VOA健康报道2022--如何收获你的土豆

搜索

复制

How to Harvest Your Potatoes

Many gardeners who grow potatoes are not sure when to dig them up. Because potatoes grow underground, we cannot see their size, feel how solid they are or smell them to know when they are ready to eat.

If we dig potatoes up too early, they may be too small. This could stress the plant and its root system.

So how do we know exactly when to harvest?

Jessica Damiano writes about gardening for the Associated Press. She said the best time to start digging up potatoes is when half the plant's leaves have turned yellow. This will happen between 60 and 120 days from planting, depending on the weather and the kind of potato that is planted. You can stop watering the plants around this time.

To help the potatoes mature, especially in wetter climates, you should cut the plants at soil level. This step is not necessary, however. If the plants are not cut, they will just die back on their own. After two weeks, the potatoes are ready to harvest.

If you are still not sure about when to harvest, dig up a small test potato. Carefully dig into the soil near a tester plant, and take a potato from the outer part of the roots. The skin of a mature potato will stick to the potato if you run your fingers over it. If the skin rubs³ off, fill the hole back up and check again in about a week.

When digging, try to avoid cutting through the potatoes. You can use a digging instrument instead of a shovel⁴ to help. Allow 15 to 30 centimeters around the outer part of the plant before putting in the tool.

Then, carefully move the instrument back and forth⁵ to unearth⁶ the potatoes by lifting the roots. Do this in a circle around the individual plants. Make sure to go back through the soil and check for any remaining potatoes.

You can eat the potatoes right away or preserve them for later.

To preserve the potatoes, lay them out on a piece of thick paper, like newspaper. Then, place them in a cool, dark place that stays between 10 and 15 degrees Celsius⁷. Keep them there for two weeks. This will help thicken their skin and close off any small cuts.

After preserving, store the potatoes in a much cooler area like an underground room that has good air flow and that is darker. The temperature should be about three to four degrees Celsius. If preserved and stored in this way, they should last six to eight months.

Avoid putting the potatoes in the refrigerator. This will intensify⁸ the sugars and change their flavor⁹. Injured potatoes will not store as long, so eat those first.

New potatoes can be harvested earlier in the season, right after the plants flower. These young, thin-skinned potatoes should not be confused with the smaller reddish kinds of mature potatoes identified in stores as "new potatoes."

True new potatoes are harvested from green plants. They are high in water and low in starch¹⁰, which makes them a favorite for cooking. Be sure to eat them right away as they do not preserve, store, or travel well.

Words in This Story

stress — v. to feel very worried or anxious about something : to feel stress

mature — v. or adj. to grown or developed; fully¹ grown or developed

rub² — v. to press your hand or a cloth on a surface and move it back and forth

shovel — n. a tool with a long handle that is used for lifting and throwing dirt, sand, snow, etc.

preserve — v. to keep something the same or prevent it from being damaged or destroyed

flavor — n. the taste of something

starch — n. a substance that is found in certain foods (such as bread, rice, and potatoes)

1 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

2 rub   

n.摩擦，困难，障碍，难点，磨损处；vt.擦，搓，摩擦，惹怒；vi.摩擦，擦破

参考例句：

• Don't let the wire rub up against the pipe.别让电线碰到管子上。
• He used to rub up against many famous movie stars.他过去经常偶然碰到许多有名的影星。

3 rubs   

v.擦( rub的第三人称单数 )；擦掉；涂；（使）相互磨擦

参考例句：

• It rubs to be presided over by such a man. 受这样的人管辖真是使人恼火。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• That door rubs on the floor. 那扇门与地板摩擦。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 shovel   

n.铁锨，铲子，一铲之量；v.铲，铲出

参考例句：

• He was working with a pick and shovel.他在用镐和铲干活。
• He seized a shovel and set to.他拿起一把铲就干上了。

5 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

6 unearth   

v.发掘，掘出，从洞中赶出

参考例句：

• Most of the unearth relics remain intact.大多数出土文物仍保持完整无损。
• More human remains have been unearthed in the north.北部又挖掘出了更多的人体遗骸。

7 Celsius   

adj.摄氏温度计的，摄氏的

参考例句：

• The temperature tonight will fall to seven degrees Celsius.今晚气温将下降到七摄氏度。
• The maximum temperature in July may be 36 degrees Celsius.七月份最高温度可能达到36摄氏度。

8 intensify   

vt.加强；变强；加剧

参考例句：

• We must intensify our educational work among our own troops.我们必须加强自己部队的教育工作。
• They were ordered to intensify their patrols to protect our air space.他们奉命加强巡逻，保卫我国的领空。

9 flavor   

n.味，滋味，味道；风味；vt.调味，加味于

参考例句：

• I like the flavor of chocolate.我喜欢巧克力的味道。
• Each flavor was totally unique.每一种味道都是独一无二的。

10 starch   

n.淀粉；vt.给...上浆

参考例句：

• Corn starch is used as a thickener in stews.玉米淀粉在炖煮菜肴中被用作增稠剂。
• I think there's too much starch in their diet.我看是他们的饮食里淀粉太多了。