There are two major factors that will help you determine the most appropriate solution:
- the level of investment you can afford,
- and the tolerance of the varieties composing your crops to mechanical harvesting.
In any case, it is essential to wait about 3 weeks after uprooting to harvest the crop. This will leave enough time for the tubers' skin to thicken. Some varieties are adapted to mechanical harvesting. Others, (such as Spunta variety for example) are not, and can suffer badly from such treatment.
Therefore, harvesting sometimes simply consists of lifting from the field, loading into trailers when necessary, and of course, cleaning the harvest either in the field or in the storage facility. The potatoes can then be graded (manually and mechanically) and stored. The storage period varies greatly, depending on variety, health and temperature conditions.