Whether you want to uprise a big crop of spuds or just a few in a container , follow these helpful summit for how to set potatoes .
Skip the produce discussion section and start develop potatoes in your own backyard . All you need isa sunny outer space to grow them , a steady supply of water , and come potatoes ( the sprouted circumstances of a white potato that you embed in the primer ) . Yes , it ’s true — you’re able to grow white potato from potatoes ! Take your pick from russet , Yukon , fingerling , and more salmagundi , then get your white potato vine patch set about so you could relish all their starchy goodness fresh from your vegetable gardens . Whether you want to develop a big crop of tater or just a few in a container , here are a few utile tips for how to plant potatoes .
How to Plant Potatoes
Potatoes love the sun , so implant your patch in a spot that gets a lot of instinctive light , where these veggie plants will get at least six hours of sun each day . Potatoes are plant with pieces of tubers called seed potatoes and should be placed in the earth in the spring , around thetime of the last expected frost .
Small potatoes can be planted whole , but big white potato ( anything bigger than a golf ball ) should be quartered with a clean knife before planting . verify each piece planted admit an eye or bud , which is where the new crop will spring from . To prevent rot , countenance the potato pieces dry out for a couple of days before planting . Theseed potato should be planteda few column inch deep in loose , well - drained soil and space 12 to 15 column inch asunder in rows .
How to Grow Potatoes
In a few calendar week , shoots will emerge from the seed potatoes and poke up through the soil . Once the shoot are 8 to 10 inches improbable , mound several inches of soil around the stem . This is prognosticate " hilling , " and it helps increase your potato harvest time .
Soon your white potato plants will set about flower and mold tubers . Keep your plants well wateredand weeded to assist tuber to grow properly . Once the leafage turns yellow and start to conk out back , stop watering to set for crop time .
How to Grow Potatoes from Potatoes
It ’s best to grow white potato from specially grown disease - detached seed white potato vine you purchase from a garden supply store . The white potato you buy in the grocery store may have been deal with a growth inhibitor to forbid them from stock in your pantry . However , if you have some potatoes that are begin to sprout ( the " eyes " have swollen-headed and whitish shoots are begin to acquire ) , you could but plant a part of the sprouting potato in the dry land orin a roommate potcovered with 3 inches of soil . Within two weeks , green shoots should go forth . These will grow into bushy plants , and after three months or so , novel spud will develop below background .
While growing murphy from grocery depot potatoes is possible , be aware that some varieties may be patented . patent make unlicensedpropagation of protected plants illegal .
How to Grow Potatoes in Containers
If you do n’t have the distance to grow potatoes in your thousand , you could rise them on yourdeck or patio . jump with a prominent , mysterious pot with ample drain and fill up one - third of the container with potting filth . Place your seminal fluid Solanum tuberosum in the deal and cover them with alayer of potting grease . Keep the pot in the sun and well - watered , and hill the potted potato when they show about 6 column inch of growth , repeating until the jackpot is full .
How to Harvest Potatoes
Your Solanum tuberosum areready to harvestwhen the plant begin to turn xanthous and die back , typically 18 to 20 weeks after planting . Most potatoes sprout quickly in bound when kept at room temperature , but the type of potato do a difference if you want to reap expert tubers from your crop . The small red potato often sold as " newfangled " potatoes are fast and fun to grow , while gravid baking potato plants take much longer to mature and often produce poorly in areas with hot summer weather condition .
If you want to eat your potatoes sassy , only grasp up what you want for contiguous eating . If you plan onstoring your potatoes , do n’t dig them up until 2 or 3 weeks after the foliation become flat back . Dig potatoes up with a spading fork , being deliberate not to pierce the tubers . Leave the white potato on the ground for a few hours to dry and cure , then sweep off any easy soil and stash away them in a cool , ironic berth until you ’re quick to use them .
Frequently Asked Questions
gratifying potatoes do n’t produce the same way regular murphy do . To growsweet tater , you ’ll require to polish off the slips ( theme and foliage that sprout from agrown cherubic potato ) and root them in water . Once rootle , you may then plant them in the stain .
The exact calendar month in which you implant your potatoes ( and any crop ) depends on thegrowing zoneyou live in . As a prescript of thumb , you could plant white potato around the time of the last spring frost , which typically falls in March , April , or May , count on the mood you live on in .
Potatoes should be stash away in an unfastened zephyr basketful or bowling ball to help forestall the accumulation of moisture . For the maximum shelf animation , store your potato in a nerveless dry cellar or garage for up to three or four month . If stored in a more traditional spot like a kitchen cabinet , they ’ll last between three weeks and a month .
Credit: Marty Baldwin
murphy will end up competing for nutrients and sunlight when planted too close together . This will result in small potatoes . There ’s also a mellow prospect of pest plague , so check that you plant them 12 to 15 inch aside to help them thrive .
It ’s best to plant your potatoes about 6 - 8 inch deep when possible . If the soil is loose , you could simply use a rake , but you might need a hoe or a shovel in sonorous land .
Credit: Marty Baldwin
