Sure can! While we recommend curing them for long-term storage, freshly-dug potatoes are perfect for eating right out of the ground (maybe clean them off a bit first).
You can absolutely eat your potatoes right after harvesting them. The skin will be thinner (almost peeling off if you rub it). They also contain more water, so they don't get as fluffy when baked or mashed. But they are still delicious.
How long do potatoes need to cure before you eat them?
Cure potatoes at a temperature of 45 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit and high relative humidity (85 to 95 percent) for two weeks. Healing of minor cuts and bruises and thickening of the skin occurs during the curing process. Once cured, sort through the potatoes and discard any soft, shriveled, or blemished tubers.
Can we use them to start new potatoes? A: If the potatoes are still firm and the skin is not green, yes, then you may certainly eat them. When you harvest them, inspect them for diseased looking tubers.
After harvesting, potatoes must be cured. Let them sit in temperatures of 45 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit for about two weeks. This will give the skins time to harden and minor injuries to seal.
You harvest main crops in late summer, typically from August to September, and you know the time is right when the foliage on the plants begins to turn yellow.
A cool, dry basement where temperatures range from 50 to 60° F (10 to 15° C) is ideal, especially for potatoes, which need to be protected from light. I often store early summer potatoes in bins and boxes under my bed, because it's the best cool, dry, dark place in my house in late summer.
Before curing potatoes, I lightly rinse them in cool running water to remove excess soil, but I make no attempt to remove soil from eyes and crevices. Serious scrubbing should always be delayed until just before the potatoes are cooked.
The cure allows the thin skins to toughen up and it prepares them for storage. Cure potatoes in 55-70ºF at 85-95% humidity. Keep them away from light. A week or two all that is needed for curing.
Ferri from Naturitalia explained that, "Potatoes should be harvested between 4-5 am and 2 pm. This is because quality and shelf-life are better if the soil is cool. High temperature affect storage."
How many potatoes will one plant produce? Different varieties of potatoes will produce a different yield come harvest time. As a general rule, if the plant is healthy, you can expect to dig up about five or six full-size potatoes. Every potato plant will most likely have a bunch of smaller, baby-size potatoes as well.
The gardener's goal is to dig every potato out of the ground at harvest time. Missing a few potatoes is easy to do, and the tubers will overwinter in the soil. If you live in a climate where the soil freezes deeply, these forgotten potatoes will freeze and turn to mush. They will not grow back next year.
Potatoes need 1 to 2 inches of water a week. Too much water right after planting and not enough as the potatoes begin to form can cause them to become misshapen. Stop watering when the foliage begins to turn yellow and die off.
After all, the skin has just as many nutrients as the flesh of the potato—roughly the same amount of protein, vitamin C, and iron. That means when you peel a potato and just compost or throw out the peelings, you're dumping half of the potato's nutrients. That's a bad deal for you and for the potato!
Thin-skinned potatoes don't last as long in storage as those with thick skins, such as russets. Late-maturing varieties almost always store better than early types. "With proper storage, well-matured potatoes will stay in good condition for seven to eight months," Mosley said.
The flowers and foliage determine when to best harvest your crop. Harvest baby potatoes (new potatoes) two to three weeks after they've finished flowering, and harvest potatoes for storing (mature potatoes) two to three weeks after the plant's foliage has died back.
If you need potatoes that will last a while, buy unwashed potatoes. Unwashed potatoes last longer than clean potatoes, as the dirt protects them from bruising. Only wash them just before you are going to use them.
Symptoms usually begin 18 to 36 hours after eating the contaminated food, although cases have varied from 4 hours to 8 days. Early symptoms include body weakness and dizziness followed by double vision, difficulty in swallowing and slurred speech.
Cooked potatoes carry a high risk of food poisoning. After a few days, they may begin to harbor pathogens and bacteria that could result in illnesses, such as salmonella, listeria, botulism, and staphylococcal food poisoning.
Foam is generated from the starch and protein interacting with the water. This is because starch is released into the water during the washing and slicing processes of potatoes, creating a foamy mess.