to having scrumptious, homegrown candy potatoes in time for Thanksgiving Dinner.
This web page might comprise affiliate hyperlinks. Please learn my disclosure for more information.
Candy potatoes are virtually a set-it-and-forget-it crop, which is why they made my quick listing of low-maintenance crops!
Plant candy potato slips late in spring after the hazard of frost has handed, and harvest within the early fall.
This crop likes it sunny and sizzling, so watering is simply important for holding the soil from being bone-dry. In different phrases, this crop is nice for a water-wise backyard.
They’re usually pest-free, too.
For those who haven’t picked up on it but, candy potatoes are considered one of my all-time favourite crops!
I prefer to develop the range ‘Georgia Jet’, which is a candy, orange selection recognized to be high-yielding and accommodating of quite a lot of climates and soil sorts.
Candy potato vines additionally produce effectively when trellised to develop vertically as a result of they develop a number of massive tubers at every root junction. Within the extra conventional backyard strategy, vines sprawl alongside the bottom, producing a bunch of tiny potatoes as they attempt to root in all places.
Candy potato vines produce effectively when trellised to develop vertically.
Harvest any time after tubers have began to kind; begin checking late summer season. I like to attend a minimum of till the leaves begin to yellow, which signifies that I’ve gotten essentially the most manufacturing I can out of the vines that I’ve planted.
The important thing to a superior, candy style, nonetheless, is permitting them to expertise a light-weight frost, after which harvesting earlier than a tough frost. So it’s possible you’ll need to allow them to keep within the floor a short while longer and regulate the climate.
Right here’s the two-step course of I exploit when harvesting my candy potatoes.
Select a day when it hasn’t rained for a number of days, that manner the soil is minimally moist and crumbly, and you’ll brush off the tubers with a really mild contact.
You don’t need mud caked onto the tubers as a result of it makes them tougher to wash and retailer.
The harvesting course of begins with slicing the vines again so you will get to the soil. Rising candy potatoes on a trellis makes it simpler to observe the vines and discover the situation of the tubers.
Lower off the vines, leaving six-inch lengths above floor as a candy potato beacon.
Would you prefer to develop extra meals with much less effort? Take a look at my mini information, The Permaculture Inspired Vegetable Garden.
This step is a fragile one. At this stage, the skins of the tubers are very skinny and simply broken. Fastidiously and slowly push away the soil to disclose the harvest deal with.
Then loosen the soil across the tuber, digging beneath it to carry it out gently. I like to make use of my hori hori backyard knife for this step.
Curious about a backyard knife? I nonetheless have the one my gardening mentor purchased me–my very own special left-handed one. It nonetheless appears to be like like new at this time, greater than ten years later! (And right here’s an important garden knife for right-handers.)
Whether or not you’re utilizing a hori hori knife, a digging fork, or a shovel for harvesting, don’t aimlessly stab into the soil, as you’ll threat slicing the tubers in half. When you’ve discovered one, don’t pull it out, as a result of the fragile gems will undoubtedly snap in half, leaving the opposite half buried.
Items of tubers gained’t retailer in addition to complete, unscathed potatoes.
So dig gently, discover a tuber, loosen, and carry. Having unfastened soil actually helps, so think about rising yours in a raised mattress.
You’ve harvested your tubers and now you’re most likely considering that you just’ll head straight to the kitchen to make a candy potato casserole, proper? Improper.
It’s onerous to attend, however the curing course of actually sweetens them up.
Gently loosen and carry the tubers utilizing a backyard knife or digging fork.
Curing is a needed step that sweetens the flavour and permits the skins to harden for optimum storage. Be affected person and don’t rush the method!
Step one for curing candy potatoes lasts about 10 days, and the second step lasts about six weeks.
This primary step for curing candy potatoes heals any injury that occurred to the tubers throughout harvest so that they retailer longer. It additionally kicks off sugar manufacturing to provide you sweeter tubers.
For this step, the best state of affairs is an 85-degree room with 85% humidity. What? You don’t have that?!
My answer for years now’s this: Punch a number of holes in plastic grocery baggage and fill them with a single layer of tubers in every bag. Tie the baggage closed and put them in your sunniest, warmest window. This creates a kind of greenhouse impact.
Go away for 10 days.
If it will get chilly and your home windows are drafty, put a blanket or towel over them to maintain them heat.
After 10 days, open your plastic baggage of curing tubers. They need to be moist and far tougher to the contact. Compost any tender ones.
Whilst you can technically cook dinner your candy potatoes now, persevering with with this subsequent step kicks off much more sugar manufacturing and prepares them to retailer even longer.
A Georgia Jet candy potato harvest.
Are you searching for extra methods in your permaculture backyard? You’ll discover a great deal of info similar to this in my award-winning e-book, The Suburban Micro-Farm.
Curing for as much as 6 extra weeks makes the sweetest candy potatoes.
Roll up every tuber individually in a single sheet of newspaper, stacking them in a cardboard or picket field, or any breathable storage container. Place it in a basement or different room the place the temperature is near 55-60° F, for six weeks.
This six-week interval develops the onerous pores and skin needed for long run storage, and kicks off much more sugar manufacturing. The newspaper permits aeration and prevents moisture build-up that would in any other case smash the harvest.
A makeshift root cellar in my basement features a picket field of curing candy potatoes.
Comply with my curing technique described above for a minimum of 10 days, and a further 6 weeks after that, to be able to cook dinner tubers on the peak of sweetness.
So if you wish to serve candy potato casserole at your Thanksgiving Dinner, harvest in early October on the newest. It’s possible you’ll not get that frost-kissed sweetness, however the curing course of sweetens them up.
After curing, you’ll be able to retailer them for 6-8 months in excellent circumstances:
Precise storage size is dependent upon post-harvest circumstances. The method for harvesting, curing, and storing candy potatoes sounds difficult and time-consuming, however actually it’s easy when you get the hold of it.
The style of those homegrown, candy orange gems that say ‘Thanksgiving’ is all you might want to persuade your self to develop them 12 months after 12 months!
#1: When do you plant candy potatoes?
Plant candy potato slips in a sunny spot late in spring in spite of everything hazard of frost has handed.
#2: When do you harvest candy potatoes?
Candy potatoes could be harvested any time tubers have shaped, beginning in late summer season. Nevertheless, permitting them to expertise a light-weight frost after which harvesting earlier than a tough frost is the important thing to a superior, candy style. Harvest in early October for those who’d prefer to sweeten them via curing in time for Thanksgiving.
#3: How do you protect candy potatoes after harvesting?
Candy potatoes could be preserved via canning, dehydrating, or freezing.
Additionally they retailer a very long time in a cool, dry pantry, just like common potatoes, when first ready via a curing course of.
#4: Do you might want to treatment candy potatoes earlier than consuming them?
Whilst you can eat them instantly after harvest, they’re sweeter after being cured.
#5: How lengthy are you able to retailer candy potatoes?
You possibly can retailer cured candy potatoes for 6-8 months in excellent circumstances.
Are candy potatoes considered one of your favourite crops? What’s your technique for harvesting, curing, and storing?
READ NEXT:
This web page might comprise affiliate hyperlinks. Please learn my disclosure for more information.
Rising Candy Potatoes
Candy potatoes are virtually a set-it-and-forget-it crop, which is why they made my quick listing of low-maintenance crops!
Plant candy potato slips late in spring after the hazard of frost has handed, and harvest within the early fall.
This crop likes it sunny and sizzling, so watering is simply important for holding the soil from being bone-dry. In different phrases, this crop is nice for a water-wise backyard.
They’re usually pest-free, too.
For those who haven’t picked up on it but, candy potatoes are considered one of my all-time favourite crops!
I prefer to develop the range ‘Georgia Jet’, which is a candy, orange selection recognized to be high-yielding and accommodating of quite a lot of climates and soil sorts.
Candy potato vines additionally produce effectively when trellised to develop vertically as a result of they develop a number of massive tubers at every root junction. Within the extra conventional backyard strategy, vines sprawl alongside the bottom, producing a bunch of tiny potatoes as they attempt to root in all places.
Candy potato vines produce effectively when trellised to develop vertically.
The right way to Harvest Candy Potatoes
Harvest any time after tubers have began to kind; begin checking late summer season. I like to attend a minimum of till the leaves begin to yellow, which signifies that I’ve gotten essentially the most manufacturing I can out of the vines that I’ve planted.
The important thing to a superior, candy style, nonetheless, is permitting them to expertise a light-weight frost, after which harvesting earlier than a tough frost. So it’s possible you’ll need to allow them to keep within the floor a short while longer and regulate the climate.
Right here’s the two-step course of I exploit when harvesting my candy potatoes.
Step 1 for Harvesting
Select a day when it hasn’t rained for a number of days, that manner the soil is minimally moist and crumbly, and you’ll brush off the tubers with a really mild contact.
You don’t need mud caked onto the tubers as a result of it makes them tougher to wash and retailer.
The harvesting course of begins with slicing the vines again so you will get to the soil. Rising candy potatoes on a trellis makes it simpler to observe the vines and discover the situation of the tubers.
Lower off the vines, leaving six-inch lengths above floor as a candy potato beacon.
Would you prefer to develop extra meals with much less effort? Take a look at my mini information, The Permaculture Inspired Vegetable Garden.
Step 2 for Harvesting
This step is a fragile one. At this stage, the skins of the tubers are very skinny and simply broken. Fastidiously and slowly push away the soil to disclose the harvest deal with.
Then loosen the soil across the tuber, digging beneath it to carry it out gently. I like to make use of my hori hori backyard knife for this step.
Curious about a backyard knife? I nonetheless have the one my gardening mentor purchased me–my very own special left-handed one. It nonetheless appears to be like like new at this time, greater than ten years later! (And right here’s an important garden knife for right-handers.)
Whether or not you’re utilizing a hori hori knife, a digging fork, or a shovel for harvesting, don’t aimlessly stab into the soil, as you’ll threat slicing the tubers in half. When you’ve discovered one, don’t pull it out, as a result of the fragile gems will undoubtedly snap in half, leaving the opposite half buried.
Items of tubers gained’t retailer in addition to complete, unscathed potatoes.
So dig gently, discover a tuber, loosen, and carry. Having unfastened soil actually helps, so think about rising yours in a raised mattress.
You’ve harvested your tubers and now you’re most likely considering that you just’ll head straight to the kitchen to make a candy potato casserole, proper? Improper.
It’s onerous to attend, however the curing course of actually sweetens them up.
Gently loosen and carry the tubers utilizing a backyard knife or digging fork.
The right way to Treatment Candy Potatoes
Curing is a needed step that sweetens the flavour and permits the skins to harden for optimum storage. Be affected person and don’t rush the method!
Step one for curing candy potatoes lasts about 10 days, and the second step lasts about six weeks.
Step 1 for Curing
This primary step for curing candy potatoes heals any injury that occurred to the tubers throughout harvest so that they retailer longer. It additionally kicks off sugar manufacturing to provide you sweeter tubers.
For this step, the best state of affairs is an 85-degree room with 85% humidity. What? You don’t have that?!
My answer for years now’s this: Punch a number of holes in plastic grocery baggage and fill them with a single layer of tubers in every bag. Tie the baggage closed and put them in your sunniest, warmest window. This creates a kind of greenhouse impact.
Go away for 10 days.
If it will get chilly and your home windows are drafty, put a blanket or towel over them to maintain them heat.
After 10 days, open your plastic baggage of curing tubers. They need to be moist and far tougher to the contact. Compost any tender ones.
Whilst you can technically cook dinner your candy potatoes now, persevering with with this subsequent step kicks off much more sugar manufacturing and prepares them to retailer even longer.
A Georgia Jet candy potato harvest.
Are you searching for extra methods in your permaculture backyard? You’ll discover a great deal of info similar to this in my award-winning e-book, The Suburban Micro-Farm.
Step 2 for Curing
Curing for as much as 6 extra weeks makes the sweetest candy potatoes.
Roll up every tuber individually in a single sheet of newspaper, stacking them in a cardboard or picket field, or any breathable storage container. Place it in a basement or different room the place the temperature is near 55-60° F, for six weeks.
This six-week interval develops the onerous pores and skin needed for long run storage, and kicks off much more sugar manufacturing. The newspaper permits aeration and prevents moisture build-up that would in any other case smash the harvest.
A makeshift root cellar in my basement features a picket field of curing candy potatoes.
When can I cook dinner homegrown candy potatoes?
Comply with my curing technique described above for a minimum of 10 days, and a further 6 weeks after that, to be able to cook dinner tubers on the peak of sweetness.
So if you wish to serve candy potato casserole at your Thanksgiving Dinner, harvest in early October on the newest. It’s possible you’ll not get that frost-kissed sweetness, however the curing course of sweetens them up.
The right way to Retailer Candy Potatoes
After curing, you’ll be able to retailer them for 6-8 months in excellent circumstances:
- Breathable container or mesh bag
- Cool temperature, round 55° F
- Darkish
- Round 60% humidity
Precise storage size is dependent upon post-harvest circumstances. The method for harvesting, curing, and storing candy potatoes sounds difficult and time-consuming, however actually it’s easy when you get the hold of it.
The style of those homegrown, candy orange gems that say ‘Thanksgiving’ is all you might want to persuade your self to develop them 12 months after 12 months!
5 FAQs about Harvesting, Curing, and Storing Candy Potatoes
#1: When do you plant candy potatoes?
Plant candy potato slips in a sunny spot late in spring in spite of everything hazard of frost has handed.
#2: When do you harvest candy potatoes?
Candy potatoes could be harvested any time tubers have shaped, beginning in late summer season. Nevertheless, permitting them to expertise a light-weight frost after which harvesting earlier than a tough frost is the important thing to a superior, candy style. Harvest in early October for those who’d prefer to sweeten them via curing in time for Thanksgiving.
#3: How do you protect candy potatoes after harvesting?
Candy potatoes could be preserved via canning, dehydrating, or freezing.
Additionally they retailer a very long time in a cool, dry pantry, just like common potatoes, when first ready via a curing course of.
#4: Do you might want to treatment candy potatoes earlier than consuming them?
Whilst you can eat them instantly after harvest, they’re sweeter after being cured.
#5: How lengthy are you able to retailer candy potatoes?
You possibly can retailer cured candy potatoes for 6-8 months in excellent circumstances.
Are candy potatoes considered one of your favourite crops? What’s your technique for harvesting, curing, and storing?
READ NEXT: