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Post by amyinowasso on Sept 19, 2022 16:52:59 GMT
It's getting close. Could we do a thread about when to harvest and how to cure. I can never remember if I can wash them or not.
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Post by macmex on Sept 20, 2022 20:04:26 GMT
That's a good idea. The tendency for most gardeners is to wait longer than they should for harvest. This is because fall temperatures change suddenly. It's best to harvest before the roots can get chilled.
Here in Oklahoma that chill often occurs with little warning. We're going along using air conditioning and then suddenly, toward the middle of October we get hit with cool weather and drenching COLD rain over night. Soon after this we have frost.
Ideally one wants to harvest the roots while nights are still a little warm and one can stash them on a sun porch or someplace like that, in order to let them cure a bit, where it gets pretty hot but where rodents won't get to them.
I'm still watering my sweet potatoes once a week and enjoying the warmth we've been getting but I have more to dig than ever before and it would probably be wise if I started to dig in the next two weeks.
When night time temperatures are regularly below 50, you KNOW it's definitely time to dig, but here in Oklahoma, we can go from night time temps of 70 or so, to danger of frost, in only about two weeks, and that, with little warning.
Now what procedure should one follow when digging and stashing sweet potatoes for the winter?
First of all, it's good to dig them while the soil is still fairly warm. Some say to leave them set out for a day or two, to cure in the sun, but I don't do that. There is too much likelihood of rodent damage. I dig them, laying them on top of the soil while I work and then gently box them in cardboard boxes, setting them on my sun porch for a while, if it's still pretty mild.
Another reason to harvest earlier than later is that rodents seem to go on a feeding frenzy with the first hint of cold weather. I've had years in which we lost more than half our roots to rodents. While it is true we have a wonderful farm cat who hunts in the garden as well as a healthy population of king and rat snakes, I suspect that an earlier harvest saves just as many, if not more roots, than predators do.
I have had times where I didn't dig until the very last minute and those roots would have gotten chilled, even on the sun porch (at night) if I put them there. Then, I've just stashed the boxes in the house, in an out of the way room that stays between 50 and 70 F. They will cure in some weeks, depending on variety. A lot of varieties will be sweet and ready to eat three weeks after harvest. Some, like Grand Asia or Japanese White, will be better setting in storage about twice that amount of time.
The thing to do is to cook up a root or two when you think they're ready and see if they taste right. If they seem bland, wait a few more weeks before trying again.
I'd be interested in others' opinions and experience in regard to washing roots. I've washed and I have stored unwashed. I can't say that I've seen much difference between the roots prepared one way or the other. Of course it's nice to have clean roots all winter, straight out of storage, but on the other hand, harvest time can be very busy and sometimes it seems more convenient to just get them in and safe.
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