Time to cut the foliage away from your potatoes

By Michael Smith (Veshengro)

potato planter The beginning to middle of August is a good time to cut the foliage away from your potatoes and let the skins harden. Thus they then will have less damage when lifting and handling.

It is amazing, I think how, despite the fact that I have planted my potatoes, all the same variety and I have no idea what it is, which were in fact just slivers with eyes of Sainsbury's Basics potatoes, in tubs about two weeks apart, have all decided to be ready to be harvested NOW.

I mean, sin, I can live with that and I will lift them when I am ready for, to be honest, they will be quite happy down there in the soil, once the foliage has been cut, or better still pulled off.

When it comes to lifting your potatoes you have, obviously, the choice of using just your hands (I do sometimes) or a tool. Some people tend to use a garden fork but that is, in my opinion, not a good idea at all.

If, like me, you have grown your taters in tubs then get a Burgon & Ball Potato Harvesting Scoop. It prevents damage to the tubers when lifting them and keeps your hands from getting excessively dirty.

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