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potato are generous plants . They are well-heeled to grow and bring on abundant harvests . Give them the following and they will accept almost any planting situation :
you could grow potato in containers , pots , or a special “ grow traveling bag ” . But in my experience , container like these call for constant attention to watering , and yield smaller harvest than grow in a raise bed .
I achieve an tremendous harvest — enough to feed in two for about a year — by planting potatoes in two 4'-x-8 ' bring up beds . The tubers are wildly fat in the well - draining , stone - free soil the beds provide , and the vines ask deep tearing only once each week .
Of all the root veggie I arise , it is the potatoes that give me the biggest chill at crop clock time . I love to stick my manus in the ground and retrieve the buried bounty , with a yield of eight to ten Solanum tuberosum for every one that I establish .
However you decide to grow your tater , the planting directions are the same .
pic by : Kevin Lee Jacobs .
Step 1: Choose Seed Potatoes
Start with constitutive , license disease - freeseed potatoesobtained from a catalogue or farm store . ( Grocery store potatoes that have been treated with a sprout - retardation are not suitable for planting . ) If you bribe from a farm store , as I do , essay to select tubers which have already sprout . Otherwise , pre - spud them by only repose them out on your kitchen counter . Pre - sprouted potatoes can be harvested a few week originally than their non - sprouted kin .
Step 2: Separate the Eyes
Only modest , golf ball - sized white potato should be planted whole .
Cut large tubers into piece . I cut mine so that each section has two or three " eyes " ( the little bumps from which sprouts emerge , as shown in the photo ) . The reason for cut the Solanum tuberosum is because the many eyes on a large potato will create a crowd , multi - stemmed plant , with each stem competing for food and wet , and in the remnant , bearing only minor Solanum tuberosum .
Step 3: Cure the Cut Pieces
Next , " cure " the cut pieces . Either lay out them out in the Sunday , or rank them on a table or counter in a affectionate ( about 70 ° F ) , moderately lit room for three to five day . This stone’s throw permits the cut to become calloused . Calloused cum potatoes will serve prevent rot .
Step 4: How & When to Plant Potatoes
industrial plant germ white potato segment write out - side down ( heart up ) in a 6 - inch - deep kettle of fish or trench . distance each section 12 - in apart on all sides .
Between each section , sprinkle 2 tablespoon of a low - atomic number 7 , gamey - phosphoric fertilizer . Then cover both Solanum tuberosum and fertilizer with 2 - inch of dirt , and water the grease well .
When do you plant potatoes?
This will vary depending on where you know . gardener in ardent climates often plant around Valentine ’s Day , while those in cool areas may get them into the priming near Easter , or early leaping . A good pattern of pollex is to aim for 3 - 4 weeks prior to your last icing appointment .
Step 5: Hill Around the Stems
Because newfangled potatoes form on lateral stems , or " stolon " above the ejaculate white potato , it ’s necessary to " hill " the vines . When the green sprout achieve 8 inches in height , lay to rest all but their top 4 inches with soil , chop shuck , or chopped leafage . Hill again when potato plant raise another 8 inch . The more you hill , the more fertile your harvest is likely to be . I usually hill mine to a acme of 18 inch . Stop hill when the vine blossom .
Potato genus Tuber , like vampires , need to live in dark . In fact , they will turn green if exposed to brightness level . And a fleeceable potato can cause sickness if consumed . Therefore it is absolutely essential to keep the tuber cut across with territory or mulch .
Step 6: How & When to Harvest Potatoes
Two calendar week after the vine have blossom , you may , if you bid , reach into the soil or mulch and recollect a few babe spud . Otherwise , wait until the vines die back . Dead vines signalize that the Tuber have reached maturity . Now reach into the soil with your hands and deplumate the tubers up .
How long do potatoes take to grow?Small new potato can be ready as other as ten hebdomad . However , full sized potatoes take about 80 - 100 days to reach due date .
Step 7: Store Your Potatoes
Since my potatoes are grow for storage , I leave them in the background until cool weather arrives . Why ? Because spud will only store well if they are place somewhere cold , but not freeze . The cupboard in my mudroom does n’t cool off until the away temperatures plunges to 45 ° at dark . So harvesting clock time for me is ordinarily a cheery twenty-four hour period in late October .
After jab the tubers , I let them sit on top of theraised bedsfor a few 60 minutes to dry , as illustrated . This abbreviated drying - period toughens their peel , and prepares them for storage . Then I mildly sweep off any sluttish stain from the tubers , and place them in double thicknesses of report udder .
More potato growing gratuity :
Preventing Potato Blight
The dreaded fungal disease know as the " potato blight ” ( Phytophthora infestans ) was responsible for the Irish potato dearth and can destroy your entire harvest , too . To reduce the chance of infection , never flora potatoes ( or tomatoes and other member of the nightshade family , such as aubergine or chili black pepper ) in the same patch of land without leave an interval of at least three class . Also , promptly move out any volunteer potatoes that emerge in your garden . The disease overwinters in Tuber left behind during the previous yr ’s crop .
