Homegrown , freshly dug potato have a delicious flavor and buttery texture you probably wo n’t find in potatoes corrupt from the grocery store shelf . By follow this dewy-eyed guide to grow and digging spud , a huge harvest is prosperous than you might consider .
Plant for a Good Potato Harvest
Potatoes are native to South America , where they were — and are — a staple craw for indigenous cultures . Once they arrived in Europe , flora breeders focused their efforts on creating the conversant comestible Tuber we ’ve come to roll in the hay and make out today .
Select Potato Varieties
Hundreds of potato varieties exist , many of which boast distinct flavors , colors and textures . The first step in grow great potatoes is selecting the best salmagundi for your mood and your tastes . Northern grower plant their potatoes in the spring for previous - summer / free fall harvests . In cooler climates , white potato can be planted as early as two to three weeks before the average last - frost date in spring , but only if the stain has dry out a bit . Planting potatoes in wet soil can lead to waste . In the South , white potato are planted in late wintertime for a spring harvesting , or in late - summertime for a late - fall harvest . While most potato form do well in various climates , check into with your cooperative extension or a few fellow gardener to unwrap the good choices for your part of the country .
Prepare Seed Potatoes
Once you ’ve select a variety , leverage certified disease - gratuitous seed potatoes from a reputable origin . These small tubers are n’t really seeds but rather minor , mature white potato that are planted in the priming coat like seeds .
Before planting , ignore seeded player potatoes into pieces . Each piece should contain at least one “ eye ” and be about the size of a half - dollar coin . These eyes are what sprout when you leave a potato in the cupboard too long . They ’re easily found by seek the seed white potato for little , dark indentations or , if the eye has already begun to sprout , swollen bumps .
After the seed potatoes have been cut into pieces , let them remain on the kitchen counter for a few hours to a few day before planting . This encourages a layer of callus tissue paper to work over the cut and helps prevent buncombe .
Prepare Planting Sites
Select apotato institute sitethat receives full sunlight , and work plenty of compost into the area . potato prefer a soil pH between 5.5 and 6.5 , and grunge that is well - drained . Waterlogged soils will stimulate the tubers to rot . Choose a topographic point , if possible , where other extremity of the nightshade family , such as tomato plant and common pepper , have not been grow within the past few years .
Choose a Planting Method
Manymethods of plantingpotatoes exist :
Hill Your Potatoes
irrespective of which planting method you choose , hill your potatoes is a necessary praxis . Because the tubers are produce at the base of the plant just beneath the soil ’s surface , hilling or mound soil up around the base of the growing plant life results in better murphy yield and shields the developing tubers from Inner Light .
Hilling increases the surreptitious surface expanse for tuber production , but an alternative to this outgrowth is to but mulch your tater plants with a thick , 8- to 10 - inch layer of straw . Not only does the straw layer serve to increase the underground aerofoil sphere , but it also repress weeds and cuts down on the need for watering .
Wait for the Harvest
As your spud crop continues to develop , aside from regularly watering your potato , there ’s little to do until harvest home time .
New versus Mature Potatoes
Potato harvestingcan take place at two unlike time . If you ’d like to glean new potatoes — the immature , unripened potatoes whose skin has not yet hardened — for immediate phthisis , the plants are quick for harvesting as soon as they begin to raise flower . Most nurseryman sneak a few new white potato from the edge of the growing plant life by gently digging around with a gloved helping hand . you may easily harvest a smattering of unexampled potatoes while still leaving the works integral for carry on tuber yield .
To reap fledged Irish potato , look for a different readiness of clues . These tubers take a flake longer to develop , and there are a few necessary practice to assure the tater are truly ready for harvesting and storage .
Signs Your Potatoes Are Ready To Harvest
Soon after your potato plants give maturity , they come into flush . This signals that tuber formation has begun . The plants keep on to grow for the next several months , and eventually the leave and stems start to turn yellow-bellied and fall through over . fledged entrepot potatoes are quick for harvest a few weeks after the leafage has turn browned and died back completely . Tubers leave in the ground have time to thicken their skins and properly cure before the harvest . This cure period is vital because harvesting potatoes early on can reduce down on their shelf life , whereas properly cured potatoes can be stored for many month .
Tips for Harvesting
Once digging time arrives , the real fun begins . A ritual akin to digging for Au , potato harvesting is easy .
Preparing Your Potatoes for Storage
Once your potato have been harvested , brush off any excess stain with your hands . Be heedful not to bruise or fall apart each white potato ’s skin , and do not wash potatoes before storing .
The Curing Stage
Allow your dug spud to rest in a single stratum for three or four days in a well - vent , dry placement . Once they have rested , they ’re ready for storage .
Root Cellar Storage
Potatoes are best stored in dark , inhuman condition ; between 45 and 55 point F is best . A dark-skinned , well - ventilatedroot cellaris a bang-up place , but not everyone has one . If a ancestor cellar is n’t an alternative , put your harvested Irish potato in a wicker or plastic handbasket , a browned newspaper dish , or a cardboard boxwood and store it in a dark cellar or cool garage . Protect the genus Tuber from light , and do n’t layer them in the boxful or field goal any more than a foot or so deep . Do not freeze them or store them in a refrigerator .
In-Ground Storage
Some nurseryman prefer to leave their murphy in the ground for storage and dig them only as involve . This is potential where the ground does n’t freeze or become waterlogged with fall rainwater . For this method , put a thick layer of fresh straw over the plants after they have died back , and labor the tubers up as needed . Some gardeners might experience a eminent rate of rot in potatoes stored in - primer coat , particularly during periods of wet conditions . Also , potatoes stored in the ground are left vulnerable to voles , chipmunks , mice and other tuber - munching mammals that enjoy burrowing under the straw mulch .
Problems With Potatoes
Potatoes can be a fuss - free crop if you follow a few simple practices , though they ’re not immune to typical garden problems . Here are some you might face .
Saving Small Potatoes For Spring Planting
With a minuscule extra movement , you could keep your own seed tater for next year ’s planting . After harvesting , pull the minor tubers from the crew and put in them in a dark box or bin , roll in layers of paper . Put the corner or bin in a insensate service department or root cellar , but do not rent it freeze . The potatoes are shrink by the time planting - time arrives next spring and they might have already sprouted , but the tubers can still be used .
The downside to saving your own seed murphy is the increase risk of infection of disease . Pathogens can easily winter on the seed potatoes and be reintroduced to the garden . Purchasing certified disease - free seed murphy at the start of each season avoids this problem .
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Susy Morris/Flickr
Susy Morris/Flickr
Susy Morris/Flickr
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