How to Harvest and Store Potatoes

I’ve been growing vegetables for a very long time. Because of this, it can be easy to overlook how to do certain tasks, such as preserving the harvest. I suddenly realized you might like to know how to harvest and store your potatoes so out came the video camera!

This year, we grew our two varieties in our main potato bed: ‘Yukon Gold’ and ‘Viking Purple’. Both are delicious and are very productive. In addition, I received a surprise package from Irish Eyes Garden Seeds which contained several seed potatoes we were unfamiliar with. I just love those types of surprises!

The varieties were Cheshire, Blue Belle and Smiling Rose (I think that was the name of the cultivar but couldn’t locate it on Irish Eyes’ website). I hadn’t intended to plant more seed potatoes but fortunately had a spare raised bed. I was very impressed with how vigorous the plants were and how well they produced. Thanks, Irish Eyes!

So let’s get back to the video: if you are new to growing potatoes and are unsure when to pick them and/or how to store them, then this video is for you! Well, actually, even if you’re a pro at growing potatoes, you just might be interested in seeing how we store ours.

As I mentioned in the video, Bill and I are not experts at all of the various produce-preserving methods out there, especially for root crops, but we are both really impressed with how much longer the potatoes last with Bill’s new method.

Have you got a tip on storing potatoes? I’d love to hear it! Just drop me an email at Susan@SusansintheGarden.com.