Getting Started

• Potatoes can be planted as soon as the ground can be worked in early spring and require sun to grow
• The soil temperature should be 45 degrees or above or the plants will not grow
• Don’t have too soggy of ground, but the soil needs to have a good amount of moisture in it
• Potatoes can be planted as late as June 15^th if you want to store them through the winter
• A couple of weeks before planting, cut the larger seed potatoes into smaller pieces called “seeds”. You want to make sure that there are at least one or two “eyes” or buds on each cut pieces
• If you have small potatoes called single drops, you do not have to cut them into pieces (2oz. or smaller)

 

Planting

• Potatoes are grown in rows with the “seeds” being grown about 12 in. apart with the rows being around 2.5 to 3 ft apart.
• First turn the soil another time and remove any items that do not belong, such as rocks and weeds
• Dig a trench that is no more than 8 inches deep and about 4 inches wide
• Place the “seeds” with the cut side down in the dirt and then put no more than 4 inches of soil on them.
• After the sprouts come through, put another couple of inches of soil over the top of them. This is to prevent exposure to sunlight on the potatoes growing.

 

Watering

• Make sure that you water the potato plants often and especially when they are flowering.
• It’s best to water them in the morning so that the plants can dry before the end of the day.
• When the plants start to die back, stop watering them so that the potatoes can develop before you harvest them

 

Harvesting

• Harvesting is usually a few weeks after the plants flower for baby potatoes, or a few weeks after the plant dies back for larger potatoes
• Carefully dig about a foot or so away from the edge of the row and start gathering the potatoes as you find them.
• Store them in a dark, cool place around 40 degrees and the potatoes should last for 3-6 months

 

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