potato are easy , cool - season vegetables to grow and can prosper when given ample irrigation , right fertilization , and overall care . They can be a practiced investment and a fun horticulture speculation to research .
To plant potatoes , choose your preferred spud potpourri and leverage disease - free source tubers from a reputable distributer or agriculturist . Using a sharp tongue , cut Tuber into 1.25 - inch chunk with at least one eye each . institute the small-arm 3 to 5 in deep into the soil , 10 to 12 inches apart , in rows 30 to 36 inches aside .
This guide will furnish you with everything you need to know about planting potatoes , when and where to grow them , how to glean , potato pests and disease , and other interesting entropy . take further for more !
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About Potatoes
Potatoes(Solanum tuberosum ) are a plant life that belong to the nightshade family ( Solanaceae ) . It is characterized by having genus Tuber or magnify stems or roots where shoots issue and plants get nutrients .
Additionally , they are native to South America and have been cultivated since as early as 400 BCE . They have become one of the most wide consumed non - grain food harvest worldwide .
Is a Potato a Vegetable?
Potatoes are considered buckram , tuberous - steady down vegetables . As its description suggests , spud contain more starch than other veggie , providing more calories and less roughage .
What Is the Best Month to Plant Potatoes?
Ideally 2 to 4 weeks before the last expected spring freeze , sometime inMarch or early April . However , there are midseason ( Red Pontiac , Viking ) and late potato variety ( Katahdin , Kennebec ) that may be planted in the first hebdomad of July .
Can You Plant Potatoes in the Fall for Next Year?
you could implant potatoes in the fall for next year , but it count on your geographic location . As long as day temperature are warm enough while night temperatures are cool enough , you’re able to expect successful planting with potatoes .
Can Potatoes Grow in Winter?
Potatoes can mature in winter . Potatoes that are planted in late winter or grow in the wintertime time of year can jib loose hoar .
However , concentrated hoarfrost may retrovert growth . This is why you must protect your plants from harsh winter conditions by storing them in cardboard boxes , bushel hoop , or ventilated ABA transit number .
When Is It Too Late to Plant Potatoes?
Generally , wintertime planting are not recommendedsince most potatoes are not hardy to ice . However , as long as the plants are sufficiently protect and well taken forethought of , there is no considered “ too previous ” planting time .
What Happens if You Plant Potatoes Too Late?
If you engraft them at a recent fourth dimension , there will be less time for them to turn . The wintertime frost or summertime heating will slow or completely discontinue the organisation of Tuber .
How Long Does It Take to Grow Potatoes?
It depends on the variety . Generally , it may take any time between 12 to 20 weeks after planting .
Where to Plant Potatoes?
Potatoes can grow in manytypes of soil , but they spring up well in light , fertile , well - draining , slightly acidic grunge .
Poorly drained soils can bring forth seriously - forge tater , fall yields , and tuber rot , while soil with higher pH levels will increase the risk of potato disease such as scabs . murphy should get full sun where they are plant .
How to Plant Potatoes?
pace 1 : select your potato variety based on what you ’re growing potatoes for . Most assortment fall between the following categories :
Step 2 : buy sizable seed tuber of the potato variety of your option from a manifest seed electrical distributor or potato grower . annul purchasing from grocery store as the tater may be treated with chemical substance to keep their tubers hibernating , make dull outgrowth .
Step 3 : train your soil by carry a soil test . Potatoes opt slimly acidic soils with compost or manure incorporate into it .
footmark 4 : Using a sharp , unsex skip tool , cut the genus Tuber into 1.25 - inch chunks , with each small-arm having at least one “ eye ” or humble sprout or notch where shoots will emerge .
footmark 5 : Place the potato chunks on a tray at room temperature for a few day or until the surface where you cut them has dry out and formed an out protective layer . If sprouts already started forming , be extra deliberate not to scratch them off when engraft .
Step 6 : Plant the seed pieces 3 to 5 inches deep into the soil when their temperature reaches between 60 ° atomic number 9 to 70 ° F . The cut side should be facing down and compensate with 4 inches of compost or soil . Pieces should be placed 10 to 12 inch aside in rows of 30 to 36 inch apart .
footstep 7 : Once shoots emerge , hill the soil up as the plants maturate . Do so by pulling soil between the rows using a hoe and then mulch over the potato . At the end of the rise season , you should have hilled a total of 6 to 8 inch of soil .
Step 8 : Maintain murphy using the following care usher :
How to Harvest Potatoes?
Before harvest time , it may be necessary to remove and chuck out potato vine by using rotary helicopter , flail beaters , or chemical vine killers arrest diquat , carfentrazone , or glufosinate - ammonium if the top growth has become exuberant .
harvesting when temperatures are between 60 ° F to 70 ° F . start crop when bloom set out emerging on the plant life . Remove the young “ new white potato ” near the aerofoil of the soil and result the rest of the crop to mature and reap at a later metre .
after , spread the potatoes on dry ground and allow them to dry out off for several hour . storage in a cool , glum stead .
Potato Pests and Diseases
1 . Colorado Potato Beetle
2 . Potato Leafhopper or Cabbage Looper
1 . Blight
2 . Leaf - roll Virus
3 . Scab
4 . Rhizoctonia
Potatoes – https://fsi.colostate.edu/potatoes/
Bulletin # 2077 , Potato Facts : Growing Potatoes in the Home Garden – https://extension.umaine.edu/publications/2077e/
develop potatoes in base gardens – https://extension.umn.edu/vegetables/growing-potatoes#harvest-and-storage-293864
Home Garden Potatoes – https://extension.uga.edu/publications/detail.html?number=C1011
A Guide to Growing Potatoes In Your Home Garden – https://www.canr.msu.edu/uploads/files/growingpotatoes.pdf
