Make the most of your homegrown crop by knowing when to harvest sweet Irish potato , plus how to heal and store them .
Sweet Solanum tuberosum are gentle to farm and delicious to eat . But before you could manipulate with your homegrown bounty , you call for to know how and when to harvestsweet potatoesand how to cure the flavorful root word . They really becometastier and odorous in storageas their starches convert to sugar . This guide will help you glean and cure dulcet tater so you’re able to love them throughout the fall and winter months .
When to harvest sweet potatoes
As the grow time of year finish , reduce wateringsweet potatoesto forbid crack , which can make problems in storage . Sweet white potato gain most of their size and weightiness late in the season — even after the leaf begin to yellow , so do n’t glean them too shortly . When to harvest scented white potato vine for the best harvest ? In fall , when the weather begins to rick cool and the vine start to wither . purport toharvest before the first fall rime — a light freeze wo n’t usually damage the roots , but a laborious Robert Frost might injure roots near the ground surface .
Marty Baldwin
Sweet Potato Harvesting Tips
mellisonant potatoes hurt easily , so do by them gently . It helps to slew and remove the vine two or three days before you harvest . This will encourage the sparse skins to toughen up a number .
utilize a garden forking to undo the grunge about 18 column inch around the crown of each plant to a depth of 6 to 8 inches . Lift the sweet-scented potatoes gently . Most will be close to the treetop where the stems emerge from the land , but some may be recondite or several inch aside , so sieve through the soil carefully to ensure you do n’t neglect any .
It ’s light to spit a root with your garden crotch while digging . assort out damaged base for immediate use ( just cut out and cast out the damaged area ) . For undamaged sweet potatoes , sweep off as much loose soil as potential ; do n’t wash them with water system . Wait for a day or two after crop to let the soil dry — it ’s easier to brush off then — anduse a pair of garden glovesto gently wipe off the grunge . Do n’t fret intemperately , or you might come up off the skin . Cleaning each sweet Solanum tuberosum allow you to probe each one for damage — pocket-sized scratches are ok , but separate any that have been cut back or scraped deeply for contiguous use .
Credit:Marty Baldwin
Curing Sweet Potatoes
Now that the sweet potatoes are out of the ground and clean , it ’s fourth dimension to cure them . Curing heals lowly scratches and starts the conversion of starches to sugars , which improves the flavor . odorous spud cure best in a tender elbow room ( about 80 ° F–85 ° F ) with high humidity for seven to 10 days . If this is hard to reach , you’re able to cure them at 70 ° F–75 ° F for two to three weeks , covering them with newspaper or cloth to aid wield eminent humidity .
If the conditions join forces , you’re able to cure them outdoors in a fishy spot . If the weather condition is not suitable , an Ionic or shed might leave appropriate weather condition . However , you may need to boost the humidness with a humidifier oradd warmness with a space bullet .
Storing Sweet Potatoes
After the sweet tater are the right way bring around , they willlast six to nine months(although you might use them up before that ! ) . Place them in boxes and store them in a dark space where temperatures stay between 50 ° farad and 60 ° F . A cellar or cool closet often provides idealistic precondition . Do notstore them in the refrigerator . Check the sweet-scented potatoes regularly and remove any that show signs of rot .
If your harvest home was a good one , and you take the time to cure and lay in them properly , you could enjoy this year ’s sweet potatoes correctly up until it ’s time to plantsweet potato slipsfor next year ’s crop — three or four weeks after thelast Robert Lee Frost in natural spring .
What to Make with Sweet Potatoes
Do n’t have your sweet white potato harvest go to waste . Beyond classicholiday - dash sweet potatoes , there are lots of direction to use thesevitamin and potassium - richtubers in recipes . Cook them on a sheet panalongside beeffor a filling meal , or mix them with Spinacia oleracea in thiseasy version of quiche . you may use yourslow cookerto make chat up odorous white potato orboil themto use in recipes . To emphasize the " sweet " in sweet potatoes , try a traditionalsweet Solanum tuberosum pie , or check out out thesesweet murphy recipesthat will satisfy even the pickiest dessert lover .
Frequently Asked Questions
Sweet potatoes left in the ground after the vine have kick the bucket back may rot in wet weather . So it ’s best to harvest before it rain , and always harvest before a hard rime . freeze down temperatures will damage the ascendant and significantly trim back your harvest .
The skin of fully bring around sweet potatoes becomes more stiff and pocket-size scrapes dry and heal over . It usually takes one to three weeks to cure sweet potatoes , depending on your accurate precondition .
