Potato growth stages and ripening periods

The health benefits of potatoes are undeniable. They're called "the second bread" because they're such a common staple. Cultivation of this vegetable began as early as the time of Peter the Great. However, it didn't immediately gain popularity among the people, as ignorance initially led to the consumption of the green "bulbs," which led to poisoning.

Only after realizing that the tubers of this vegetable were edible did they begin to spread potatoes throughout different regions.

The relationship between potato varieties and harvest times

Gardeners with small plots try to provide their own vegetable needs. Potatoes, of course, are a top choice. Since planting times can vary depending on weather conditions in different regions, potato ripening times are determined individually. To ensure a good harvest, it's important to choose a variety suitable for growing in a given climate zone.

According to the ripening period and vegetation period, varieties are divided into types:

• Early, ripens in 2 months;
• Mid-early, with a vegetation period of 70-80 days;
• Mid-season - ready for harvesting in 85–95 days;
• Mid-late, from sowing to harvesting 100-110 days;
• Late, it will take at least 110 days for it to reach technical maturity.

Every vegetable grower's goal is to obtain a high yield of well-ripened potatoes with a firm skin. In addition to ripening time and growing season, the decisive factors when choosing a variety include the variety's intended use, resistance to nightshade diseases, flavor, and long-term storage without loss of nutritional value. It's a good idea to grow several varieties with consistent ripening times.

What factors influence the ripening period?

There are no exact ripening times. Each variety is unique, as this process is influenced by several factors: planting time, potato variety, proper care, amount of fertilizer applied, soil fertility, and regional climate.

• Early-planted vegetables are dug up earlier. However, there's a risk of death from spring frosts.
• Lack of moisture shortens the ripening period, but affects the yield, which is small and contains small tubers.
• Growing in poor, depleted soil produces the same result: the tubers will ripen quickly, but they will form in small quantities.
• Excessive fertilizer in the soil prolongs the growing season. The plant doesn't supply its roots with nutrients, but rather grows green mass and upward. Harvested tubers don't have time to mature and contain high levels of nitrates.

When the potato plant stops growing, the stems dry up, and the tops die off, this is the first sign that it is time to harvest.

Harvesting must be completed within 20 days. Delaying harvesting will negatively impact the shelf life of the harvest. If the tops remain green despite cold weather, measures should be taken to accelerate the ripening of the tubers. If frost occurs, harvest the potato crop immediately, otherwise the potatoes will waste their nutrients on renewing the tops.

Potato growing season

To ensure a supply of home-grown vegetables throughout the season, several potato varieties with different maturation times are often grown simultaneously in the same plot. The full growing season for the root crop lasts from 70 to 140 days. This period is determined by the varietal characteristics and growing conditions.

What is vegetation?

The growing season is the period of time during which seedlings undergo their active growth phase. A biological characteristic of potatoes is their ability to form underground shoots with tubers at the ends. Because the tuber is the vegetative organ of the potato, the root crop requires loose, moderately moist soil. The optimal temperature for tuber formation is 15-18°C.

The potato growing season can be divided into several stages. The first is the time from sowing and the emergence of the first shoots to bud formation (30-36 days for early-ripening varieties, 43-47 for late-ripening varieties). During this period, the plant primarily develops its tops. The second stage begins flowering and lasts until the final formation of green mass. Tuber growth is most intense during this time. The third stage is characterized by a slowdown in top growth and subsequent death, indicating tuber maturity. Potatoes mature approximately one and a half to two months after flowering. These timeframes vary from region to region, and the timing of these stages also depends on the care provided to the plantings and the variety of tubers being planted.

Ways to speed up the ripening of potatoes

Late planting and unfavorable weather conditions, when the skin doesn't have time to form and can be damaged during harvesting, lead to a reduced shelf life of the root crop. This necessitates hastening the potato's ripening.

You can speed up the production of marketable root crops by cutting off the tops or using chemicals.

• Mowing green tops 7-10 days before harvest is a simple and effective technique. It signals the plant to end the growing season and ripen the tubers.
• Spraying with a solution of copper sulfate (5 g per 1 liter of water) 10-14 days before the expected harvest date draws all the water out of the green mass, which leads to its drying out.
• Treatment with magnesium chlorate (20g per 1 liter of water) will speed up the drying of the tops after the rainy season.
• A solution of superphosphate (2 kg per 1 bucket of water) will also accelerate the aging of the green mass of potatoes.

Spraying is carried out after flowering during the day or evening, using 5-10 liters of chemical solutions per hundred square meters.

Weather conditions when digging potatoes

When most of the potato tops have withered, it's time to harvest. If precipitation is expected, it's best to hurry with harvesting to prevent excess moisture at the end of the growing season from triggering potato rot diseases. To ensure proper storage, dig and sort potatoes on a warm, sunny day, around midday, at an optimal temperature of 12-17°C (54-62°F). Afterward, dry the tubers under a canopy and store them. Potatoes intended for planting can be exposed to light (for greening).

By using agricultural practices, selecting and preparing tubers for planting, you can increase your yield. And if you harvest your potatoes correctly and on time, you'll be able to preserve them until spring.

Review

Every gardener has their own methods and techniques for growing potatoes. I'd like to share my experience. I prepare the planting material in the fall. I select medium-sized tubers from a productive bush. I warm them well in the light. I store them in the cellar, not allowing them to sprout before March. In March, I bring the boxes with the tubers indoors. If the sprouts are slow to emerge, I moisten them with warm water. The advantage of this technique is that you can immediately visually determine the fertility of these tubers by the number and thickness of the sprouts. I plant in April, while the soil is still moist. I sprinkle a handful of ash and onion and garlic peels (I collect them throughout the winter) into the holes. If there is no humus, then a pinch of nitroammophoska. That's all the tips. I remove weeds before the shoots appear. When green shoots appear, reaching 15 cm in height, I begin loosening the soil and hilling the bushes. When the shoots begin to form flower buds, I begin watering the beds thoroughly and do a second hilling. I periodically inspect the bushes, keeping them free of the familiar Colorado potato beetle. And ultimately, I reap a huge harvest of perfectly sized, large tubers. And the fact that my efforts weren't in vain is a joy!