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Old December 5, 2009   #4
bcday
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Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: NY z5
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I've had frost hit potato plants without completely killing them, so if there are still any green leaves or stems on the plants, you might want to wait a bit before you do anything.

If you are planning to eat all of the potatoes soon, you can dig them any time. But if you are going to store them for a while, you should leave them in the ground for two or three weeks after the tops are completely dead or have been removed. This allows the tubers to mature, a process that does not occur while the tops of the plants are still living.

During the two or three weeks that they are in the ground after the tops die or are removed, the skin of the tubers dries out and toughens so that it won't rub off easily. Tubers that are dug before they have matured are more prone to spoiling in storage because they are still very juicy and have thin, moist, fragile skins.
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