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Seasons
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Potatoes, the staple of American diets, are
easy to grow but can take up a lot of space. But memories of a meal of
new potatoes, peas and fresh salad is enough to at least plant a few.
Unlike other vegetables, potatoes are not planted from seed but from
pieces of potatoes, called seed potatoes, containing eyes or buds.
Potatoes can be planted in early spring about one month before the
last anticipated frost date and on through mid August to September
for a late fall crop. Ten weeks are needed to grow golf ball size
new potatoes.
My rule of thumb is 5 lbs. will plant a 50-60 ft. row.
My biggest secret with potatoes is sulfur. Sulfur, an organic
product, does three things; it is a fungicide, acid
fertilizer and insecticide. Let me explain.
- Fungicide: Sulfur protects the cut potatoes from rot organisms
in the early spring cool, moist soil.
- Acid Fertilizer: Potatoes grow best in slightly acid
conditions (6 to 6.5 pH). Commercial growers like it even
lower to prevent potato scab, a disease that leaves raised, scabby
marks on potato skins. But for the the home gardener that is
impractical and if your potatoes develop scab it is no big
deal. Just peel the affected potatoes before cooking.
- Insecticide: Ever since I have been using sulfur I
have almost no potato bugs!
Varieties: 
- *Kennebec (white)
(Click on thumbnail picture to view
enlargement)
- *Red Pontiac (red)
- Cobbler (white)
- Yukon Gold (yellow)
There are numerous other varieties available depending on your
area. The Yukon Gold are delicious and gaining in popularity
but I still prefer the plain, white potato!! The red potato makes
wonder new potatoes but they are not good keepers.
*My favorite varieties
Extra Note:
One of my books says that there is an advantage to
planting small whole potatoes as seed. Without the cut surface,
they are less apt to rot in the ground. Small potatoes have more
eyes which results in more stems and a heavier set of tubers per
plant. Larger seed pieces produce plants that yield a high number
of small to medium size potatoes. I have not proved this either
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Preparation:
Cut potatoes into small pieces (1-1/2 to 2 ounces) about the size of
a walnut or large ice cube with two or three "eyes" per piece.
Dust with sulfur and let set several days before planting to allow the
potato to "heal" or "cure". The cured pieces
will retain their moisture and the sulfur helps to prevent
rotting. Garden sulfur (4, 5 or 50 lb. bags) bags are
available in most lawn & garden centers or farm supply stores.
Potatoes planted later when the soil is warmer and drier are less likely
to rot and can be planted immediately after being cut.
Planting:
Potatoes like to be in the ground deep. It is most ideal to dig
trenches 4" wide, 4" deep and place rows 30-36" apart.
Place seed potatoes or whole small potatoes 12" apart
in the trench and cover with 4" soil. I usually plant 5 lbs.
of potatoes--just enough for spring eating. I take my 5 lb.
bag of sulfur and dust my cut potatoes. Then I dust the top of my
covered potatoes with the remainder of the sulfur. I also side dress
with 1 lb. of Triple Superphosphate (0-46-0) and 1 lb. of 5-10-10 per
25' row.
Potatoes need extra phosphate for root growth and then do not like too
much nitrogen or you will get all plant and no potatoes.
"Old timers" who plant by the moon, plant root crops on new
moon (Good Friday) and above grounds crops on full moon. This is
the first year (2002) that I have tried it and I have the best stand
that I have ever had and they came up much faster. So we will see what
the harvest is like!
Care:
Be patient, it takes potatoes a little while to come up. After
the potatoes have emerged from the ground several inches, hill the soil
up around the plants. You may need to repeat the process one more
time. This protects the potatoes growing deep in the soil from sunlight
which can turn the tender new potatoes green and bitter. I also like to
mulch with straw or horse manure with shavings to help with weed
control. We have a near-by stable and the daily pickings from the
stalls make excellent mulch. I have found the manure tends to be
"hot" so be careful not to burn the plants.
Harvest:
You can harvest new potatoes in 10 weeks. For larger potatoes,
wait until the vines have died. The potatoes will have
developed tougher skins. Dig, wash potatoes and let dry under a
tree for several days. Pick out any potatoes with rotten spots or
that cut during digging. The potatoes are then ready to storage in
a fruit cellar or dry, dark, cool room. You do not want the
potatoes to freeze as the insides will turn dark when fried.
The hungry Colorado Potato Beetle will be your biggest
challenge. So be prepared to spray or dust regularly. They
can strip the leaves before you know what happened so keep regular watch
over you potatoes!!! |
®
Hertzler
Farm
and Feed Inc.
Potatoes