skip to main content

Vegetable Gardening

When to harvest Red Norland Potatoes

9 years ago

I have some Red Norland Potatoes, they were planted about 50 days ago. They took a while to sprout though.

They are early season variety and the bag says 65 days. When should I dig them up? Does the foliage die back or will it last until Fall? I don't want to risk harming the plants too soon. I don't see any flowering but have read the variety tends not to flower in any noticeable way.

Thanks!

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (11)

theforgottenone1013 (SE MI zone 5b/6a)
9 years ago
They will start to die back. That's when you can begin harvesting. Or you can gently dig around and feel for potatoes while the plant is still growing. You can "steal" a few before they are fully ready for harvest.

Rodney

This post was edited by theforgottenone1013 on Tue, Jun 17, 14 at 10:33
Peter1142
Original Author
9 years ago
Great, thanks!

They have been getting eaten by Flea Beetles, but they are pretty sturdy plants so I haven't treated them in a while, it doesn't seem worth it as nothing works too well, and they are keeping the beetles from my more fragile eggplants.
Related Discussions
after care of red norland harvest
Q
Comments (3)
Good link. Sounds like the take home is to get them out of the ground, put them in a bag or box, let them dry and keep them out of the sun for 2 weeks or so. I assume at that point the skin is then tough enough to clean up. I have a bunch of mid and late season taters coming up, so this has been very helpful.
...See More
When to harvest potatoes?
Q
Comments (38)
To get ride of the snails, I went out every night with a flashlight, and "harvest" so many snails. I kept them and next morning I feed them to my girls "hens". they had a feast. I spent about 15-20 minutes every night 'til the snail population basically disappeared. Today, we harvested about 3lb. of potatoes different varieties. Another natural snail repellent is "crushed oyster seashells" it is used as calcium supplement for laying hens. It can be found at the country feed stores. Very inexpensive. Sprinkle around your patch. Kind of like a fence about one inch wide. The sharp edges and the salt of the shells is a snail's #1 enemy. Good luck.
...See More
When to harvest potato onions...
Q
Comments (11)
Just harvested mine yesterday. Planted in October, same time as Garlic. I finally figured out the secret to large bulbs. Plant them so that the tip of the bulb is just visible, then give them a good layer of mulch over the winter. The mulch has all decomposed away, and the clusters of bulbs were literally sitting on the soil surface. In spite of the early, hot, dry spring and summer, these are the largest I have ever gotten. Planted 6 bulbs, and harvested 30, every one the size of a golfball. Finally success, or they were on the short list for elimination! Steve
...See More
Norland apple is ready for harvest if......
Q
Comments (14)
Wonderful pictures! Bring back great memories. In my current location I do not have a Norland, but I did grow a Norland tree for about 15 years in my previous location in 'northern' Ontario, zone 3. I concur with comments made in this forum about the need to pick Norland apples early. Here, somewhere between the 12th and the 20th of August the seeds start to turn from white to half-white-half-brown. They must be picked about then and kept in perforated plastic bags in the fridge, where they will be preserved in good condition for many weeks. If early harvest is not done, a week or so later most of the crop will be lost to internal breakdown of the fruit ripening on the tree. While cider or sauce may be best if you can combine several varieties of apples, I have enjoyed both the sauce and the juice of Norland alone. There was one exception to the breakdown of the Norlands on the tree. In the times before I knew anything about fruit-thinning, my early-teenage Norland tree had a crop of about six bushels (1200 (!) apples) and that year the quality was superb. This result made me think that perhaps smaller crops of fruit get too much of some soil nutrient, and so it may be beneficial to grow Norlands without much fertilizer (...compost too perhaps) and in poorer soil...just a hunch. Regarding wasps, an infestation such as I had never seen before destroyed much of my crop in 2012, but then in 2013 there was no wasp damage at all (nor raccoons, nor bears); I don't know why. I was amused that one of the writers in this forum had also initially blamed birds for the fruit damage, as I also had. But it was wasps in 2012 all right. I could take an apple that had 'bird pecks' in it, either from the ground or right off the tree, shake it, and as many as four or five wasps would fall out of the hole. Also, I eventually was able to observe the wasps' gnawing at unblemished apples and starting their own holes in the fruit. Finally, I suspect that the wasps in the apples are not the nasty ones nesting in the ground. If no one is being stung I tend to let the ground wasps go about their business as I believe they are predators of more harmful insects such as caterpillars. The ground wasps are meat-eaters, while the yellow-jacketed wasps that crawl out of my apples are vegetarians it would seem. And while the ground wasps are aggressive stinging creatures, the vegetarian wasps seem to me mild in temperament, and while a nuisance, can be shoed away with the back of a hand without retaliating. Of course they come right back, so hand waving is not an effective strategy, except in the very short term....
...See More
Peter1142
Original Author
9 years ago
They have been in the ground for 80 days are still kicking (early season variety package said 65 days). They look bad, having been eaten by slugs and the leaves are riddled with holes by flea beetles, having what looks to me like brown leaf spot on a couple plants and one plant has curled leaves and has looked bad since day 1, and having some yellow and brown spots which look to be water stress or something, and now they have all been knocked over in a thunderstorm and seem to be out of gas. I am kind of anxious to just cut them down already and harvest those potatoes, watching them slowly fade and die doesn't sound like fun to me. It must be tough to plant a long season variety and just sit there for 4 months hoping for something good under there and no blights!

Do you think I can just harvest and/or cut them down now?
farmerdill
9 years ago
You can harvest for "new" potatoes. But they will not keep in storage until fully matured when the vines die. Generally when the vines keep on living past thier appointed time, few potatoes have formed.
Peter1142
Original Author
9 years ago
There are definitely some potatoes down there, I have found a couple... I think the Red Norland greens can last 90-100 days.
naturegirl_2007 5B SW Michigan
9 years ago
It sounds like yours are close to being ready to dig. Harvest enough to eat a meal or two from them now. These "new" potatoes are yummy but will not keep for long. Let the vines die back before harvesting any that you don't want to eat right away. Perhaps you can harvest the ugliest plants or most visible plants for early eating and let the others die and dry for good keeping. Days to maturity are guidelines only, the plants don't read them or necessarily obey them. Rain, soil temperature, etc., etc. may all play a part in how long the plants will grow.

I hear you on the poor looking plants. The first year my husband was involved in helping with our potato patch, he kept close watch on the plants. He could not understand why they would go from great looking plants to dying plants in a couple weeks time when we had not had frost, insects, or drought. My reminders that they were supposed to do that only made him ask why and how....which I couldn't answer with anything other than "that is how potatoes grow". The harvest was great that year. He puts up with the ugly drying vines for a few weeks now without complaint and helps me find new and unusual varieties to try.
Peter1142
Original Author
9 years ago
The plants are definitely dying back now.

Some have a bit of a blight, tiny black dots over the leaves. It does not appear to be aggressive though.

Is there any benefit to just leaving them to die, why not just cut them down? I don't want to encourage blights and pests etc with dying plants in the garden....

Thanks everyone for the help. I'll post some photos of the harvest if it is any good!
seysonn
9 years ago
You can just let them die and harvest one hill at a time. But once the tops are dead you can be sure that the tubers are not going to get any bigger.
tishtoshnm Zone 6/NM
9 years ago
The reasoning behind letting them die is that they will store better that way. If you just planted enough for a couple of meals, you can start harvesting now. If you planted enough to last the winter, give some (at least the storage ones) more time in the ground for the skin to thicken.
Peter1142
Original Author
9 years ago
That is the rationale for leaving them in the ground for extra time, not for leaving the vines to rot in place, I think? Can't you cut down the dying vines and leave them in the ground and the same thing would be accomplished?
Peter1142
Original Author
9 years ago
Yield was not great... dug up just under half the 8' or so row and barely got enough for mashed potatoes.

My first year gardening hasn't been very fruitful so far. A lot of small harvests, I am getting dribs and drabs...

Related Stories

COOL-SEASON CROPS Cool-Season Vegetables: How to Grow Potatoes

By Marianne Lipanovich

This ever-popular tuber is a stalwart in spring and fall gardens and a staple in kitchens everywhere

FOLIAGE Great Design Plant: Ornamental Sweet Potato Vine

Versatile, fast growing, inexpensive and easy on the eyes, ornamental sweet potato vine has it all

GARDENING AND LANDSCAPING World of Design: 10 Home Gardeners Show Us Their Sweet Summer Harvests

From New York to Tokyo, these gardeners have turned their yards, terraces and rooftops into places of bounty

MOST POPULAR Thanksgiving Tales: When the Turkey Tanks

By Mary Jo Bowling

Houzz readers prove adept at snatching victory from the jaws of entertaining defeat

GARDENING GUIDES 11 Favorite Edibles for Your Cool-Season Garden

By Marianne Lipanovich

Plant crunchy carrots, crisp radishes, tender peas and other vegetables for fall and spring harvests

SHOP HOUZZ Houzz Products: Say ‘Prost’ to Oktoberfest

Celebrate the harvest season Bavarian-style with steins of beer, sausages and rustic pieces — plus 2 party recipes

KITCHEN DESIGN Houzz Call: What’s Cooking in Your Kitchen?

By Stacy Briscoe

Most of us turn to recipes, videos and culinary shows when we cook. Where do you set your cookbook, tablet or TV screen?

EDIBLE GARDENS 6 Summer Edibles That Can Really Take the Heat

By Steve Asbell

When garden temperatures soar, these herbs and vegetables rise to the challenge

GARDENING GUIDES Cool-Season Vegetables: How to Grow Turnips

By Marianne Lipanovich

Sweeter after a taste of frost, these often-overlooked root vegetables can be a surprisingly tasty part of your fall garden

0

SPRING GARDENING Summer Crops: How to Grow Strawberries

By Marianne Lipanovich

Pluck your own sweet strawberries right from the garden vine for smoothies, salads or eating then and there

Sponsored

More Discussions

I'm completely devastated

28

Garden slug tip

3

What will leftover leeks from last year do?

3

Do carpenter bee traps work?

7

How long do you harden off seedlings?

4