Freeze damaged plants

duajones · December 5, 2009

Had a freeze last night that I am pretty sure killed the few potato plants I had growing, will know more later today and tomorrow. Plants are at around the 70 day mark. If the freeze did indeed kill off the tops, will the spuds continue to grow? When should I try to harvest if the plants have died?

desertlzbn · December 5, 2009

Same here, Except it was tomatoes. I hope that some at least did not freeze all the way and will come back. I covered everything, and put lamps on quite a few things.
Today will go to the HD and get supplies to build a greenhouse to cover with plastic and put lights under.
I am so upset that I lost the plants I did, because they were covered up. I guess Mother Nature wants me to go ahead and plant my beets and carrots and kale now.
Those are usually pretty frost resistant.

duajones · December 5, 2009

More than the tops are done, these plants flat out froze. Not sure if I should cut them back and see what happens or just let the soil dry up a bit and see what is underground

bcday · December 5, 2009

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.

duajones · December 5, 2009

thank you sir, the stems appear to possibly still be viable but the leaves are froze crispy. Should I let the plants rid themselves of the bad foliage or remove it myself?

bcday · December 5, 2009

When is your usual first killing frost? If there are no green leaves left at all, only green stems, and you will have a killing frost soon, you might as well remove the tops so the tubers can mature and you can dig them.

If you still have a lot of growing season left and you want to see if the tops will put out new growth, I don't see any need to pick off the dead leaves one by one from the stems.

Once all of the tops are completely dead at the end of the season, or if I cut them off while they're still green, then I do clean up as much of the foliage as possible before I dig the tubers.

duajones · December 5, 2009

Some years we dont have a killing frost, maybe a night or two that some plants would benefit from a light cover. Average first frost date for our area is sometime this month, so you never know down here. I was hoping to have some potatoes by Christmas or New Years so I could just leave them in the ground for the 2 or 3 weeks you mentioned and then harvest. I dont know what to expect yield wise as this is the first time I have grown tubers in the ground. Thanks again for your response, I appreciate it

**Tom Wagner** · December 6, 2009

The way I see it is that since the 70 day potatoes were forming tubers, however small yet, and the tops frozen back....the plants will likely recover with new sprouts just below or at the soil line. The new vines will grow for another few weeks but the yields and tuber size will be disappointing. Since the skin of the tubers are still in the slip stage they may still grow a bit but perhaps with some misshapened tubers, knobs, etc., and some of the growth will be on brand new tubers at the soil line. If you just had three more weeks without the freeze your yield would have be several times higher.

I can grow some very early potato varieties that are 45 day types, but most potatoes at the 70 day mark are just beginning to bulk up some tubers, and the tubers you have will be mostly egg size. Those plants that don't regrow will harden off the tubers and set the skin but they will be of low gravities. Nothing wrong with that but they may not store as well as fully grown tubers.

Looking at the weather data for Corpus Cristi, Texas reminded me of when I grew potatoes near McAllen, Texas on the Rio Grande back in 1969-1970. Hardy potatoes will regrow from a frost or hail but weak plants will just mature off. You are going to get some temperatures up around 77 soon and not a night of freezing temps for the next 15 days. If you look at the data I posted at the end of this message, follow it along to see if I am right that you will see regrowth.

Quote:

Potato tuberization is adistinct reproduction strategy which involve the sensing of the photoperiod and generation of a signal in the leaves , the subsequent transport of the signal , and the response in a distant organ, the vegetative meristem, or stolon tips (also called tubers)

The short days will hurry up additional tuber set or growth if the temps hold up.

Tom Wagner

Saturday, Dec 5
Warmer with increasing clouds
Low: 46 °F
High: 51 °F

Sunday, Dec 6
Warmer with a passing shower
Low: 54 °F
High: 66 °F

Monday, Dec 7
Rather cloudy with a shower
Low: 61 °F
High: 67 °F
Tuesday, Dec 8

Breezy with clouds and sun
Low: 60 °F
High: 76 °F

Wednesday, Dec 9
A full day of sunshine
Low: 50 °F
High: 72 °F
Thursday, Dec 10

Partly sunny
Low: 58 °F
High: 69 °F

Friday, Dec 11
Mostly cloudy and warmer
Low: 59 °F
High: 77 °F
Saturday, Dec 12

A shower in the afternoon
Low: 51 °F
High: 77 °F

Sunday, Dec 13
Cooler with periods of rain
Low: 44 °F
High: 63 °F

Monday, Dec 14
Times of clouds and sun
Low: 47 °F
High: 58 °F

Tuesday, Dec 15
Occasional rain
Low: 46 °F
High: 57 °F

Wednesday, Dec 16
Rain
Low: 42 °F
High: 57 °F

Thursday, Dec 17
Low clouds
Low: 37 °F
High: 57 °F

Friday, Dec 18
Clouds and sun
Low: 37 °F
High: 57 °F
Saturday, Dec 19

duajones · December 6, 2009

Thank you for the response Tom. I was hoping for continued growth size wise as egg size tubers of course isnt what I intended. A few of the plants have viable leaves towards the bottom of the plant. The soil is too wet right now anyways so I will leave them be for a few weeks

December 5, 2009	#1
duajones Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Corpus Christi,Texas Z9 Posts: 1,996	Freeze damaged plants Had a freeze last night that I am pretty sure killed the few potato plants I had growing, will know more later today and tomorrow. Plants are at around the 70 day mark. If the freeze did indeed kill off the tops, will the spuds continue to grow? When should I try to harvest if the plants have died? __________________ Duane Jones

December 5, 2009	#3
duajones Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Corpus Christi,Texas Z9 Posts: 1,996	More than the tops are done, these plants flat out froze. Not sure if I should cut them back and see what happens or just let the soil dry up a bit and see what is underground __________________ Duane Jones

December 5, 2009	#5
duajones Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Corpus Christi,Texas Z9 Posts: 1,996	thank you sir, the stems appear to possibly still be viable but the leaves are froze crispy. Should I let the plants rid themselves of the bad foliage or remove it myself? __________________ Duane Jones

December 5, 2009	#7
duajones Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Corpus Christi,Texas Z9 Posts: 1,996	Some years we dont have a killing frost, maybe a night or two that some plants would benefit from a light cover. Average first frost date for our area is sometime this month, so you never know down here. I was hoping to have some potatoes by Christmas or New Years so I could just leave them in the ground for the 2 or 3 weeks you mentioned and then harvest. I dont know what to expect yield wise as this is the first time I have grown tubers in the ground. Thanks again for your response, I appreciate it __________________ Duane Jones

December 6, 2009	#9
duajones Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Corpus Christi,Texas Z9 Posts: 1,996	Thank you for the response Tom. I was hoping for continued growth size wise as egg size tubers of course isnt what I intended. A few of the plants have viable leaves towards the bottom of the plant. The soil is too wet right now anyways so I will leave them be for a few weeks __________________ Duane Jones

December 5, 2009	#2
desertlzbn Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Tucson Posts: 659	Same here, Except it was tomatoes. I hope that some at least did not freeze all the way and will come back. I covered everything, and put lamps on quite a few things. Today will go to the HD and get supplies to build a greenhouse to cover with plastic and put lights under. I am so upset that I lost the plants I did, because they were covered up. I guess Mother Nature wants me to go ahead and plant my beets and carrots and kale now. Those are usually pretty frost resistant.

December 5, 2009	#4
bcday Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: NY z5 Posts: 1,205	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.