Harvesting "Fingerling" Potatoes!!

  Well, I've started harvesting potatoes here in West Virginia! This is a new type for me, we planted "fingerlings" alone with the old standby Yukons. While the Yukons are not ready yet, the fingerlings are ready to dig. What are these potatoes that I speak of? Fingerling potatoes, so named because they resemble fingers. These small, waxy, narrow, elongated potatoes typically range from 2 to 4 inches in length. Fingerling potatoes come in a variety of colors, from pale yellow to red to purple. Fingerlings have mild to nutty flavors. Some varieties of fingerlings are hundreds of years old. These potatoes cook more quickly than larger types, maintain their shape well when cooked, and generally create an aesthetically pleasing plating.
   Don't ask what type! I'm really not sure, LOL! When it was planting time, back in March, my wife handed me about 16 of these little babies that had started to sprout and said, "Lets try these too". So I did. These small potatoes produce more potatoes per seed than the normal counterparts and the growing process of these usually takes longer than the normal ones. The storage of fingerlings is done very similar to the regular potatoes which require a dark and cool storage area.

   I planted mine in two half whiskey barrels. In my opinion, these little guys would grow best in 5 gallon buckets of dirt. Why? trust me at harvest time you will thank me! It would have been nice to have just dumped the bucket out to get these little gems. It was kind of like finding a needle in the carpet, lol! But it was well worth it. I will continue to grow them for years to come! So next season when you want to try something deliciously different, try one of the many varieties of fingerling potatoes. I know you will like them as much as my families has!

"When do we harvest potatoes?"

The Redeemed Gardener

  I had a question emailed to me a few days ago and knew I needed to answer this, the question was; "When do we harvest potatoes?"

  Well, it all depends on what you are wanting. If you want “new potatoes”, small, immature potatoes, you should harvest them before their vines die or earlier in the summer (around the first day of summer). They will be about 1 to 2 inches in size.

 

  If you want mature potatoes, or “late potatoes,” (as Grammie called them) you should harvest them in late summer/early fall. Just wait for the vines and the flowers to die, and then harvest the potatoes at full maturity.

 

  Here's another method we used, If you have a lot of plants, you can harvest some of the plants earlier in the summer and get “new potatoes” and leave the rest to dig up later. Just experiment and try digging some at the end of July, some at the end of August, and some at the end of September. Then next year, you’ll have a better idea about how big they are at what time of the season.

 

 When you go to harvest your potatoes, here is an article that I posted a while back on a cheap Mini Root Cellar.   "Cool, Cheap, Mini Root Cellars"

 

 

 But the Lord is faithful, who will establish you and guard you from the evil one. 2 Thessalonians 3:3 

Staring to Harvest in 2013

  Just a few pictures of what is going on and coming out of the garden!

Broccoli

Carrots

Potatoes

Turnips and Radishes