Protecting your Garden Potatoes from Insect Attack

Consider using a standard potato dust or spray regularly. It is a mixture of chemical insecticide and fungicide which prevents troublesome diseases such as early and late blight. It thwarts some pests, too, such as the Colorado potato beetle. To be effective, most standard dusts must be applied to the potato foliage every 7 to 10 days, beginning when the plants emerge.

You may have a disease problem in the potato patch one year and none the next. The weather plays a big part. Moisture and temperature conditions trigger certain diseases which will spread rapidly through the potato rows.

Sneak a few potatoes early

The first new potatoes of the season are a tasty treasure. Some that I pick are only the size of golf balls, but nothing tastes better. They are ready 7 or 8 weeks after planting, if the plants grow without trouble. Some varieties will send out a few blossoms at this time. That’s a signal to reach into a hill with your hand and search for some small boiling-size potatoes. Robbing the plants won’t harm them. They’ll continue to develop more potatoes and fatten the ones you leave.

When the soil is moist, you can dig up a whole plant with a fork, take the potatoes you want for supper, and put the plant back in its hole. If the soil stays moist, the plant will bounce back and deliver more potatoes. One year I dug up the same plant three times to steal potatoes.

After digging them, leave the potatoes in the row for an hour to dry. Most of the soil stuck on them should drop off. Do not brush or wash them because it could encourage rot in storage.

When the potatoes are dry, I put them in bushel baskets and take them to the root cellar. Potatoes must be stored in total darkness. Don’t put them in burlap bags, because light will shine through the burlap and turn the outside potatoes green.

I put them in slatted bins which are raised off the floor a few inches. This allows air to reach all the potatoes and carry off excess moisture. This is important for long storage. The bins are near the floor because that’s the coolest spot in my root cellar and potatoes like it cool. I never pile potatoes more than 12 inches high in the bins, either.

Give your spuds the storage test

My storage crop is ready to harvest in early fall when the days are getting cool and frost is not far off. That’s when the tops of the plants are dying and sending the last of the vine energy down into the potatoes.

To be sure the crop is ready to store, I dig up a hill or reach in for a few potatoes. I rub my thumb hard on the potatoes. If the skin rubs off easily, I know they are too young to store. They need a little more time to mature. Potatoes with a thicker, tougher skin that won’t rub off will last the longest in the root cellar.

Easy digging and safe storage

Many people dig potatoes with a spading fork or a shovel, but when it’s time to dig up the potatoes, I grab what I think is the best tool of all—a 5- or 6-pronged manure fork. I stick the fork in at the outside of the hill, carefully move it down in, and lift. The dirt falls between the prongs and I’m left with a forkful of potatoes. With this kind of fork, I don’t have to do much bending.

After you dig a few hills, you’ll realize that all the potatoes are pretty much at the same level in the hill. With this knowledge, you’ll injure fewer potatoes as you dig.

I always spike a few potatoes— usually the biggest ones. I set these aside because they won’t store well. Jan and I use them within a few days.

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