Grow Your Own Magazine

Hi everyone, not sure if anyone will be able to answer this, or if it'll have to be 'trial and error'...
I am growing a new-ish variety of potato called Harlequin from Thompson&Morgan. It's classed as an Early-Maincrop, and it's a cross between Pink Fir Apple and Charlotte. This is what the T&M description says;
It doesn't mention storing, or not... I've got 3 pretty big tubs of them, so I'm hoping that they will store for a little while at least
Also, not sure if I can start eating them yet - they have flowered but the foliage hasn't started going over yet, and they aren't due to be 'ready' for a few weeks... I had a poke around this morning, and there's definately some decent sized tubers in there already.
Any ideas anyone?

__________________
Sarah

“Tell me one last thing,” said Harry. “Is this real? Or has this been happening inside my head?”
“Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?”

SARAH
Harlequin will store I grew them last year, remember to leave them out in the sun? for a couple of days to dry and harden the skin up before you put the in to store.

Cheers Paul, altho I did note the question mark after 'sun'...!! Will prob have to dry em in greenhouse same as me onions!
D'you know if I can eat them before they're technically 'ready'?

__________________
Sarah

“Tell me one last thing,” said Harry. “Is this real? Or has this been happening inside my head?”
“Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?”

I would - it's not as if they have to 'ripen' or anything .... if they are the right size for you, that's it!

And I would have thought that you could just leave them in the tubs till you wanted them? No reason to dig them up to see if they store then!

__________________
Hazel
www.hazelandjanesallotment.blogspot.com
update Sat 15/11/2008......there's gold in them thar...compost bins!......

SARAH
My eye was working faster than my brain missed out that they where in tubs, ideal way of storing bring the tubs inside and let the compost dry out then you can have a lucky dip bran tub of potatoes, I grew some heritage type potatoes from plugs last year to store them I put them in pots in dry compost then put the pots in a coolish place, the tuber were perfect when I removed them from the pots to plant this year

Would you wait for the haulms to die back first before bringing them in, Paul?

__________________
Hazel
www.hazelandjanesallotment.blogspot.com
update Sat 15/11/2008......there's gold in them thar...compost bins!......

Once you remove the foliage and stems (a good pull will do it from a container) then the potatoes are not going to grow any more - so, if the tubers are at the right size for you, remove that foliage and keep the container dry. If you have maincrops and want to wait for the foliage to die down, then do so.

I agree with CC

Good man. That's what I like to hear

Thanks everyone
Tatties for tea then

__________________
Sarah

“Tell me one last thing,” said Harry. “Is this real? Or has this been happening inside my head?”
“Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?”

If you leave them out in the sun for DAYS they will start to go green, surely you meant HOURS.

Commercially they are dug out the field by machine, into the trailer, down the track and into the barn.

__________________
Always thank people who have helped you immediately, as they may not be around to thank later.
Visit my blog at http://podsplot.blogspot.com/
I support http://www.hearingdogs.org.uk/

PETER
No a couple of days will not affect them that much, you need to harden the skin unless you have the luxury of a large cold store like the comercial potato farms have.

No wonder mine don't store well then!!

Learn something new everyday on the Vine!!

I'd go for hours. Last year I left mine out for three days and they went green and were all ruined

__________________
~ What do I think of Western civilisation? I think it would be a very good idea ~ Gandhi

My local very commercial potato farm does not have a cold store, he has large barns, which do have some forced air ventiation. The crop is no longer sorted before going in the barn, it is sorted in the barn as it is packed for collection by the supermarket lorries.

I have never before heard of anyone leaving potatoes out of the soil for the time you recommend Paul, hence my surprise. They will go green in good weather very quickly. Squash have to cure for days, potatoes just need to dry out a bit.

My late father, who would be in his late nineties if he was still around, used to dig spuds on a sunny day and place them on previously dug dry soil, when he was finished he would have a fag, then put the spuds in a thick hessian sack in the wheelbarrow, starting with the ones he dug first and sorting as he went.

__________________
Always thank people who have helped you immediately, as they may not be around to thank later.
Visit my blog at http://podsplot.blogspot.com/
I support http://www.hearingdogs.org.uk/

I've had them start to green up in the house if I dug them the day before and left them in the kitchen (instead of cupboard under the stairs where I usually hide them).

__________________
Earth laughs in flowers. Ralph Waldo Emerson

www.vegheaven.blogspot.com

Updated November 17th - The Big Dig

Hi people,
Sorry but I have to agree with Peter, leaving them in the sun for Days will only make them green I have always dried my in hours and then sorted into hessian sacks and to-date have never had a storage issue.

__________________

PHP Code:

Barry@Bristol


I must add my voice to the hours as opposed to days issue! They do go green very quickly! If you left tatties out overnight round our way , some thieving toerag would relieve you of them anyway. At one of my previous allotments they dug the tatties up and replaced the tops in position! It was a couple of days before the tops were fully wilted and I realised what had happened!

__________________
My Majesty made for him a garden anew in order
to present to him vegetables and all beautiful flowers.- Offerings of Thutmose III to Amon-Ra (1500 BCE)