Pavel314 wrote:
We grow some potatoes in the garden every year and every year I
harvest them the same way. I start at the edge of the bed and put the
pitchfork down about 3-4 inches, then I flip up the dirt in front of
the prongs. If there are potatoes there, they go into the basket, if
not, I keep moving on, stabbing and flipping along the row until I
find something. No matter how careful I am, I generally impale a few
tubers in the process. Not a big loss, we put those in the "eat
quick" pile and store the rest in the cellar.

Does anyone have a better way to harvest them?


Paul

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My method is to locate the above ground part of the plant first. For taters
this is the stem. For the sweet tater I grow it is the node on the vine.
The reason is the tubers will always be underneath that. There is a problem
with "sweet potato" in that they can be true sweet potatoes or yams. The
ones I am talking about have elongated tubers pointy at both ends with
off-white flesh that is medium sweet.

I then place the fork about 25-30cm (10in-12in) back from it and push down
the full depth levering out a large clod. Usually this will expose the
tuber cluster. I then put the fork underneath and lever up pulling the
spuds out as they become visible. If the cluster seems very prolific I
might do this several times. I rarely spike one. It helps to dig when the
soil is medium dry not wet as it will clod but not be sticky.

Another clue to location with standard taters is the new tubers will be
nearly all at the same depth that you planted the seed tater. I plant in
trenches and backfill as they grow back to ground level, so I know how deep
the trench was. With sweets the tater grows vertically down from the node,
the depth of the bottom of it depends on the size. The diameter of the top
will give a clue as to size.

David

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