Harvesting King Edwards

[Yasminh14]

Hello all, and sorry to ask this as I'm sure there are probably plenty of threads on here about this sort of thing already. However, this year is my first time growing maincrop potatoes, I've only ever grown earlies before. I planted King Edwards about 20 weeks ago and the tops are now dying back very quickly. Just want to know what I do now - should I cut the haulms off and then leave them in the ground a bit longer? How long? What is then the best way to store them, considering it is still pretty warm here in Brittany, and likely to remain so for several weeks? Just want to make sure I do it right! Thanks in advance.

[Penellype]

What you do depends a bit on the conditions and what is likely to go wrong. You can leave them where they are and dig them as you need to, but you run the risk of slugs and other pests eating holes in them. I've also had a problem with rats eating the potatoes in the soil when growing in the countryside. I tend to dig mine up when the foliage dies back, and store them in my garage in breathable sacks. You must exclude light or they will go green and inedible, and you must make sure that any damaged ones are removed or they will rot and transmit this to the rest. My garage is probably a lot cooler than yours though.

[roitelet]

Chop the tops off and then leave them in the ground for another two weeks. Lay them out in a shed or something like and leave them for twenty four hours to dry. Cover with news paper if the shed is very light. Sort them so that any damaged ones are used first and then store them in paper sacks in the dark.

[Yasminh14]

OK thanks folks! Think I'll chop the tops off then and leave them in the ground for a couple of weeks. Don't think we particularly have a rat problem here, I keep nets over much of my veg patch anyway due to neighbours' cats who think our garden is their toilet! Only challenge now is where to get hold of paper sacks....

[roitelet]

If you have problems finding paper sacks, hessian, old pillow cases, net bags, cardboard or wooden boxes or anything porous will do just NOT PLASTIC. The important thing is to keep them dark and cool.

[Penellype]

If you have any riding stables or farms nearby, they often get paper sacks of animal feed and would be happy if you want to relieve them of some empty ones.

[Yasminh14]

Thanks for the tips Penellype. We have several stables nearby, but we are in France and not sure if things are done the same way here. Also, you can bet your life that being France, nothing at all will be given away for free! But I will ask around, I know some smallholders and organic market traders who might be able to help out.