- Author: Cheryl A Potts
Surprisingly, the second best thing I like to do with potatoes, the first, of course, would be eating them, is not planting them, but digging them up. I become like a little kid finding a new toy hidden by my parents in a toy box or an adult, finding a twenty dollar bill in a pocket of a pair of jeans not having been worn for over six months. I never know how many I am going to find, or what size they are going be. Almost every time I do any digging in the vegetable garden area of my yard, I find a potato I missed the first time around. Yea! Lunch!
I have learned that I am only to grow plant certified seed potatoes. Previously, I would plant the eyes of any organic potato I happen to buy, but these store bought spuds perhaps have been treated with a sprout inhibitor and/or may have a potato virus which will cause my crop to be less than desired. The appropriate seeds can be found in most any seed catalog. Each year, one of the catalogs I receive sells potatoes exclusively.
The soil for the potatoes (Solanum tuberosum) needs to be loose, slightly acidic and well draining, so do not plant in clay. Well mulched, composted soil works best.
Potatoes can be planted in this area in February through March for a summer crop or July through August for a winter crop. These plants do not like excessively hot weather but so far mine have done fairly well in this Vacaville heat.
The actual planting of these seeds is a bit different than with other plantings. You take the potatoes and cut them up, making sure you leave at least one eye on each piece. Then you set these pieces of potato aside, somewhere that is room temperature and slightly humid, for one to two days. This causes the dried pieces to develop what is called a callus, which will help the seed not rot once in the ground.
To actually plant the seeds, place one in a hole about three inches deep. Your plant rows should be about thirty-six inches apart according to the information I have read, but I must admit, I do plant them a bit closer together, with the plants six to ten inches apart in the row. Cover with soil to ground level and then in about a month, add three more inches of soil to your row. Water needs to consistent, but relatively light, as they are shallow-rooted. Do not allow the soil to dry out as a second growth will start when and if the soil becomes moist again, That is if your first crop has already formed. This will cause those real knobbly tubers, the ones impossible to peel or cavities called "hollow hearts" in the center of the vegetable.
It is time to dig up your potatoes when the vine dies, the only death I look forward to in my garden. Cut the vine away before digging, then carefully dig up the soil and find your treasures. Kids, I have found, love digging up potatoes, so use your grandchildren well.
Potatoes should be cured for about two week somewhere where is it relatively cool, 55 degrees and humid. Then the they can be stored. Be careful not to store potatoes with apples.
My favorite is Yukon Gold, but there are many other varieties that do well here. White Rose, Russet Burbank and Norgold Russet are a few. The above mentioned potato-only catalog has some great sets of various varieties in one package, which can make for a really fun potato patch.
There are some pests to watch out for. One is that proverbial aphid, and he is rather easy to deal with. Another is the potato tuber moth. He, too, can be dealt with by simply making sure that your seeds are always covered with soil, meaning, watch out for cracks in the soil. There is also a fellow named the Colorado potato beetle, a stubby, round bug with a big appetite for the leaves. Watch for him, and when you find him, throw him away. Then look closely for any eggs that have been laid on the underside of the leaves, especially the early ones, and wash them off with insecticidal soap or clip off the leaf entirely. The eggs are bright orange, so rather easy to find.
Potatoes can be grown in pots, and some enjoy growing them in big containers such as a garbage can. As the plant grows, more soil is added, so potatoes grow at many levels. Just be sure your container can drain.
Just for your information, the growing of sweet potatoes or yams are a completely different story, and perhaps fodder for another blog.