Potatoes are a really easy and fun crop to grow, so we're going to cover EVERYTHING you need to know about them. You can't really mess them up, but there are some things you can do to maximize your harvest!
00:28 Intro
Who doesn't love potatoes? Harvesting any crop is fun, but pulling things out of the soil is especially rewarding. Before we get to that, though, I'm going to give you all the info about preparing and growing potatoes with the assumption that this is your first time growing them.
We currently carry four varieties of potatoes on the site, and these have all been grown here so you know that they're great for our climate:
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1:27 When to Plant
Let's start by answering this key question. You want to plant them in the fall or the winter, and they take 2-3 months to be ready to harvest.
This can get a little confusing because this is different than when you plant sweet potatoes which are tropical and like warm weather.
While I always encourage succession planting, you want to get started in the fall to take advantage of the additional hours of sunlight you get before too close to the winter solstice.
2:34 Sprouting Potatoes
When you order potatoes from us, you're going to open up your mail and see... a potato. It doesn't look too exciting, but it has been grown specifically to be replanted. That means it hasn't been treated or washed. This maintains the integrity of the plant. We also ship them without sprouts yet because those can be easily damaged during the shipping process.
Keep an eye out for... the eyes! This is where new growth will sprout from and grow into the leaves above ground. Here's how to do it.
Grab an egg carton to set your potatoes in. This allows airflow all around the potato and gives you an easy way to move several potatoes at once. Within a week or two, you'll be getting sprouts, and then you'll be ready to plant.
Can you plant before then? Yes, definitely! You are running a little bit more of a risk, though, so I recommend sprouting them first.
Can you plant the whole thing in the ground? Sure thing, BUT I prefer to cut up the potato first. You want to cut up your potato with at least 2-3 sprouts per section. You could just halve it, or you can do a couple of cuts.
If you do choose to split your potato (and multiply your plants), you need to wait for the potato to heal over the fresh before you plant it. This isn't just a dried-out layer. It's actually called suberin and will protect the plant from succumbing to rot or disease. Because I'm all about making the most of what we've got, I recommend letting it heal for a few days before planting.
So how do you plant them? Dig about 6-8 inches and plop them in. Orientation isn't too important, but you can put sprouts up. The plant is going to figure it out either way, though.
As the plant grows over time, you want to hill up. By keeping the plant under the soil level, it will produce more and more potatoes. You only need several inches of the plant to be above ground and keep everything else blocked from sunlight.
11:54 Harvesting & Caring for Potatoes
As the days get longer, your plants are going to flower. This is the time you can start digging around and pulling them out, but you don't need to pull it all. The potatoes will keep in the ground just fine so long as it's not really wet in the soil.
Potatoes are pretty easygoing. You don't need to fret about NPK numbers or nutrients all that much. They prefer light, fluffy soil so it's easy for the tubers to develop - and for you to harvest. If you have compost, add it in there along with some granular fertilizer which will release nutrients over time.
If you live in a cold area, use some row cover to keep in the heat & moisture. Otherwise, just give your plants regular watering until the plant flowers.
If you want to store potatoes, you want to cure them properly. This means you allow it to have airflow with no moisture as the skin gets hard over time.
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