Late Harvest Needs Tricks Of The Trade

Under the warmth of the late-summer sun, our vegetable gardens continue to mature. But out there, waiting in the wings, is Old Man Frost. In a few weeks, we’ll be busy digging and collecting the remains of our home-grown bounty.

This week we’ll look at harvesting and storing of a couple of our favorites - tomatoes and potatoes.

Tomatoes: Though they’re harvested continually through the summer, come September, we inevitably have more green than red tomatoes. Getting the green ones to ripen before the killing frost is always a challenge. Here are a few tried-and-true methods:

1. Tomatoes need heat to ripen, but not necessarily direct sunshine. The trick is to give them as much heat as possible. When the night temperatures are cold (below 60 degrees), cover them with plastic - black garbage bags work well. The plastic captures the heat produced during the day, keeping the tomatoes warm at night. Uncover the plants during the day unless daytime temperatures also get cold.

2. Stressed tomatoes want to set seed. Seed can set only if the tomato is ripe. So stress the tomato plant.

Cut a few roots on both sides of the plant by jabbing a shovel down through them. The trick is to not sever too many of the roots. We don’t want the plant to shrivel up and die on us.

Hold back the water until the plant begins to show signs of wilt. Then, water thoroughly and deeply. Repeat this until a killing frost is predicted.

3. Collect fallen apples and lay them under the plant. The ethylene gas released from the apples will help speed ripening.

When a killing frost is predicted, collect only the tomatoes that have started to turn color. In other words, only those that have started to loose that bright green appearance. The immature, bright green tomatoes will more than likely rot before they ever ripen.

Wrap the harvested greenish-orange tomatoes individually in newspaper and set them in a box in a warm spot. (Remember, it’s heat, not direct sun that ripens them.)

Tomatoes can also be laid out individually in a warm spot to ripen or simply placed in bags. If they are stacked on one another, check them often for rotting.

Tomatoes can also be left to vine-ripen by digging the entire plant and hanging it upside-down in a warm spot.

And of course, if you are caught with dozens of bright green tomatoes, there are always fried green tomatoes, green tomato relish and pickled green tomatoes. In fact, there are about as many recipes for green tomatoes as there are for zucchini.

Potatoes: By now, most potato plants look a little on the forlorn side.

Heaps of yellowed, wilted leaves blanket the ground. Hidden just below the soil surface are the makings of hashbrowns, baked potatoes and French fries.

However, just because the plants have died back doesn’t necessarily mean it’s time to harvest.

Dead plants are simply a sign that the potatoes have stopped growing. Under the warm soil, these hidden gems are toughening their skins for winter storage.

Give them a few weeks before harvesting.

Watering the potato crop during this dormant period can start the spuds growing again, resulting in knobby potatoes - edible, but difficult to peel. If you water your garden by overhead sprinklers, cover the potato crop with plastic.

Once it’s time to harvest, dig them with a spading fork. Those that are skewered (there always seems to be a few) can be set aside for eating first.

Lay the remaining potatoes on the ground to dry. After a few days, brush off any clinging clumps of soil, but don’t wash them.

Store potatoes in a dark cellar with temperatures around 40 degrees, high humidity and good ventilation. If potatoes are not allowed to breathe, they tend to shrivel and rot. If they are stored in any amount of light, they will sprout and turn green.

The green part is toxic. It can, however, be cut out and the potato still eaten.

Next week we’ll look at squash, onions and carrots. But for now it’s fresh-sliced tomatoes, cucumbers and onions marinated in Italian dressing. Deee…licious.

The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Phyllis Stephens The Spokesman-Review