That is an over simplification though. Many prefer to place the sweet potatoes in brown paper bags … If you don't have a greenhouse, you can create similar conditions in your home. This part of the curing process requires 4 to 8 weeks, which may be impractical for many home owners. Remember that you have to be placing them in a single layer only. When a frost hits, most of the sweet potatoes will be in soil that is about 60 degrees Fahrenheit, which means you can harvest sweet potatoes after frost. Once the curing process has been finished, the sweet potatoes are ready to be packed for long term storage. By James Burns. Although the wound may appear to heal, if you store injured sweet potatoes immediately, they may develop fungal rots. Then tie the bag shut and place it in a warm, sunny window. Don’t forget that sweet potatoes are a tropical that do not like cold weather or frost. If you cut or bruise sweet potatoes when you dig them up, they’ll release a sticky, milky juice that will dry in a few hours. Curing sweet potatoes. To keep rain from washing away the cover, stack boards around the pyramid and fasten them at the top. Information on Growing Kandy King Sweet Corn, How to Know When It's Time to Harvest Sweet Potatoes, National Gardening Association: Harvesting Sweet Potatoes, Missouri Botanical Garden: Ipomoea Batatas, How to Store Potatoes So They Will Not Rot, How to Keep Potatoes from Sprouting in Storage. Traditional methods recommend storing sweet … Curing Sweet Potatoes in a Plastic Bag. When sweet potatoes are dug, they usually have some abrasions and cuts. During the curing process, the starches in the tuber turn into sugar, intensifying the buttery sweet flavor and texture of the potato. Freezing temperatures won’t damage them unless they’re near the surface of the soil. An unheated basement or root cellar is a good place to store them, or wrap them in newspaper and keep them in a cool closet. Sweet potatoes require a notoriously long growing season — about 100 to 140 days to be exact. Before storing, potatoes need to go through a process called curing. They should be moist and much harder to the touch. Top the straw with 2 to 3 inches of soil. Pile cured sweet potatoes in a 3- to 4-foot-tall cone or pyramid on top of 8 to 10 inches of wheat straw. In my … For this curing process, you will need a plastic bag to place one layer of sweet potatoes. I recently cooked up some sweet potatoes from the Farmer’s market and discovered that they were tasteless and certainly not sweet. Just make sure the sweet potatoes are large enough for a meal. Proper storage will allow the curing to continue. At What Temperature Should Cut Tulips Be Stored? Powered by WordPress. How to Cure Sweet Potatoes. After harvest, you need to cure sweet potatoes to protect them from developing diseases during storage. Open your plastic bags of curing sweet potatoes after 10 days. You can harvest slightly immature sweet potatoes, but it’s best to leave them in the ground until the vines start to yellow. Home gardeners can also cure them in an oven, in a stand-up glass shower, or in a small closet. How to Grow Sweet Potatoes in Feed Bags If you have an extremely short growing season like we do in Maine, you can start your slips in the house several weeks before your last frost date. Curing allows the potatoes to heal nicks and small blemishes, and dry out a bit to prevent rot. Sweet potatoes are perennial in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 9 to 11, but are grown as annuals in cooler zones. The Old Farmer's Almanac reports that most sweet potato varieties are ready for harvest about 100 days after planting. It was because they were not cured before sale. Storing Sweet Potatoes. Once curing is completed, placing your sweet potatoes in a cooler environment (preferably 55 to 65 degrees) with high humidity will help them preserve and stay fresh for use through the winter months. To cure sweet potatoes … It is important to let these “cure” or “heal”. This lets the potatoes fully mature and develop the skins needed for storing. © Copyright 2020 Hearst Communications, Inc. Curing Potatoes . The curing … Need more ideas for growing vegetables in the permaculture garden? If you live in an area with mild winters, it’s possible to store sweet potatoes in outdoor mounds. About two or three slips is all you need for a typical tote bag. They will taste better if you give them a minimum of three weeks in storage to allow their starch to convert to sugar before you eat them. The trick is to keep the soil moist (not soggy) and the bag or pot out of the hottest sun until the plants are established. Curing sweet potatoes in a plastic bag is just one method you can use. Protect Cold Weather Crops with a Cold Frame, « Front Yard Rainwater Catchment [+ Free Download], Stop Junk Mail in 3 Easy Steps And Prevent Identity Theft, Too », Sweet potato vines also produce well when trellised, how to sprout your own sweet potato slips. Once the danger of frost has passed and the soil temperature has reached 60° F., tuck three or four slips into the soil in your prepared grow bag… Sweet potatoes store best at temperatures of 55 to 59 degrees F with relative humidity at 60 to 75 percent. Take a plastic grocery bag and punch a few holes in it. As the potatoes cure, they will become sweeter to the taste. Place the sweet potatoes into the bag in a single layer. Slatted boxes, or drying racks which allow continued ventilation will be sufficient in most cases. You can expect sweet potatoes to retain their quality for six to 10 months, but some cultivars may begin sprouting after six months. Now, take single sheets of newspaper and roll up each tuber separately. If a frost hits and you dig them up quickly, they'll store as well as if you had dug them before the frost. To retrieve sweet potatoes, dig carefully into the mound and remove as many as you need. Proper curing … Sweet potatoes (Ipomoea batatas) mature 90 to 100 days after you plant them and will continue to grow until frost kills the vines. This is a really simple idea, but in theory, it is very simple and should work. To heal bruises and wounds and seal out rot fungus, the National Gardening Association says to cure them before storing by keeping them for 10 to 14 days in a dark, humid place at 80 to 85 degrees F. Curing sweet potatoes in a plastic bag is just one method you can use. Use a plastic bag and a sunny window if you don't have access to a greenhouse. What is curing? Pack a thick coat of straw over the mound. Sweet potatoes are delicious eaten right after harvest, but their true flavors deepen as they cure. Storing The Sweet Potatoes Rain can cause some sweet potatoes to rot when they're stored in mounds. Storing The Sweet Potatoes Home gardeners can also cure them in an oven, in a stand-up glass shower, or in a small closet. If there are any soft ones, these should be tossed out. Home gardeners can also cure them in an oven, in a stand-up glass shower, or in a small closet. Once you harvest your sweet potatoes, you'll need to properly store them until you're ready to use them in a meal. Curing sweet potatoes in a plastic bag is just one method you can use. However, before you place them in the plastic, poke several holes in each sweet potato and then carefully place them in a bag. Then you’ll need to poke a few holes in the sweet potatoes before placing them in that single layer within the bag. Chilling temperatures can injure them, so don’t store them in a refrigerator. You just need a basic plastic bag to place a single layer of sweet potatoes in the bag. And unlike regular potatoes, their meandering, snaking vine grows like a giant’s intestines.
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