Master the Art of Growing Perfect Potatoes Every Time
Potatoes, the sensational spuds, bring immense joy to gardening enthusiasts. The process of planting and nurturing these treasures is a rewarding experience, culminating in the excitement of unearthing a bountiful harvest. In this article, we will explore expert tips and techniques to ensure you achieve perfection in growing potatoes. From selecting the ideal potato variety to harvesting at the right time, we will cover everything you need to know to become a successful potato grower.
Choosing the Right Variety for Optimal Results
The journey to unearthing perfect potatoes begins with selecting the appropriate variety based on your preferred cooking method. Floury potatoes excel in mashing or roasting, while firm and waxy varieties are ideal for boiling or using in salads. Additionally, potatoes are categorized into three groups based on their harvesting time: first earlies, second earlies, and main crop potatoes. First earlies are planted in early spring and offer a quick harvest by early summer. Second earlies take longer to grow and are harvested in the second half of summer. Main crop potatoes, planted in mid-spring, require the longest growing period but are excellent for long-term storage.
Preparing Seed Potatoes
To ensure successful growth, it is crucial to prepare your seed potatoes properly. Seed potatoes are potatoes specifically sold for planting purposes. Begin by placing them in a frost-free and bright location, allowing them to sprout in a process called “chitting.” This pre-sprouting accelerates the growth process, enabling the potatoes to develop strong roots upon planting. If you lack space, consider attending special potato days where individual seed potatoes are available for purchase, allowing you to experiment with different varieties.
Planting Techniques
When planting potatoes, it is important to consider the available space and your preferred method. One common approach involves planting them individually in raised beds, which warm up quicker in the early season. Ensure a spacing of 14 to 16 inches (35 to 40 centimeters) between the potatoes for first earlies, and provide at least 18 inches (45 centimeters) of space for main crop potatoes. Another method involves digging V-shaped trenches, enriching the bottom with garden compost and chicken manure pellets. Plant the seed potatoes about 30 centimeters or one foot apart in the trenches.
Essential Care for Optimal Growth
Potatoes thrive in most soil conditions, making them an ideal choice for beginner gardeners. However, they do require proper care for an abundant harvest. Adequate watering is crucial, especially during dry periods, as potatoes require substantial energy to develop tubers. It is also advisable to hill or earth up the plants by drawing soil around the stems as they grow. This technique provides additional soil volume for the tubers and prevents them from turning green due to exposure to light.
Combatting Common Diseases
Two common potato diseases to be wary of are scab and blight. Scab causes warty, scabby skin on potatoes and can be avoided by keeping the soil consistently moist, particularly during tuber development. Adding organic matter during planting improves soil structure and water retention capacity. Blight, which strikes after warm and damp weather, leads to dark patches on the leaves and can rapidly destroy the entire crop. Opt for blight-resistant varieties and take immediate action if blight affects your plants by cutting down the foliage and harvesting the potatoes promptly.
Harvesting and Storage
Knowing the right time to harvest is vital to enjoy your potatoes at their peak. Early potatoes are typically harvested while the plants are in flower and can be as small as a hen’s egg. Lift the plants gently, ensuring you don’t spike the tubers, and thoroughly search for any missed potatoes. Main crop potatoes should be dug up toward the end of the season.
What is the best type of straw that you can use in the garden for potatoes? Thank you.
PO! TA! TO!
thanks for this great growing season
Great video! The question I have is to I cut and then chit, or chit and then cut? I've never heard of chitting before but it sounds like a very useful approach – particularly as we wait for the ground to warm and dry this year in our very wet US Pacific NW.
Earwigs have been a constant problem every season. Traps and vaseline on stems as soon as the plants emerge.
A bulb auger (like a big drill bit, attaches to a cordless drill) makes really quick work of planting out potatoes! If you don't see augers in the spring, try in fall, when they are sold for planting flower bulbs like daffodils. Dig the hole as deep as the bulb auger will let you, and pop in the potatoes. Cover over with a few inches of soil, and leave the rest around the hole. It will gradually work its way in, and that extra depth will mean more potatoes, since they produce most of the baby potatoes above where the seed potatoes are.
I don't know about anyone else, but you left out a pest. The Colorado Potato Beetle. It has always been a bane of my crops. Using neem oil helps, but just looking for their egg clusters and remove them.
Ph: You did not mention soil acidity. I always try to acidify the soil to easily prevent scab.
Avoid lime and I mulch with pine needles. Beautiful plants!
oooo I am planting my potatoes next weekend. We are growing them in ruth stout bed! It makes it so much easier to harvest! LOL
Hi Ben, 1st, 2nd and main is this variety dependent or gardener choice? ie when to harvest. hope that makes sense.
Hi Ben, I love watching your videos because you teach us so well! Thank you. I am waiting on my Russet seed potatoes and Sweet Potatoes to arrive, it is the middle of March, but I don't know how long it will take for them to grow? How do I know when it's time to Harvest them? This is my first time planting potatoes, so I am hoping I will do good. I am so tired of buying potatoes at the market, and each one usually has something wrong with it, or is bad on one spot or another. I figured growing them myself might be better, I hope so. What about growing Sweet Potatoes? Is it the same process? I will look to see if you have a video about those. I plan on using 20 gal "Grow Bags" for planting all the potatoes.
Hi, I come from an Asian family and they really like eating leaves of different vegetables, I know that potatoes also have lots of nice lgreen leaves, but I've recently heard they're poisonous to eat? are they really? So we couldn't add them to a type of spicy Tom yum soup type thing?
I love your channel I always learn something new thank you Ben.
wow what great info!! I just put my seed potatoes in the store bag in my dark basement. hmm I'll be bringing them out to chit. also we have triple layered paper bags that our bulk grains come in. I'll be using those for my potatoes. and starting them indoors to give them a head start. also I'll pay more attention to watering. thx for this.
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Thank you!
I saved many small potatoes from my harvest last year. They started to chit all on their own, and they're ready to be planted out in a few weeks!
My daughter has now got an allotment and has asked me to help her sort it out. After watching some of your videos, I am feeling more confident that we can make a go of it. Thank you for being very informative.
Such a great helpful video!
A potato plant came up in my compost bin several years ago. I decided to leave it alone and ended up with a few free, effortless taters!
Always plant a row of onions in your potato patch, it makes em cry their eyes out.
last year i "only" had mid earlies-late 36 seeds which gave me arround 100 pounds of potatoes…. this year i have 3 types and arround 160 seeds (50 more then i orginally anticipate… but my wife ordered double on 1 type ๐ … lol)… .so it will be a busy potato season for me ๐ … but then i again the "grow area" i have to work with has quadroupled or more…. i will be using 40 lt containers / 60lts and high raised beds (3m2 / 90 cm high hugulkulture)… i cant wait till i can start harvesting …. lol in a few months (im most anxious about the seeds i made from the crop i harvested last year ๐ to see if i can continue doing that each year)
Very helpful
I had already planned on using more of my garden to grow things using the raised bed/no dig technique, and this channel and Ben has really excited me for the future, so thank you!