I just jotted this down in my journal and I think it's useful to share here. So if you still want to plant some taters, it's not too late :) Happy Potato Growing! ☺
General Advice:
Potatoes always do best in full sun. They are aggressively rooting plants, and we find that they will produce the best crop when planted in a light, loose, well-drained soil. Potatoes prefer a slightly acid soil with a PH of 5.0 - 7.0. Fortunately potatoes are very adaptable and will almost always produce a respectable crop, even when the soil conditions and growing seasons are less than perfect. Always keep your potato patch weed-free for best results. Potatoes should be rotated in the garden, never being grown in the same spot until there has been a 3-4 year absence of potatoes. If you are new at growing potatoes, ask around, chances are there are many older gardeners in your area that have years of gardening experience.
Planting Times:
Potatoes may be planted as soon as the ground can be worked in the early spring, but do keep soil temperatures in mind. Potato plants will not begin to grow until the soil temperature has reached 45 degrees F. The soil should be moist, but not water-logged. Potatoes can tolerate a light frost, but you should proved some frost protection for the plants if you know that a hard, late season freeze is coming. If you want to extend storage times, and have a long growing season, you can plant a second crop as late as June 15 and harvest the potatoes as late as possible.
Cutting Potatoes Before Planting:
A week or two before your planting date, set your seed potatoes in an area where they will be exposed to light and temperatures between 60 -70 degrees F., this will begin the sprouting process. A day or two before planting, use a sharp, clean knife to slice the larger seed potatoes into smaller pieces. Each piece should be approximately 2 inches square, and must contain at least 1 or 2 eyes or buds. Smaller potatoes may be planted whole, a good rule of thumb is to plant them whole if they are smaller in size than a golf ball. In the next day or so, your seed will form a thick callous over the cuts, which will help to prevent it from rotting once planted.
Planting in the Garden:
We find that potatoes are best grown in rows. To begin with, dig a trench that is 6-8 inches deep. Plant each piece of potato (cut side down, with the eyes pointing up) every 12 - 15 inches, with the rows spaced 3 feet apart. If your space is limited or if you would like to grow only baby potatoes, you can decrease the spacing between plants. To begin with only fill the trench in with 4 inches of soil. Let the plants start to grow and then continue to fill in the trench and even mound the soil around the plants as they continue to grow. Prior to planting always make sure to cultivate the soil one last time. This will remove and weeds and will loosen the soil and allow the plants to become established more quickly.
Water Supply:
Keep your potato vines well watered throughout the summer, especially during the period when the plants are flowering and immediately following the flowering stage. During this flowering period, the plants are creating their tubers and a steady water supply is crucial to good crop outcome. Potatoes do well with 1-2 inches of water or rain per week. When the foliage turns yellow and begins to die back, discontinue watering. This will help start curing the potatoes for harvest time.
Harvesting your potatoes
Baby potatoes typically can be harvested 2-3 weeks after the plants have finished flowering. Gently dig around the plants to remove potatoes for fresh eating, being careful not to be too intrusive. Try to remove the biggest new potatoes and leave the smaller ones in place so they can continue to grow. Only take what you need for immediate eating. Homegrown new potatoes are a luxury and should be used the same day that they are dug. Potatoes that are going to be kept for storage should not be dug until 2-3 weeks after the foliage dies back. Carefully dig potatoes with a sturdy fork and if the weather is dry, allow the potatoes to lay in the field, unwashed for 2-3 days. This curing step allows the skins to mature and is essential for good storage. If the weather during harvest is wet and rainy, allow the potatoes to cure in a dry protected area like a garage or covered porch.
Storage Conditions:
Try to find a storage area that is well ventilated, dark, and cool. The ideal temperature is between 35 and 40 degrees F. Keep in mind that some varieties are better keepers than others. Varieties like Red Gold and Rose Gold are best used in the fall, and others like Carola and Russets are exceptional keepers.
Saving Seed Stock:
Home gardeners can save seed for several generations. Save the very best potatoes for planting. You may find that after several years the size begins to decrease; this is typical. Potatoes are very susceptible to virusus. If you are looking for maximum yields it is best to start with fresh, USDA certified seed stock every year.
Potato Growing Guide
Wow, thank you, that is such great info. Especially being my first year, this is so detailed... good idea to share with everyone, thanks again!
Ditto lafko! Excellent info for a first year grower. There's alot in there I did NOT know! I'm planning on doing mine in shorter rows and allowing them to climb as I've read that will work with .imited space.
Happy garending, and thanks for the tutorial!
Ours were up about 3 inches when the hard freeze came and wiped them out.
I suppose they have rotted by now, as the garden is so muddy now.
Although replanting this late is ok as far as the season goes........... the problem in our area is, no one has any more seed potatoes in stock. All the stores sell out by now and you can't find any to plant. I suppose I could order some, but they're probably expensive on shipping.
Wish I had covered them up before the freeze. That was a lot of work planting them only to lose them................Darn !
Thanks for the info. I never thought of covering them. But I'll know next year.
Thanks for info, Sue. It's great to have it all in one place - this should be a sticky!!! Do you have any information about fertilizing you could add?
One question - are potatoes heat tolerant? Should folks in the warmer zones grow them in a part shade situation?
Peggie - I bought my seed from Ronnigers and they had FREE shipping.
http://www.ronnigers.com/
Thanks for the info Sue, that was very kind of you.
If doing this, wouldn't they need to be in full shade as I have read that exposure to the sun causes solanine? "Carefully dig potatoes with a sturdy fork and if the weather is dry, allow the potatoes to lay in the field, unwashed for 2-3 days."
PeggieK, I know how you feel. I plant my whole garden on raised rows. This year I decided to start my seed at the bottom so I could keep adding soil as they grew to give them alot of soil to produce tubers. My three 75' rows of Yukon Gold stayed under water for a week, which I should have known they might because drainage problems are the whole reason I use raised rows in the first place. I raked up and combined the soil to from two more raised rows and planted more corn. I hope the corn does okay over the rotted taters. A couple of months ago I put some fingerling potatoes in garbage bags with soil and they appear to be growing okay, but other than that I guess I will be taterless this year. Take care, Mike
Hi gang,
I thought this might be helpful too. It's a link to how I plant my potatoes.
Red
http://davesgarden.com/journal/ed/index.php?tabid=2511
excelrealty - never thought of that, of course it goes against all wisdom of letting your potatoes to light. I will say, that all of our drying occurs in our garage or garden shed, where light is minimal at best. Hopefully someone else can "shed some light on the question"? Sorry, that was so obvious and bad! :D
Big-Red - I loved reading your Journal for potatoes!