|
GROWING POTATOES YOUR GUIDE TO
GROWING POTATOES
Potatoes are easily grown
in the home garden and with just a little care and
attention, a fine harvest can be obtained.
Get Your “Seeds”
Potato “seeds” are not
seed in the usual sense. Seed potatoes are mature
potatoes that are cut into pieces and planted in the
ground. The eyes send out long white stems underground
from which more potatoes, or tubers grow. Your local
Agway store carries a variety of well-known seed
potatoes that are adapted to your region’s particular
growing conditions.
The Right Spot in Your
Garden Choose
a planting site that is fairly sunny where potatoes,
tomatoes and other related crops have not grown
recently. Avoid locations with heavy soils and those
that are wet or shallow. Try to select a spot that has
not been limed heavily or recently, since potatoes
prefer a more acidic soil than most vegetables. The
ideal soil acidity has a pH level of 5.5 – a pH under
5.2 can reduce yields.
Prepare the Seed
Cut each potato so that
it contains three eyes and enough potato to give the
young sprout some nourishment to grow on for a while. A
quarter of an average sized potato is a good size (at
least the size of a golf ball). Pieces with one eye will
produce bigger potatoes, while those with more eyes will
produce them in greater numbers. Allow each piece to dry
in the open shade for an hour or tow so their cut
surfaces will harden.
Planting the Seed
Potatoes Once
the seed has dried, plant in a 6-inch deep trench and
place a foot apart. Cover with 4 inches of soil with the
eyes facing up. Space the rows 32 to 40 inches apart.
The soil should be moist, not wet, and the soil
temperature (at the depth of 6 inches) should be above
45 degrees F at planting time. Remember, excessive
wetness and cold soil conditions after planting can
affect tuber sprouting.
Growing
A few weeks after
planting you will notice green foliage. Let it reach 4
to 6 inches tall and then start hilling with a hide hoe
to bring the soil almost to the top of the leaves from
both sides of the row. Keep hilling until the plants are
at least a foot tall and flowers start to appear. Bring
in extra soil as needed, but do it very carefully so as
not to chop up any of the roots or young tubers. Water
during drought to keep tubers growing, but not after
foliage has died down.
Harvesting the Crop
By late August to
mid-September, the potato vines should begin to die
back, indicating that the tubers have matured. You can
leave the potatoes in the ground for a few weeks, but
dig them up if you are expecting a heavy frost or having
a warm, wet spell that might start new foliage
sprouting. Dig carefully with a digging fork or potato
hoe, starting from the outside and getting down under
the potatoes so that you don’t spear or scratch them.
Throw away any tubers that show a green discoloration –
they are not edible.
Storing Your Potato
Crop Once
dug from the hill, allow the potatoes to air dry for
about an hour. Store them in a well-ventilated, lightly
humid area with no natural light, where the temperature
remains cool (40 degrees F). Do not wash the potatoes
before storing, and do not pile them more than a foot or
so deep.
|
