 | Of all food crops in the world, the potato ranks right up there along with wheat and rice, as a staple of the human diet. For many, there are bittersweet memories associating the failure of the potato crop with the Irish famine in the mid 1800s, which brought many immigrants to North America.
Today, there are more than 100 potato varieties that are available for home gardeners to plant and harvest. It’s not a difficult crop to grow, but knowing what lies ahead for care, can help you enter the venture prepared to get the best out of your efforts.
Some gardeners like to enrich next year’s garden by planting “winter crops” like buckwheat or clover and then tilling it into the ground. If that is not an option, work in a good portion of well composted material to enrich the earth, and you’ll need no other fertilizer. However, if for some reason you suspect your soil may not be conducive to growing potatoes, ask your garden center where you can have it tested. Potatoes will grow in both low and high pH soil, but the higher the level, the more likely they are to develop scab. If your soil has a high pH, you may need to also work in some lime, to bring that down.
Potatoes are grown from what are called “seed pieces” as opposed to seeds. These are small chunks of a potato, containing at least one eye. While it’s possible to try and grow your crop from a bag that you get at the grocery store, they may very well have been treated with a shoot retardant. There is also the question of whether they have been sterilized of all nematodes and pests that would affect their growth. It’s best to start out with certified seed potatoes from a garden center, cutting your pieces in 1-2 ounce chunks, with one eye or more. Some growers will recommend a “warming” period of a week, during which the pieces should be spread out in a semi-cool location of 60-65F, out of the wind or sun. This will encourage initial sprouting, but is not necessary. You can plant your seed pieces directly in the ground.
Recommendations often come with the variety of seed potato you chose. In general, planting seed pieces a foot apart, in rows that are at least two feet apart, will work for you. Space is needed between plants for the foliage to grow, since leaves and stems will shade the soil, keeping temperatures down for the tubers that are growing. While potatoes will grow almost anywhere in the country, they do best in the cooler climates, as soil temperature over 80F discourages the growth of tubers. The Russet Burbank is the top variety for commercial producers, but is very prone to misshapes and knobs due to the geographical variances in weather and moisture. This is part of the reason it tends to have a very dry flesh. The Yukon Gold potato grows well in colder, extended seasons, and produces a moister, yellow-fleshed potato of good size and shape. Do some research into the variety of potato that bests suits your needs, as some develop fast, and should be harvested before the end of the growing season.
As your potato plants begin growing above ground, you’ll want to gently rake up the soil around each plant, so that every one is “hilled”. This helps to keep a deeper cover over the developing tubers in the ground, to promote their growth.
Potatoes, early season or late maturing, are ready to harvest when the vines/plants start to die back. Some gardeners even prefer to leave their crop in until the first frost. There are forks designed for potato digging, which will help you to avoid damaging any of the tubers. Any that are scratched or cut, should be used right away or discarded. Store the remainder in a cool, dark location of 38-45F, and check occasionally for spoilage or sprouting.
|  |
|
