The Humble Potato, Part II
by Jordan Rainwater, Research Associate

Can you dig it? Yes, the time has arrived to reap the labors of love you've put into your potato patch all season! I'm sure there must be books out there dedicated solely to cooking potatoes. If not, I surely must write one. They are one of the most versatile vegetables in the summer garden. I love potatoes. I love to grow them, harvest them, and, above all, eat them. To me, harvesting a potato plant is more fun than digging for a cache of jewels, perhaps because those tuberous treasures that come in an array of colors and shapes also happen to taste amazing.

Harvesting Your Potatoes
Potato cultivars are categorized as early, mid, or late season. These terms refers to the amount of time required for the plants to produce tubers of marketable size, and are correlated with time of bloom. In general, you may begin harvesting new, or baby, potatoes two to three weeks after the plants have finished flowering. Don't be afraid to peek into the potato hill to determine the progress of your tubers. You can harvest a few young tubers from each plant and leave the rest to further develop, just be certain to re-cover the hill with the displaced dirt. For all potato varieties, carefully dig the row or mounds with a digging fork or a shovel, keeping in mind that tubers can set a foot or more outside the base of the plant inside the hill. Any heavily damaged, scabby, or blemished potatoes should be culled, or separated from the healthy tubers, and removed from the field.

Early/Mid-season Varieties
Good skin set is necessary for long-term storage and minimizes physical damage due to handling. Typically, potato plants are harvested after the vines naturally die back. Early-season and some mid-season varieties are exceptions: early varieties such as Yukon Gold and Red Sangre will produce highly oversized tubers if you wait that long. For these varieties, "vine killing" is a commonly practiced when the desired tuber size is reached. Vine killing results in the cessation of tuber growth, stabilizes tuber solids, and promotes tuber skin set. At least ten days, preferably two to three weeks, prior to harvesting, cut plant vines to the ground and remove them from the field. This last step is especially important when the vines are infected with foliar diseases such as early blight (Alternaria solani) or late blight (Phytophthora infestans). Do not irrigate your potatoes after you have cut back the vines, as this will promote sprouting and rotting of the tubers. Harvest as usual.

	We'd like to thank Ernie, Virginia, and Paul New, and their hard working crew for promptly shipping our beautiful double-certified seed potatoes.
	Diago Pedro, Juan Francisco Pedro, Paul New, Juana Beltran, and Monique Cheatum packing potatoes.
	Virginia New labeling and boxing potatoes for shipment.

Late-season Varieties
In most climates, late-season potato varieties such as Russet Nugget and All-Blue can be harvested two to three weeks after their foliage dies back. Vine senescence either occurs naturally or when you get a killing frost. To moderate tuber size, or if your growing region receives early hard freezes or heavy precipitation (forcing you to put your crop into storage early), the practice of vine killing can also be done with late-season varieties.

Curing Your Potatoes
It is important to cure your potatoes for a period after you dig them, to promote the healing of any wounds incurred during the harvest process. Even if the tuber skins are properly developed prior to harvesting, damage to some of the tubers when digging or handling them is inevitable. The curing process minimizes tuber loss during storage by closing lenticels, which reduces weight loss from respiration. Curing also decreases infection by disease organisms that may be present on the potato surface at harvest time. To cure your potato crop, store them for two to three days in a warm (55-65 degrees F) place with filtered light and moderate-to-high humidity as to minimize desiccation of the tubers. If humidity is too high (i.e., above 95%) the tubers will not dry sufficiently on the surface. Adequate air circulation around the potatoes is essential during this process. Once the curing time is completed, gently brush off any excess dry dirt from the tubers before putting them into long-term storage. Wash potatoes only as you are ready to use them.

Storing Your Potatoes
After wound healing, or curing, is complete your potatoes are ready for long-term storage. Ideally, tubers should be stored at 40 degrees F at high humidity and with as little light exposure as possible. The lower temperature helps reduce the activity of fungal and bacterial organisms. A relative humidity of 90-95% is preferable to minimize tuber weight loss. Dark storage conditions minimize greening and premature sprouting of the potatoes. Under optimal storage conditions, most potato varieties enter a state of dormancy during which respiration is very low. The period of dormancy is cultivar specific, but as a general rule early-maturing varieties (i.e., Yukon Gold) have a very short dormancy period relative to late-maturing varieties (i.e., All-Blue). Therefore, it makes sense to eat your early-maturing varieties first, saving your late-season, longer-storing varieties for last.

Eating Your Potatoes
Let's face it—we wouldn't grow them if we didn't like to eat them! The wonderful thing about potatoes is that you can enjoy them for a long period of time if you store them properly. For those of us who struggle with patience or who have simply experienced just how tasty new potatoes are, dig a few tubers when they are still small for a tender-skinned, scrumptious baked, boiled, or barbecued treat. Make the following dish for your next summer gathering and expect your family and friends to be hounding you for the recipe! In fact, I might advise you to go ahead and have some copies on-hand. Bon appetit!

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. On a roasting pan or cookie sheet, drizzle potatoes with 2 Tbs. olive oil and sprinkle them with pepper and 1/2 tsp. salt. Roast potatoes on upper oven rack 40-50 minutes, or until the skins have are crisp and golden and the insides are tender. Let them cool 15 minutes.
2. Bring a small saucepan full of salted water to a boil while potatoes are roasting. Add green beans, boiling them no more than 2 minutes. Drain and rinse in cold water for about a minute.
3. Combine garlic, vinegar, and remaining 3 Tbs. olive oil in a large serving bowl. Add onion, green beans, and parsley and tomatoes if desired.
4. Once somewhat cooled, add potatoes to the mix. Sprinkle remaining 1/2 tsp. salt and pepper to taste. Toss together well. Serve warm, or cover and chill in refrigerator to serve cold later.