Need a hands off crop? Let me show you how simple it is to grow potatoes! Who doesn’t love a good ol’ bowl of potatoes whether they are mashed, fried or everything in between they are delicious! Potatoes are one of the most versatile root crops to work with. Feeling creative try my crispy and flavorful curly fry recipe!
Where to buy potato seeds to plant?
You can usually find potato seeds early in the season at your local nursery. Local nurseries are well stocked and there is plenty varieties to choose from! I’ve also bought some at big box stores and have had great success with them. If you have trouble sourcing seed potatoes- organic grocery store potatoes can be used. Regular potatoes are often sprayed with growth inhibitors stick to organic when possible. I have grown grocery store potatoes without a problem. Some people would warn against it because you can introduce disease into your soil. I have never had an issue but if I came across disease on my plants I would dispose of the soil. Difference between seed potatoes and grocery store potatoes – is seed potatoes have been inspected and certified not to carry disease. With so many to choose from choose a few different ones and see what ends up being your favorite.
I grew 3 different types of potatoes. Russian blue, red and yukon potatoes, and let me tell you it was the most beautiful blend! When shopping around for the varieties you would like to grow keep in mind if the variety chosen is early, mid, or late summer. This will differentiate when your potatoes can be harvested. Another thing to note is indeterminant vs. determinant potatoes. Determinant potatoes will grow to a certain size and produce all their tubers at once. On the other hand as long as you keep hilling indeterminant potatoes them they will keep producing more tubers. I prefer hilling both varieties and I’ll tell you why.
Hilling potatoes
A term you will hear a lot when growing potatoes is “hilling” This is done for two reasons to grow more potatoes from a indeterminant variety and too keep potatoes buried and avoid green potatoes which can be toxic. If exposed to the sun potatoes will turn green producing chlorophyl. Chlorophyl isn’t toxic but if present there is a good chance that solanine is present as well- and that is a neuro toxin that can make you sick. Inducing nausea, headaches and even more serious problems. To be on the safe side I avoid eating any green potatoes. They are perfectly fine to regrow though!
Growing potatoes in the garden is easy! here are some things to get you started:
Growing guide:
Seed starting– Plan to buy your seed potato 4-6 weeks ahead of planting time. This will give them time to “chit” or pre-sprout, in a cool bright place. All though not required this is beneficial because you can split one potato in to many by cutting different eyes (growing points) and letting them callous over. This is totally up to you, cutting up the seed potato will give many smaller potatoes rather than getting fewer but bigger potatoe if you plant the whole thing.
Spacing & Location- This season I started my potatoes two ways-in grow bags and an in ground patch. Grow bags are fabric pots that are lightweight, they come in a variety of sizes and they are perfect for gardeners that are limited in space. They are my preferred method to grow potatoes because harvesting is a breeze! You need a pot or grow bag that has enough depth for the plants to grow. I used a 15 gallon grow bag and placed 5 medium size potato seeds in the lower 1/4 part of the bag- one in the center and four in the outer edges. Once they sprouted and were around 6 in.- I started the hilling process. (see below) to grow potatoes inground it’s best done in rows. Dig trenches about 6 in. deep and placing seed potatoes approximately 12 in apart and filling with 4 inches of well worked soil. Start mounding the soil over the trenches as they begin to grow.
When I start seeing lots of numbers I tend to get overwhelmed but I promise that once you grow potatoes once you will get the hang of it and its not as hard as it seems! Gardening is like cooking every gardener might do things slightly different and still get a good harvest or in cooking a delicious dish!
Hilling- This simply means mounding with more soil or straw as the potato greens start to grow up. Start mounding once your potato plants are about 6 in. tall. just leaving a few top leaves sticking out of the soil. Repeating the process until there is no more space in the container. If growing in ground you can keep mounding if space allows.
Sun Requirements– Growing potatoes require an area that gets 6-8 hours of full sun.
Water needs– Potatoes require constant moisture about an 1-2in. of water per week. Growing things in grow bags is great for many reasons but they do tend to dry out fast. Check your soil and water often to keep it properly moist. I was watering once every day when the hot temps arrived. If you are lucky enough to get rain in the spring and summer you won’t need to water as often.
Soil– Loose well draining soil that has been worked with organic matter such as compost, organic matter, worm castings is ideal. (Bottom layer of my inground patch was clay soil that I should have worked some more before planting. I added layers of potting soil and compost some of my potatoes were cemented in there. If starting in clay soil I would mound extra 6-8 in. of soil before starting.)
Harvesting- if you have never harvested potatoes you are in for a treat, its like hunting for treasure. Ready to harvest? get ready to pull up any remaining plants and most potatoes will be found at the base. Depending on the variety you started it can take anywhere from 90-120 days to harvest mature potatoes. Keep in mind that if no disease is present leaving the plants to die back will ensure your harvest the biggest potatoes. Baby potatoes are quite delicious as well harvest earlier for those!
Pests & Disease- Blight is one of the most common diseases when it comes to potato diseases. Prominent in humid environments, plants may show signs of disease such as black spots on the leaves and even down in the stem. This is a kind of fungal disease that spreads quickly. Trim off infected leaves and in severe cases go ahead and harvest early. A tip to avoid blight is watering at the base to avoid splash back of fungal spores. Although plenty more diseases keep an eye on foliage and troubleshoot any problem as they arise.
Potatoes are simply a joy to have in the garden, they are easy to grow in the garden and with a little patience they provide an abundance of food! I hope you feel equipped to take on growing potatoes. These grow guides are meant to share the hands on knowledge that I have gained through experience and trial and error. Please share any helpful tips you may have in the comments!
Happy growing!
-Tahiri Flowers
