{"id":903,"date":"2019-08-31T04:06:25","date_gmt":"2019-08-31T04:06:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/greenmanpublishing.com\/?p=903"},"modified":"2019-10-07T02:19:34","modified_gmt":"2019-10-07T02:19:34","slug":"potato","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/greenmanpublishing.com\/index.php\/2019\/08\/31\/potato\/","title":{"rendered":"Potato"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Solanum tuberosum<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Introduction<\/strong>: Potatoes originated in the mountains of Central and South\nAmerica and have been cultivated for over 6000 years. A huge number of\nvarieties are still grown\nin that region. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The potato wasn\u2019t initially a success when brought to Europe\naround 1580, probably because they were short day varieties and didn\u2019t start to\nproduce until late in the year (and because they were related to many poisonous\nplants). However better varieties were developed eventually and when people\nrealized its many benefits its use spread throughout Europe. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The potato was introduced into North America in 1621, but didn\u2019t\nbecome a significant food crop for almost a century until Irish settlers\narrived in 1719 (in some places it is still called Irish potato to this day). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Potatoes are the fourth biggest crop in the world overall and by\nfar the most important vegetable crop (over 320 million tonnes in 2010). This\nis mostly for local consumption as they are quite perishable and aren\u2019t traded\ninternationally like other major commodity crops. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In recent years there has been a huge increase in potato\nproduction in many third world countries. This isn\u2019t surprising as they may\nyield from 10,000 to 30,000 pounds per acre and provide more usable protein per\nacre than any other crop (up to forty times more than cows). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Apparently only about 20% of gardeners regularly grow potatoes,\nI\u2019m not really sure why this is, maybe people think they need a lot of space,\nare cheap to buy and don\u2019t taste much better than shop bought. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I grow quite a lot of potatoes and find that\nthey are actually one of the most space efficient crops you can grow,\nconsidering the amount of nutrition they provide. A 10 square foot planting can\nyield 20 pounds of tubers. Organic potatoes are never cheap where I live; they\ngenerally range from $1 to $2 per pound and at those prices growing potatoes\nbecomes a pretty good deal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Home grown potatoes also taste better than those you buy and are\none of the great treats of the summer garden. Also over 80% of conventional\npotatoes contain some pesticide\nreside, so it\u2019s good to eat organic ones. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Crop\nvalue<\/strong>: Potatoes are the single most useful\ngarden crop from a self-sufficiency standpoint, because of the combination of\ntheir exceptional nutritional value, their productivity, ease of growing and\nability to store well. They are unique as the only garden crop you could live\non (at least for a while). At one time Irish peasants really did live on a diet\nof potatoes and milk and their population increased rapidly (until the potato\nfamine).  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I enjoy growing potatoes and find them to be one of the most\nrewarding crops of all. They emerge quickly, don\u2019t need much attention and\nharvesting is so much fun that even my children used to help. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Potatoes are also a beneficial crop for the garden, as their\ngrowth and harvest loosens the soil, improves its tilth and suppresses weeds.\nThis feature makes them useful as pioneer plants for starting a garden, or for\nreclaiming rough land (see Unusual growing methods<\/strong>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you have a small garden I would say that\nthey are only cost effective if you have a fairly fertile soil and treat them\nwell. If you are getting less than a pound of potatoes per square foot, it may\nnot be worth it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are ambitious and intend to grow a lot\nof potatoes it is important that you have somewhere to store them all. They are\nfairly perishable and won\u2019t keep well if you don\u2019t give them the right\nconditions. The last thing you need is a ton of rotting potatoes (for some\nreason they smell particularly bad). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ease of growing<\/strong>: Potatoes are easy to grow if they have the\nright conditions. The only time I have had major problems was in Washington\nstate when they were afflicted with late blight, due to wet weather.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nutritional content<\/strong>: The potato is a substantial\nand nutritious food. Most people know it is a major source of carbohydrates,\nbut are less aware that it is an important source of protein too. It also\ncontains a lot of vitamin C, several B vitamins and the minerals copper, iron\nand potassium. These all make an important contribution to the diet because it\nis eaten in quantity (this isn\u2019t horseradish) Apparently blue \/ purple potatoes\nalso contain valuable anthocyanin phytonutrients.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Potatoes are a major energy food, with\nabout 350 calories per pound.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Climate: <\/strong>Potatoes are native to tropical mountains and prefer mild\ntemperatures, ideally in the range of 60 – 70\u00b0F. They grow best in fairly dry\nclimates and can be affected by a variety of diseases when growing in wet\nconditions. In mild winter areas,\nwith few frosts, they are sometimes grown in late\nfall or early spring. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Potato plants don\u2019t like frost or cold weather and don\u2019t do well\nif it is too hot. Soil temperatures above 70\u00b0F inhibit tuber formation and this\nstops altogether if it gets much above 80\u00b0F). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Having said all that, potatoes are actually quite adaptable and\ncan do well in a surprising range of situations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
About Potatoes<\/strong>  <\/strong>
Planning facts<\/strong>
Perennial
Hardiness: Half hardy
Soil temp for planting: 45 (55 – 65) 70\u00b0F
Growing temp: 60 – 70\u00b0F day
                           45 – 50\u00b0F night
Plants per person: 15 – 20
Plants per sq ft: 1
Plant: 2 – 4 wks before last frost date
Days to harvest: 90 – 140 days  

Harvest facts<\/strong>
Yield per plant: 1 – 2 lb
per sq ft: 1 – 2 lb    
          per 10 ft row: 6 – 17 lb   <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\n\n\n\n

Soil<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

pH<\/strong> 4.8 (5.5 ideal) 6.5<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Potatoes will grow and produce well in most soil types, even those\nthat are too acidic for most crops. For best results they prefer light, deep,\nwell-drained sandy soils. They like a more acid soil than most vegetables, as\nit increases yield and decreases the incidence of scab (a disease that mostly\noccurs when the pH is above 6.0.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Potatoes don\u2019t like heavy clay or rocky soil because the tubers\ncan\u2019t easily expand as they grow, Nor do they like wet soil, which can cause\nall kinds of problems with disease and rotting. You can solve both of these\nproblems fairly easily by creating raised beds of loose, well-drained soil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Soil\npreparation<\/strong>:\nPotatoes aren\u2019t a fussy crop, but they respond well to soil improvement. They\nlike loose soil, so if yours is heavy or compacted, deep cultivation such as\ndouble digging is beneficial. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deep digging also enables you to add the all important organic\nmatter in the form of 3\u02dd of compost, leaf mold or aged manure (some people\navoid manure saying it encourages scab, but I haven\u2019t found any problem with\ncomposted manure). All types of soil will be improved by the addition of\norganic matter. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If organic matter is in short supply then simply put some in the\nplanting trench or in each planting hole. A fertilizer mix is also a good idea\n(or alfalfa or seaweed meal).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Never lime the soil when planting potatoes. If the soil is too\nalkaline then add sulphur, pine needles or another acidifying agent to lower\nthe pH. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Potatoes are so adaptable and tolerant that they are often used as\nthe first crop when establishing a new garden.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If your soil is really bad (or you don\u2019t have any at all) you can\ngrow potatoes in raised beds, pots or grow bags.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fertilization<\/strong>: Potatoes are fast growing plants and respond well to high\nfertility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An old practice is to provide nutrients to\npotatoes in the form of fresh plant material. Wilted comfrey leaves or seaweed\nwere laid in the trench along with the tubers (up to a pound per tuber), to\nfeed the plants as they decompose. You can also plant the tubers directly into\na newly incorporated green manure or cover crop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nitrogen<\/strong>: Potatoes aren\u2019t big nitrogen users and too much can result in\nabundant top growth, but fewer (and inferior) tubers. A potato rotation is\noften scheduled to follow a heavy nitrogen user like corn. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Potatoes do need some nitrogen however, especially in the first\nfew weeks, when they are putting on a lot of leaf growth. They use 75% of all\nthe nitrogen they need in the first 4 weeks of growth. Too little nitrogen may\nresult in the premature production of small tubers, so use your judgment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Potatoes aren\u2019t very good at getting\nnitrogen, so it should be in an easily available form (compost, seed meal,\ncomfrey). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Phosphorus<\/strong>: Potatoes should have a good supply of phosphorus, though they\naren\u2019t heavy users. Use colloidal\nphosphate and compost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Potassium<\/strong>: This is the most important primary nutrient for potatoes,\nincreasing yield, improving quality and hastening maturation. Potatoes need a\nsteady supply of potassium throughout their lives, but especially when their\ntubers are forming. Adding 5 pounds of wood ashes per 100 square feet of bed\ncan increase yields by as much as 30%. If using wood ashes would raise the pH\ntoo much, you could use greensand, though this isn\u2019t as easily assimilated. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Calcium<\/strong>: Potatoes also like calcium, though most sources run the risk of\nraising the ph, which isn\u2019t good. Gypsum doesn\u2019t do this though and can be\napplied at 5 lb\/100 sq ft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Planning<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Potatoes are usually propagated\nvegetatively from tubers, or pieces of tubers. These are known as seed\npotatoes, though they aren\u2019t actually seeds at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Crop rotation<\/strong>: Potatoes are susceptible to the host of diseases that affect\nmembers of the Solanum<\/em> family. Don\u2019t plant them where tomato, pepper or\neggplant have been grown within the last 3 years. If scab is a problem avoid planting after beets too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Where<\/strong>: Potatoes need full sun if they are going to\nbe really productive, so make sure they have a prime garden spot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you plan to grow potatoes as a staple food\nyou will have to devote a significant portion of your growing space to them. At\nthe same time you also have to rotate them for at least 3 years, so they\nusually form a separate rotation group of their own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When<\/strong>: Potatoes grow best in mild temperatures (below 70\u00b0F) and don\u2019t\ntolerate heat well (especially when forming tubers). The soil temperature\nshould ideally be between 55 – 70\u00b0F. In areas with hot summers they are usually\ngrown as a spring or fall crop. In mild climates they can be grown all summer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The chitted tubers can go in the ground as\nearly as 6 weeks before the last frost (though 2 – 4 weeks is more common). The\nyoung plants will tolerate a light frost, especially if covered with straw.\nEven if they are damaged they should recover quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Potatoes are tropical plants and evolved to grow with short day\nlength, so they grow best in spring and fall. Long summer days may actually\ndelay tuber formation somewhat. In warmer areas you may be able to plant them\nas early as February (if you can find seed potatoes to plant).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Succession sowing<\/strong>: You may want to grow several crops in succession to maintain a\nconstant supply of new potatoes. You can also plant early, maincrop and late\nvarieties at the same time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Early crop<\/strong>: The minimum soil temperature for planting potatoes is 45\u00b0F,\nthough 50 – 55\u00b0F is better. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first crops can be started as early as 6 weeks before the last\nfrost date, though you must take care to protect them from any frost. This is\npretty easy when they are barely poking out of the ground; just cover them with\nsoil, mulch, row covers, cloches, tarps or old blankets (some varieties can\neven take mild frost).  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Main crop<\/strong>: This is usually planted around the last frost date (2 weeks\nbefore to 2 weeks after). Don\u2019t leave it too long as long days can slow down maturation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Late crop<\/strong>: In many areas you can get two crops of potatoes a year. Time the\nsecond crop to mature around the time of the first fall frost (the shorter days\nactually hasten tuber formation).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It can be a problem to find seed potatoes for this second\nplanting, as they generally disappear from stores after the spring planting\nseason. You might have to buy them in spring and store until required. You can\nalso store some of your spring harvest in the fridge (temperatures below 50\u00b0F\nwill help to overcome their dormancy period). Chitting them isn\u2019t really\nnecessary when planting into warm soil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Where I live finding seed potatoes isn\u2019t that\neasy even in spring, unless you want to buy a pound of them in a little mesh\nbag for $5.00 (which has a significant impact on the economics of growing\nthem.) Apparently a lot of stores are reluctant to carry them in bulk because\nthey are so perishable. It is good to buy yours early, when you first see them\nfor sale. They may as well sit in your house as in the store.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before planting<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Certified\ndisease free tubers<\/strong>: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can grow perfectly good potatoes using old potatoes from the\nmarket (supposedly they are often sprayed to prevent them sprouting, but they\ndo sprout eventually). The problem is that these may be infected with virus\ndiseases, which will then become established in your garden. Once a virus is\nestablished in your garden it is there to stay and can infect every subsequent\ncrop (and maybe even tomatoes, peppers and eggplants as well). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because of the potential for disease problems most authorities\nrecommend planting only certified disease free tubers. Its hard to get optimal\nyields from poor quality seed potatoes, no matter how good your soil and\ncultural practices. I used to think this was just a way to get you to buy much\nmore expensive seed potatoes, but since I have had a problem from replanting\ninfected tubers I know better. It can waste a lot more in time and effort than\nyou save in money. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Selecting seed potatoes<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A tuber is not a root. It is a swollen stem\nadapted to be a food storage organ and has a small scar on one end where it was\nattached to the plant by the stolon. The other end of the tuber (the rose end)\nhas a cluster of dormant buds known as eyes, which have the ability to grow\ninto new plants. There are also eyes in other parts of the tuber and you can\ncut one tuber into several pieces. You just have to make sure that each piece\nhas an eye that can grow (even a potato peeling can grow if it has an eye).\nHowever the rose end contains the most vigorous shoots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is much debate over the ideal size of a seed potato (this is\nthe kind of thing that makes gardening so exciting), but it is smaller than\nmany people think. Most books recommend 2 – 4\u02dd (3 – 4 oz) tubers, saying\nsmaller ones produce smaller plants and hence smaller tubers and lower yields.\nThey say that larger tubers produce bigger plants and hence larger tubers.\nHowever it is now thought that whole tubers of 1 – 3 oz are ideal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Agricultural researchers in England obtained their highest yields\nby planting very small (\u2153 oz) tubers very close together (only 9\u02dd apart). They\nfound that larger tubers (spaced further apart) sent up several shoots that\nessentially became separate plants and eventually competed with each other.\nUsing smaller tubers can also reduce seed potato costs significantly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course many gardeners get the same results by cutting larger\ntubers into several pieces, each with 2 or 3 eyes. However cut pieces are more\nprone to rot unless they are left for a few days, so their cut surfaces can dry\nout and toughen. They can also be dusted with sulphur powder and left for 24\nhours in indirect light. These measures usually work out okay, but take time.\nIt would be simpler to just use smaller tubers (called single drops by farmers) in\nthe first place. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you do cut the tubers it is best done after chitting, as it\nresults in some moisture loss (and of course you can cut the tubers according\nto the sprouts they have made). Some experts frown on cutting seed potatoes for\nearly crops which will grow in cool soil because of the greater potential for\ninfection and rotting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you buy seed potatoes they shouldn\u2019t have started to sprout\nvery much, as the brittle and delicate shoots are easily damaged once they\nstart to elongate. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you get your seed potatoes home, put them in a cool, humid\nplace until you are ready to chit or plant them. To prevent premature sprouting\nstore seed potatoes at 40 – 50\u00b0F. If they already have sprouts take care not to\nbreak them off (the first sprouts to appear are the strongest and best).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sets<\/strong>: If you buy seed potatoes by mail order they may very well be in\nthe form of sets. These consist of a single eye from a tuber with a small plug\nof potato attached. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sets are not a very satisfactory way to grow potatoes. Even if you\nare fortunate enough to get sets in good shape, they won\u2019t perform as well as\nwhole tubers with their large reservoir of food to draw from. They may also be\ncoated with fungicide for interstate\nshipment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chitting<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is to your advantage to plant tubers that already have healthy\nshoots, because it gets them off to a faster start and so reduces the chance of\nrot. This is most important for early planting, as the tubers may sprout slowly\nin cool spring soil. Later plantings don\u2019t need chitting as they will sprout rapidly in the warm soil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

About 2 – 3 weeks before you wish to plant the tubers, you should\nstart chitting (sprouting) them. Do this by setting them out, rose end up, in\nindirect light (not direct sunlight, but still fairly bright- never dark) at a\ntemperature of 55 – 65\u00b0F (warmer temperatures may cause them to shrivel). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The aim is to get 2 – 4 sprouts each 1 – 2\u02dd long on each tuber. If\nyou can\u2019t plant them out as soon as they get to this stage, you should then\nreturn them to cooler conditions. If they sprout very slowly you can speed this\nup by giving them warmer conditions for a while. Don\u2019t worry if the tubers turn\ngreen, the solanine produced may help to prevent them rotting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You should rub off any excess sprouts (above the 2 – 4 required),\nas soon as they start to sprout, so the tuber doesn\u2019t put too much energy into\nthem. Leaving too many sprouts can mean smaller potatoes. Of course if you are\ngoing to cut a tuber into pieces you need some sprouts on each piece, so don\u2019t rub them off until after you cut\nthem up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some gardeners allow the shoots to grow to 6 – 8\u02dd in length,\nclaiming this increases yields by up to a third and reduces the time to\nharvest. However the long sprouts are easily damaged and must be handled very\ncarefully.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is actually possible to remove the sprouts from the tuber and\nplant them separately (or leave one or two on the tuber and plant the others\nseparately). This might be worth trying if you only have a couple of unusual\ntubers. It is also possible to eat part of the tuber and plant the peel, so\nlong as it has some eyes on it. Of course these techniques you give you lower\nyields and they will take longer to mature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Planting<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Planting depth<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

New tubers only form above the old one, so\nthe deeper the tuber is set into the ground, the higher the potential yield.\nThis is one reason potatoes were traditionally hilled up. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The actual planting depth varies according to soil and season. In\nEngland (where spring weather is cool) they tend to plant their potatoes quite\nshallowly (2 – 3\u02dd) and hill them up later. They do this because the tubers can\neasily rot if planted too\ndeep in cool soil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In warm soil you can plant the tubers much deeper. They might be\n4\u02dd deep in a heavy soil and up to 8\u02dd deep in a light soil. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rows or\nbeds<\/strong>: If your soil consists of very fertile and\nloose raised beds and you don\u2019t plan on earthing them up, you can grow potatoes\non equidistant spacing. If you plan on hilling them up you should grow them in\nrows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spacing<\/strong>: Potatoes are grown at a wide variety of spacings, depending upon\nthe soil, water availability, and other factors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spacing is the biggest factor in determining\nthe final tuber size. The closer the spacing, the more competition and the\nsmaller the tubers (however you get more of them). Researchers have found the\noptimal spacing for highest yield per square foot (of fairly small tubers) is\ntwo plants per square foot, which averages out to be about 9\u02dd apart. This could\nbe worth trying, unless you really want large tubers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Closer spacings are used for early potatoes, or when you have\nideal growing conditions, don\u2019t mind smaller tubers, or when space is limited.\nThey don\u2019t work if the soil isn\u2019t very fertile, as potatoes don\u2019t like having\nto compete with each other. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wider spacings are used for maincrop potatoes, when the soil isn\u2019t\nvery fertile, when water is limited, when you want large tubers, or if you have\nlots of room and don\u2019t need high yields per square foot. You might be able to\ngrow a fast growing intercrop (such as spinach or mustard) in between the\nwidely spaced plants to help increase productivity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bed spacing<\/strong>: The traditional spacing ranges from 9\u02dd – 12\u02dd – 15\u02dd depending\nupon variety, tuber size\nand soil fertility. You may want to start with 12\u02dd and see how that works.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Row spacing<\/strong>: Traditionally they are planted 8\u02dd \u2013 12\u02dd \u2013 15\u02dd in the rows, with\n18\u02dd – 24\u02dd \u2013 36\u02dd between the rows. Start with 12 x 24\u02dd and see how that works.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dry\ngardening<\/strong>: If you want to grow potatoes without\nirrigation you might try 18\u02dd between plants and 48 – 60\u02dd between rows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Planting methods<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rows\/ trenches<\/strong>: The traditional way to plant potatoes is in trenches and this is\nprobably still the best way if you want to grow them in bulk as a staple food.\nOne advantage of planting in rows is that it is easy to hill them up later. A\npotential disadvantage in wet weather is the soil in the trench may stay wet for longer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Begin by digging a trench one spade deep and one spade wide (put\nthe soil you remove evenly on both sides for later earthing up). Put all of the\namendments that potatoes love (compost, wilted comfrey leaves, seaweed, wood\nashes, alfalfa pellets, greensand, fertilizer mix) into the bottom of the\ntrench. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The tubers are then placed in the trench at the desired spacing\nand about 4\u02dd of soil is pulled back into the trench to cover them. When the\nplants reach 6\u02dd in height you can fill the trench up with soil. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beds<\/strong>: If you don\u2019t want to use trenches you can simply dig holes in\nthe wide beds, at the desired spacing (use a bulb planter to speed this up).\nYou then simply place your tubers in the holes and cover with 3 – 4\u02dd of a mix\nof compost and soil. If the soil is cold don\u2019t water the bed until the plants\nhave emerged, to reduce potential rotting problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Growth pattern<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The growth of a potato plant can be divided into four distinct\nstages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vegetative stage<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the first 30 – 70 days a potato plant produces main shoots and\nlots of foliage. The larger the plant at the end of this stage, the larger the\neventual yield can be. Watch out for pests such as Colorado potato beetle\nduring this stage. Vegetative growth goes along best during the long days of early summer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tuber formation<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

After 70 – 90 days of vegetative growth the\nmain shoots stop growing and side branching occurs. At this time tubers start\nto form on stolons coming from the feeder roots. A soil temperature of 60 –\n70\u00b0F is said to be optimal for tuber formation and it slows down as the\ntemperature goes above this, until it stops altogether at above 80\u00b0F (hilling\ncan help to keep the soil cooler). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tuber formation usually coincides with the onset of flowering and\nis a good indicator that tuber formation has begun. It is not physiologically\nrelated however and in some situations flowers may not appear at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tuber enlargement<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the plants come into full bloom the tubers enlarge rapidly and\nthe plant has its greatest need for potassium. This is also the most critical\ntime for water and for maximum growth they need a steady supply. You can start\ndigging new potatoes at this stage and mine often get no further than this.\nFungus diseases sometimes attack plants at this time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maturation<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the plants reach maturity the tops wither and die back and\nthe skins on the tubers thicken (this is important for storage). When 75% of\nthe foliage is dead, water them for the last time, wait 10 – 14 days and they are ready to dig. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Care<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hilling<\/strong>: If you planted the tubers at a shallow depth you should hill\nthem (also known as earthing up) as this can greatly improve the crop. It\nincreases the depth of soil for tuber formation and ensures they aren\u2019t exposed\nto the sun (which would turn them green). It is also a good way to eliminate\nweeds and can help to keep the soil cool in hot weather. It also prevents the\nplants sprawling and gives the tubers nice loose soil to grow in. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hill up the plants when they are 6 – 8\u02dd tall,\nby burying the bottom half of the plant. You should repeat this 2 – 3 weeks\nlater and perhaps a third time several weeks after that (adding a couple of\ninches more soil each time, until the hill is 6\u02dd tall). Don\u2019t over-do the\nhilling though or you can reduce their ability to produce food by burying food producing\nfoliage. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hilling up is easy if you planted in widely spaced rows, but not\npossible if you planted in beds (use mulch instead). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mulch<\/strong>: Potatoes are commonly mulched with compost, shredded leaves, hay\nor seaweed (potatoes have a special affinity for seaweed). This conserves\nmoisture and helps to keep the soil cool, which is important in warmer areas. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course you can\u2019t use mulch if you plan on hilling up the\nplants, but a thick mulch can actually be used instead of hilling (see Unusual growing methods<\/strong>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is best to avoid mulch if you have problems with slugs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Weeding<\/strong>: Potatoes are vigorous plants and can compete against weeds pretty\nwell. However you should weed while the plants are small. Do this carefully so\nyou don\u2019t damage the\nshallow roots. When you earth up the plants you will eliminate all of the weeds\nin the bed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Feeding<\/strong>: The young plants need nitrogen for fast uninterrupted growth.\nGive them a foliar feed of compost tea, comfrey tea or liquid kelp, 3 – 4 weeks\nafter the shoots emerge from the soil and are 4 – 6\u02dd tall (or side dress with\nfertilizer mix). This could also help to remedy any minor nutrient deficiency. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For maximum yields (or in poor soil) they should receive a foliar\nfeed every 2 weeks until they start\nto flower. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Water<\/strong>: It is important to keep the soil evenly moist (but not wet) for\nbest growth, as lack of water results in poor yields of small tubers. It is also\nimportant to water uniformly, making sure it penetrates through the dense\nfoliage and down to the full root depth of 18\u02dd (or at least the top 12\u02dd where\nthe greatest proportion of roots are found). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Potatoes should get at least an inch of water per week, though the\nexact quantity will depend upon the weather. Continue watering regularly until\nthe tubers are almost ready for harvest and then stop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If water is in short supply, just give them 4 gallons per square\nyard at the crucial time when the tubers start to form (when the flowers\nappear). In humid climates many gardeners stop watering when tuber formation\nstarts, so they don\u2019t grow too fast. Excess water may cause hollow heart, where\nthe interior grows so rapidly it cracks (this is most often seen in the bigger\npotatoes). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Try not to get the foliage wet when watering as potatoes are very\nvulnerable to fungus diseases. Drip irrigation is best for this reason.\nOtherwise water in the morning or early evening, so foliage can dry out quickly\n(you don\u2019t want it to stay wet all night).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Problems<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pests<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The potato has more than its fair share of\ninsect pests (aphids,\nblister beetles, nematodes, leafhoppers, tuberworms, wireworms, flea beetles\nand more). Fortunately these\naren\u2019t found everywhere; in some favored areas potatoes have few problems and\nare very easy to grow. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The severity of potato pests also varies from year to year, with\ndifferent growing conditions. In some years they do little harm, in other years\nthey can be devastating. Warm humid conditions are the worst for potatoes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The best thing you can do for your plants is keep them well fed,\nso they can (hopefully) deal with pests and diseases as they arise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Colorado potato beetle<\/strong>: Both adults\nand larvae feed on potato leaves and they can be a big problem if they get out\nof hand. On a small\nscale you can simply hand pick off any beetles you find and scrape off the tiny\norange egg masses from under the leaves (and any newly hatched larvae). The\nlarvae are eaten by many predators, though the adults are fairly poisonous. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Diseases<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The potatoes is prone to more\nthan its fair share of diseases, a few of which are listed below. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Viruses<\/strong>: Virus\ninfection may show itself as pale, distorted or mottled leaves and stunted\nplants, but often there are no obvious symptoms except reduced yield (this can\nprogressively decrease each time they are planted). You may avoid these by\nusing certified seed and not saving your own tubers for planting.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Removing\nviruses<\/strong>: It is possible to\nget a virus-free plant from an infected tuber. You plant the tuber in a\ncontainer of sterile potting mix and keep it in a warm place to grow. When the\nshoot reaches 6 – 8\u02dd high you cut it off 2 – 3\u02dd above the soil line (it should\nnever touch the soil or the rest of the tuber). The shoot can then be rooted in\nanother container of sterile potting mix. It will then hopefully be virus-free,\njust hope that your garden is also, when you plant it out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Verticillium wilt<\/strong>: This fungus\nshows itself by the tops dying off prematurely (it\u2019s also known as early dying\nfungus). You may still get a small crop of potatoes from affected plants, but\nthey won\u2019t store well. This disease may last for 7 years in the soil and to\neliminate it you can\u2019t plant potatoes in the same spot for at least 4 years.\nOther members of the Solanum family are also affected, so they can\u2019t be grown\neither (except for a few resistant varieties).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scab<\/strong> (Streptomyces scabies<\/em>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This very common disease is caused by a fungus in the soil. It is\nundetectable above ground and the damage is mainly cosmetic, so it is not very\nserious unless you are growing for market (it reduces their marketability). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alkaline soil (above 6.0 pH) and lack of moisture are the main\ncauses of scab. It persists in the ground for several years and can also infect\nother root crops such as carrot, beet and turnip. The best ways to prevent scab\nis to rotate annually and to keep the pH of the soil somewhat acid (below 5.6\npH), so don\u2019t lime it. Abundant water may reduce damage from scab. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If your garden has conditions that encourage scab, you may want to\nuse a resistant cultivar. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Late blight <\/strong>(Phytopthora infestans<\/em>): This is the disease that caused\nthe famine that depopulated Ireland, by killing one and a half million people\nand causing another million to emigrate. It is called late blight because it\nlikes warmer weather and usually occurs after tomatoes (which are also\nsusceptible) have flowered. It doesn\u2019t much bother early crops, so planting\nearly is a good\npreventative. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This fungus first manifests itself as spots\non the lower leaves in cool, wet weather, but then the leaves die and brown\npatches appear on the tubers. The only thing you can do is dig the tubers 2\nweeks after the tops die down and use them. This disease affects yield, but\ndoesn\u2019t affect storability (of course you wouldn\u2019t use infected potatoes for\nseed. Many modern varieties have some resistance to late blight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Early\nBlight <\/strong>(Alternaria\nsolanii<\/em>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This fungus disease occurs earlier in the\nseason and isn\u2019t as big a problem as late blight. It appears as irregular\nshaped dark brown concentric spots on the shaded lower leaves. These slowly\nenlarge and merge until badly infected leaves eventually die (those at the\nbottom of the plant first and then progressing upward). If you recognize it\nearly enough you may be able to treat with Bordeaux mixture. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can minimize its effects by keeping plants well fed and watered, by removing crop debris, keeping leaves dry, preventing soil from splashing\nonto leaves and removing infected\nplants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Blackleg<\/strong> (Pectobacterium\ncarotovorum<\/em>): This bacterial disease\nmost often occurs in cool\/warm wet weather when the plants are growing well (or\neven flowering). It shows itself as black slimy decay around the base of the\nstem (hence Blackleg). Leaves turn yellow and then brown and eventually die.\nThe tuber rots from the stem end and becomes a slimy, smelly mass. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though infection most often results from infected seed potatoes,\nthe bacteria may also enter the plant through wounds in the tuber (such as from\nscab or insect damage). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To avoid this disease use certified disease-free seed potatoes. Use whole tubers (rather than cutting them up) and rotate them annually. Also remove any volunteers from the ground.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bacterial ring rot <\/strong>(Clavibacter michiganense <\/em>ssp sepedonicus<\/em>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first symptom of this bacterial disease is yellowing and\nbrowning of leaves and wilting of some stems (though usually not all). In mild\ncases there may not be any obvious symptoms until you cut a tuber in half and\nsee the characteristic ring of discoloration (in mild cases) or rot (in severe\ncases). Though it doesn\u2019t kill the plants it is significant because it makes\nthe tubers unsalable (and in severe cases unusable). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This disease can only live in living plants (it can\u2019t survive in\nthe soil) and infection is usually the result of planting diseased tubers (it\ncan be spread to healthy tubers by the process of cutting them into smaller\npieces with an infected knife). If you save your own seed potatoes it is\nimportant that you don\u2019t plant any that contain this disease (the best\nsafeguard is to plant only certified seed potatoes). You should also remove any\nvolunteers from the garden, as well as any plants that show signs of wilting,\nbefore they can spread infection to other plants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Harvesting<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When<\/strong>: You can start harvesting new potatoes 70 – 90 days after\nplanting (after the plants have been flowering for a while). Just root around\nbeneath the living plants until you find some sizeable tubers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

New potatoes taste great, but taking them reduces the final yield,\nso only take a couple from each plant (if you really like them, then grow some\nplants specially for this). The skins of new potatoes are very thin and they\nare high in sugar, so they don\u2019t store well. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The main potato harvest begins when the\nleaves start to lose their green color and die back (late in the season they\nmay be killed by frost before this happens). If you want to store the tubers\nyou should leave them in the ground for 2 weeks after the tops turn yellow and\ndie down. This allows the skins to toughen up. If the skin rubs off easily with\na finger they are not ready to store. Once the tubers are mature you should dig\nthem, otherwise they may eventually start to sprout again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is a lot easier and less messy to harvest potatoes when the\nsoil is fairly dry. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How<\/strong>: Digging the tubers is a very rewarding activity. It feels like\ndigging for buried treasure (which it kind of is), but is a lot more fruitful.\nDig the tubers with a spade or spading fork, starting at least a foot away from\nthe plants to minimize accidental spearing. Tubers will always be found above\nthe seed potato (which is usually still recognizable), but may be some distance\nto one side. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some people like to dig a hole alongside the first plant and then\npull the plant over into it. The second plant then goes into the hole left by\nthe first one (this method ensures thorough soil cultivation).  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Always handle the tubers gently to minimize damage. Even the\nslightest skin abrasion can cause a tuber to rot in storage and this can spread\nto nearby tubers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you have finished digging, let them dry out and sort the\ntubers into three piles: badly damaged (speared or chopped) ones for immediate\neating, grazed ones for use in the near future and perfect ones for storage.\nYou will also sort out any partially green potatoes that have been exposed to\nlight and are inedible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Green tubers<\/strong>: Any tubers that are not fully covered with soil or mulch will\nturn green from exposure to light. These are mildly toxic and the common advice\nis that they shouldn\u2019t be eaten (though you can often cut off the green parts).\nHowever recent studies show that most of this is concentrated in the skin,\nrather than the flesh. This suggests that they could be peeled and eaten in an\nemergency \u2013 though a better idea might be to save them for planting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Storage<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Careful storage is very important with potatoes. If they are not given\nideal conditions they will soon become inedible, due to rotting, turning green\nor sprouting. Even under the best conditions they will gradually deteriorate\nover time (your job is to maximize this period). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unlike most other root vegetables potatoes can\u2019t be left in the\nground until needed (a few weeks is okay). If the soil is fairly warm and moist\nthey will sprout as soon as their dormancy period of 2 – 3 months is over. If\nit is cold and wet they may rot, or develop diseases such as scab. If the soil\nfreezes they will probably rot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Temperature is the most critical storage\nfactor. If conditions are too warm (above 50\u00b0F) they will sprout as soon as\ntheir natural dormancy period is over in 2 or 3 months (of course this won\u2019t\nmatter if you only have a 2 months supply of tubers to store). If it is too cold\n(below 40\u00b0F) their starch may turn to sugar and give them an off flavor\n(apparently you can convert this back into starch by storing them above 65\u00b0F for a couple of\nweeks). The fridge isn\u2019t a good place for potatoes as it is\ntoo cold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prepare the tubers by air-drying in a dark place for several days\n(don\u2019t wash) and then store them at 60\u00b0F for two weeks to cure. They should\nthen be stored at 40 – 50\u00b0F with high humidity (90%). Keep them in wooden\nboxes, or sacks, with good air circulation (never in plastic bags) and check\nperiodically for rot. Keep them in the dark of course, or they will turn green.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Properly stored potatoes can last for at least 5 – 6 months,\nthough you should keep checking them for signs of rot or deterioration.\nPotatoes that are sprouting can still be eaten, just rub off the sprouts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other storage options for potatoes are somewhat limited, as they\ncan\u2019t easily be\nfrozen, dried or canned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Clamp<\/strong>: Large quantities of potatoes can be stored over the winter in a\nclamp. This works best in light, well-drained soil and should be in a sheltered position. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Start by digging out the soil in the area of the clamp to a depth\nof 10\u02dd and then lay down a 3 – 6\u02dd layer of straw or dry leaves (you might first\nlay down a layer of gopher wire to foil rodents). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A piece of perforated pipe is arranged in the center and the roots\nare placed around it to form a cone or prism shaped pile (a vent can also be\nconstructed from straw). The pile is then covered with a 6\u02dd (more in very cold\nclimates) layer of straw, or leaves. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally the straw is covered with a 6\u02dd layer of soil, which is\npacked down with a spade. Some of this soil comes from the original excavation;\nthe rest is obtained by digging a drainage trench around the clamp. Keep the\nvent open on top of the clamp, unless it gets very cold, in which case it\nshould be closed up with straw.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Saving\nseed (potatoes)<\/strong>: When\nwe talk about seed saving with potatoes we are usually talking about seed\npotatoes, rather than actual seed. Saving your own seed potatoes can save you a\nbit of money if you grow a lot, as well as the trouble of having to find them\nto plant. It also helps you to another level of food self-sufficiency, as you\ndon\u2019t have to depend upon anyone else. It is also appealing if you want to grow\nunusual varieties that are hard to find. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unfortunately there is a problem with saving your own tubers and\nit is frowned upon for the same reason as using supermarket tubers: it can lead\nto problems with disease. Plant an infected tuber and every tuber the plants\nproduces will be infected at least as badly and perhaps worse. The disease may\nalso spread to healthy plants via insects or infected tools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The advisability of saving your own seed\npotatoes largely depends upon where you live and how much disease you have\nencountered. It worked well when I lived up in Washington, but down here in\nwarmer California I have encountered serious problems with disease, notably\nbacterial ring rot. After one totally unproductive attempt I went back to\nbuying certified seed potatoes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you want to save your own seed potatoes, just choose the best\ntubers, check them for disease symptoms and store them very carefully instead\nof eating them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Saving\ntrue potato seed<\/strong>: You may want to experiment\nwith saving true potato seed as well (see below for more on these). The fruits\nare produced readily in many cases, so all you have to do it allow them to\nripen (this takes about 2 months from flowering). Squeeze out the seeds into a\nbowl and wash them. The good\nseeds sink and bad ones float.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you grow seed from a vegetatively propagated variety they won\u2019t\ncome true to type, but will produce entirely new varieties. If you like any of\nthese you can propagate them\nvegetatively and name the new variety after yourself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are some true potato seed\nvarieties out there that come true to type, but they are not easy to find.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Companion plants<\/strong>: Some gardeners interplant marigolds or beans with potatoes as a\nway to repel Colorado beetles. Researchers have found that the presence of\nthese plants in a stand of potatoes does seem to confuse the insects (and most\nimportantly there are fewer beetles to be found). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course any time you plant anything among the potatoes, it is\ngoing to be disturbed and uprooted while harvesting. This means that any edible\ninterplanted crop must be harvested before the potatoes are ready. It will also\ntake up space, water and nutrients that the potatoes could have used.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unusual growing ideas<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

True potato seed: <\/strong>When I first started gardening many years ago\nthere was much fanfare around the introduction of true potato seed (the first\nvariety was named Explorer I believe), as the wave of the future. As a young\nand inexperienced gardener at the time, I thought it was a silly idea that wouldn\u2019t catch\non. I reasoned that one of the\nadvantages of growing potatoes is that you don\u2019t have to start with tiny seeds. I was\nright that it didn\u2019t catch on, but wrong in thinking it was a silly idea. Growing from true potato seed actually has\nsome significant advantages. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n Advantages of true potato seed<\/strong>\n  \n The seed will be much less likely to be carrying any kind of\n disease \n  \n You can start the seed at any time you need potatoes (often seed\n potatoes are only readily available in spring). \n  \n They are a lot cheaper. A packet of seed (that might produce 100\n plants) would only cost the same as a pound or two of seed potatoes.\n  \n True potato seed can also be stored for several years, whereas\n seed potatoes are very perishable. (They are an obvious choice for preppers\n and their survival gardens).\n  \n You can save your own seed quite easily. \n  \n <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\n\n\n\n

Potatoes are no harder to grow from seed than\nthe related tomato and are treated in pretty much the same way. Often you don\u2019t\nget a very big harvest the first year, but use these to grow larger crops in\nsubsequent years<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I think true potato seed will become important in the future, as\nit allows you to save them from year to year without having to worry about\ndisease.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

New potatoes<\/strong>: If you have lots of seed potatoes you could grow some plants\nspecifically to produce delicious new potatoes. These can be planted as close\nas 6\u02dd apart, as they will be harvested as soon the new potatoes form.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mulch\nplanting<\/strong>: Potatoes will grow quite happily in a layer of mulch instead of\nsoil. This also makes it easy to take a few new potatoes from the living\nplants; you simply pull the\nmulch aside. The only real problem with\ngrowing in mulch is getting the large quantity of mulch material needed.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can just put the seed potatoes on the\nground and lay a 3\u02dd layer of mulch (compost, straw, chopped leaves, aged\nmanure) on top of them. Add more mulch as the plants get taller, until it is 8\n– 12\u02dd deep. This is necessary to keep light from turning the tubers green and\nbecause tubers only form above the seed potato. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another method starts the previous fall, when you pile chopped tree leaves where you want the potato\npatch to be (do it as you clean them up). The following spring you plant\nsprouted tubers 6\u02dd deep in the leaves. Hill up the plants with more mulch as\nthe pile settles and\nthe plants grow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can also combine mulching with\ntrench planting. Lay the tubers at the bottom of\na 12\u02dd deep trench and cover with 3\u02dd of chopped leaves. As the plants grow keep\nfilling up the trench with more\nleaves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Land\nclearing<\/strong>: Potatoes are the\nbest vegetable crop for starting a new garden on uncultivated ground. Simply dig trenches and plant as\ndescribed above. The amending, digging, hilling and harvesting will loosen and\nimprove the soil and make it more suitable for other crops.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can also use mulch to start a new garden on grass or weed\ninfested land. Simply put the tubers on the ground and cover with a thick 3\u02dd\nlayer of mulch. As the plants grow you add more mulch. The combination of a\nthick mulch, deep shade and the considerable soil disturbance will eliminate existing plants and leave\nyou with a nice clear bed of loose soil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Container\ngrowing<\/strong>: Potatoes are well\nsuited to growing in containers and if you do it right they can be surprisingly\nproductive. This is the way to go if you only have a small space (or just a\npatio or balcony)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Container growing isn\u2019t just a novelty, or\nfor patio gardeners. It can also give you a useful way to multiply one special\ntuber. It could also be used to grow your own seed potatoes, as it gives you a\nmuch greater control over the spread of disease. It\nis also a good way to get very early or very late potatoes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yellow Finn and Red Pontiac both work well for this. Early\nvarieties don\u2019t work so well, as you want types that continue to produce more\ntubers, rather than setting them all at once. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How<\/strong>: You can grow a single potato to be enormously productive in the\nfollowing way. Obtain a large garbage can, put drainage holes in the bottom and\nfill it with a foot of good soil mix (try equal parts compost, good garden soil\nand sand).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plant one large seed potato in the soil. As the plant grows,\nslowly fill the can with more fine compost, always covering only a third of the\nplant. With a little luck the end result will be one very large plant, completely\nfilling the whole can with tubers. When the plant dies back, empty out the can and collect the tubers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The most important thing when growing in containers is to water\ncarefully, too much, or too little, water will cause problems. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A refinement of this is to use tires (or slatted wooden bins).\nStart with one tire filled with soil and as the plant grows add more tires and\nsoil. The advantage of this method is that the plant gets maximum light at all\ntimes and is never growing in the\nbottom of a can. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another variation on this is to use a bottomless wooden box, or\neven a wire cage 18 x 18\u02dd in size (these can even be stood on driveways). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can also use a standard 15 gallon plastic plant pot or a large\nfiber pot. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grow bags<\/strong>: Many\nEuropean urban gardeners have discovered the joys of growing potatoes in\nplastic bags. They often buy bags of prepared mix, but its easy to make your\nown. This is very similar to container growing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Start with a large tough garbage bag, put some holes in the bottom for drainage and half fill it with a\nmix of equal parts sandy soil and compost. They need to get good sun, so fold\ndown the edges of the bag. You then plant two chitted potatoes in the bag and\nadd water. As the plants grow you fill the bag with more of the soil \/ compost\nmix. Be careful to keep them well watered (not too little or too much).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dry\ngardening<\/strong>: In most areas a\nspring potato crop can be produced without irrigation, as there is usually a\nlot of moisture in the soil from the winter. You simply space the plants\nfurther apart than normal (18 – 24\u02dd). Your yields may be slightly smaller, but\nthe tubers will contain less water and so be more nutritious and better\nflavored. They may also store better as their skins tend to be tougher. This\ncan give you an easy, low cost way to grow an important food crop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You need to keep moisture robbing weeds\nunder control when doing this. A mulch is good if you have enough of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Autumn planting<\/strong>: In mild areas any tubers overlooked during the harvest will\nsurvive the winter underground and volunteer the following year. This shows\nthat it is possible to plant potatoes in autumn for a spring harvest. You might\nuse some of the small tubers harvested earlier in the year. Plant them\nin October or November for harvest in spring. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fall planting is something of a gamble depending upon the amount\nof frost and rain you get. It didn\u2019t work for me because the plants became\nhorribly infected with powdery scab (a disease I had never even seen before).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Varieties<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though only a half dozen varieties are widely\ncultivated commercially, there are an enormous number of potato cultivars, with\ndifferent shapes, sizes and colors (white, yellow, red, blue) and other\nattributes (waxy, starchy or all purpose). Some do better on heavy soils, some\nare more resistant to cold or disease, some contain more vitamin C, protein or\nantioxidants and some taste better. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Generally the heavy yielding commercial\nvarieties tend to contain more water, but farmers like them because they get\npaid just as much for water as for potato. Older, lower yielding types are\noften more nutritious.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Russets<\/strong>: These have characteristic brown russeted skin and are best for\nbaking because they are high in starch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Butte\n– <\/strong>Classic russet, very high in vitamin C <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Russet Nugget –<\/strong> Good flavor. Late,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yellow<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yukon\nGold <\/strong>– One of\nmost popular potatoes, yellow flesh. Early.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yellow\nFinn<\/strong> – One of\nbest flavored potatoes, yellow flesh. Mid<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Red<\/strong>: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

All\nRed <\/strong>– Red skin,\npink flesh. Mid<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Red\nCloud <\/strong>– White\nflesh, Heat tolerant. Mid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Red\nNorland <\/strong>– White\nflesh, early.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sangre\n<\/strong>– One of best tasting\nred potatoes. Mid<\/p>\n\n\n\n

White<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kennebec\n<\/strong>– High yielding,\ntolerant of adverse conditions. Mid<\/p>\n\n\n\n

White\nRose –<\/strong> High\nyielding, does well with irrigation. Early<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Caribe – Red\/purple skin, white\nflesh. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Purple Viking – This has purple skin and white flesh. Mid<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Blue<\/strong>: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I once grew some amazingly productive blue potatoes, but I never\ndid find out what variety they were. Unfortunately my family wouldn\u2019t eat them,\nclaiming they tasted weird. I don\u2019t believe they did, but I have to admit that\neating blue mashed potato was strangely disconcerting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These potatoes may have\nsome additional health benefits in that the color of their flesh is caused by\nanthocyanin pigments which are antioxidants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All Blue<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Purple Majesty<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Purple Peruvian – Deep purple flesh, late.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fingerlings<\/strong>: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

French\nFingerling<\/strong> – Small\npink tubers with excellent flavor. Mid<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Russian\nBanana <\/strong>– One of\nthe most popular fingerlings, easy to grow. Late. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Early potatoes<\/strong>: These fast maturing (less than 90 days) varieties are usually\neaten immediately. They are good for areas where spring is short and summer is\nhot. They are also good for new potatoes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Early\nRose<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mountain\nRose<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Purple\nViking<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Red\nNorland <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Red\nPontiac<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

White\nRose<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Midseason potatoes<\/strong>: These mature in around 100 days. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Colorado\nRose<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Desiree<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

French\nFingerling<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maris\nPiper<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Red\nLasoda<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rose\nFinn Apple<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yukon\nGold<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yellow\nFinn<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maincrop potatoes<\/strong>: The late maturing varieties are commonly stored for winter use.\nThey produce large crops of tubers that store well.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bintje<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Butte<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

German\nButterball<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Russian\nBanana<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Katahdin<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kennebec<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kitchen use<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Potatoes are famous for the infinite number of ways in which they\ncan be prepared: boiled, baked, fried, chipped, casseroled, stewed, roasted,\nmashed, scalloped, twice baked and more. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Starchy or floury potatoes are prized for baking and frying. Waxy\npotatoes are firmer and hold their shape, so are used for boiling whole and for\npotato salad. All purpose types can be used for all purposes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n Potato latkes<\/strong>\n  \n 8 potatoes\n 2 eggs\n 1 onion\n 1 tsp salt\n \u00bd cup flour oil\n  \n Grate the washed potatoes (don\u2019t peel) into a bowl. Beat the egg\n into another bowl, then mix in the grated onion, along with the flour and\n salt. Squeeze the excess moisture from the potatoes and add them to the egg\n mix.\n  \n Heat some oil in a skillet until it sizzles and drop in large\n tablespoonfuls of the mix. Flatten the mix and allow it to cook until golden\n brown. Then flip it over and cook the other side. Serve with apple sauce.\n  \n <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Solanum tuberosum Introduction: Potatoes originated in the mountains of Central and South America and have been cultivated for over 6000 years. A huge number of varieties are still grown in … Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1706,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[243],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-903","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-root-veg","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/greenmanpublishing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/potato.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/greenmanpublishing.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/903","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/greenmanpublishing.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/greenmanpublishing.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greenmanpublishing.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greenmanpublishing.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=903"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/greenmanpublishing.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/903\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1765,"href":"https:\/\/greenmanpublishing.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/903\/revisions\/1765"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greenmanpublishing.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1706"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/greenmanpublishing.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=903"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greenmanpublishing.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=903"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greenmanpublishing.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=903"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}