Which potatoes should i plant

Have your soil tested. The ideal soil pH level for potatoes is somewhat acidic, between 6 and 6. Addition of manure or compost can add micronutrients and organic matter to soil. Side-dress place fertilizer alongside of the row about four weeks after planting. As you hill up soil around the plants, incorporate 0. Repeat the hilling and fertilization two weeks later. Note that this fertilizer recommendation is different from Extension recommendations for most other crops.

Do not use any fertilizer containing a weed killer "Weed and Feed" , as it may kill your vegetable plants. Selecting plants. Choosing potato varieties Use mealy or dry-fleshed potatoes, like russets, for baking, frying and mashing. Potato tubers Start potato plants from tubers or pieces of tubers, not from true seed. These are ideal, since you do not need to divide them.

Two or three eyes per piece is better. Use a clean knife on a clean cutting board when you cut the seed tubers into pieces. If sprouts start to form, be careful not to rub them off while planting. Planting seed pieces Plant seed pieces as soon as the soil warms.

This period is early April in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota. Gardeners in southern Minnesota may plant earlier, while locations further north may not have warmer soil until May. Plant seed pieces cut side down, 10 to 12 inches apart and about three to five inches deep, in rows 30 to 36 inches apart.

Space pieces closer for smaller tubers and farther apart for fewer but larger tubers. Cover with four inches of soil or compost.

Hilling Once the green shoots emerge, hill soil up along plants as they grow. How to keep your potato plants healthy and productive. Watering During the enlargement of the tubers, moisture stress can cause knobby or hollow potatoes, and can prevent the plant from producing new tubers.

Light soil is the best for growing large, smooth potatoes, but not if it gets too dry for good tuber growth. Soak the soil thoroughly when watering, once or twice a week. One inch of rainfall per week is good. An inch of water will wet a sandy soil to a depth of ten inches, a heavy clay soil to six inches. If your soil is sandy, water more often than once a week. Use a trowel to see how far down the soil is wet.

You can find this cultivar at Burpee. This type is noted for its disease resistance, including resistance to scab. Have you had a go at growing any of these cultivars? Which one is your favorite?

Let us know in the comments section below! See our TOS for more details. Product photos courtesy of Burpee. Uncredited photos: Shutterstock. Additional writing and editing by Allison Sidhu. With a passion for soil health and growing trees, Natasha Foote is a biologist who was hit with a serious case of green fingers, and decided to swap sterile laboratories for getting her hands dirty in the soil. Formerly a farmer and researcher working with the agroforestry project Mazi Farm in Greece, when she wasn't working on the farm, she was busy studying soil biology under the microscope.

Now, you can find her in the south of France where, in between enjoying all the fresh peaches, plums, apricots, and cherries that the area has to offer, she's working on various agricultural projects whilst writing about all things green.

Fellow allotment colleagues say the same. Is it because potatoes are now grown for quantity not quality? The same applies to bought potatoes — Jersey Royals in recent years have been diabolical. Also, can you let me know … Read more ». Why does no one ever discuss whether a particular variety or cultivar of potato is determinate or indeterminate? That means they continue to keep producing over the course of the season.

As for the determinate varieties, they stop growing after they produce … Read more ». Wairere Nursery in Hamilton appears to have them in stock. Time to check out our roundup… 1. Red Pontiac Another winner in the all-rounder category, this early season red variety comes with the added advantage of having especially thin skin, making it a very appealing choice whether harvested at the new stage or grown to maturity.

Rio Grande Russet This is one type that you can enjoy guilt-free! This variety is slow to mature, ready in days, but it is certainly worth the wait. Purple Majesty As someone who grew up knowing only pale, yellow taters, there is something so irresistibly enchanting about purple potatoes for me. We hope this helps!

I planted potatoes last year and when I dug them up, many had been half eaten by something. Is there a way to protect the potatoes from being eaten while they are growing in the ground? Hi I'm growing Potatoes in containers in San Diego there is so much vegetation growing from them and every day when its warm they are wilting. Can I cut them back? They still have a long time till they are ready to harvest. Does anyone know if potatoes are "vegan"? My grandson has just come back from France and he is now "vegan", I want to cook him something nice but don't know if potatoes are "vegan".

Thank you, Barbra. Yes, potatoes are most definitely vegan—just be sure to rid them of any hitchhiking insects before cooking. I'm an experienced farmer, but have never grown potatoes. I was surprised that this article mentioned that "In the Northern regions, some gardeners will plant the first crop of early maturing potatoes in April, usually 6 to 8 weeks before the last frost; they can survive snow and cold temperatures.

I planted potatoes in mid February this year because daytime temperatures were in the upper 70s. Then we had a late freeze last week, and all the potato leaves that had come up froze and died. The tubers still seemed ok, so I dug them up and replanted them much deeper. How can potatoes be planted 6 to 8 weeks before the last frost if frost kills the foliage?

I'm trying to get my potatoes planted early because we sometimes get triple digit temperatures by May, but I also don't want another late frost to kill them. Thanks for clarifying. Traditionally, some folks planted potatoes around St. Thank you for your question! Loved growing potatoes! After starting out in a raised bed only to have ground squirrels and raccoons tear them up, I purchased growing bags developed for growing potatoes!

Each bag has an opening on one side where tubers could be harvested, making it easier to get those buggers out! They were delish, fun to grow! One of the comments was not to keep the potatoes in the fridge.

I always keep them there and never had a problem. Especially in the summer when it's warm and humid. I live on the central coast of California and we have mild weather all year round and never get any frost.

I have to do all my gardening in pots on my deck because of the deer who eat everything! When I have potatoes from the store that are going bad I cut them up with eyes on all the pieces and plant them in any pot that has room. I get potatoes coming up all the time during the year depending on when I plant them.

Most of them are pretty small but they still taste good. I didn't know about "hilling" the potatoes and will try that hoping I get some larger ones.

Thanks for your potato growing article. I have just begun to harvest my early crop of potatoes, I tried it in pots which didn't turn out so well, about 2 decent sized potatoes per pot yukon golds which don't yield much anyway but lots of tiny potatoes which would make great seed potatoes.

My question is can I replant those right now for a second harvest or do potatoes need chill hours before they will sprout again? I have not been able to find the answer to this anywhere on the internet so please reply : Thank you! The growing period is spring to summer, when the soil and air are cool.

You can save some spuds to plant next season; be sure they are free of disease. I've never heard they need a chilling time, so I don't think so. I recommend you give it a shot, nothing to lose. But, you'd still get something, I'm sure.

How high can I continue to hill redskin potatoes. When should I stop if at All? I am growing potatoes mostly for "new" potatoes. My plants have just started to flower. Should I stop watering them? How long do I wait to harvest them? Thank you! If I were to dig at 8 inch deep hole by 6 inches wide and then plant the potato which is then covered by 3 inches.

How do you keep the trench from filling up with water when it rains since there is only 3 inches covering the potatoes? However, if your soil is more on the clayey side and it looks like it will be very rainy when you intend to plant potatoes, plant them in a shallower trench 5—6 inches deep and fill the trench completely at planting time to keep water from pooling. Be sure to still add more soil over top of the plant as it grows.

I planted my potatoes a week ago and did the trench method. A few days later, we got soaking rains and the trenches filled with water and it sat like that for the next day. It's drained since but it's still extremely wet and there's more rain in the forecast.

Would you suggest digging up the potatoes and using another method for planting, filling the trenches with soil, or something else? Skip to main content. The only downside we have with this method is the sometimes early arrival of late blight in mid-August.

March 9 at pm. February 24 at pm. Thanks for the article. I think I've been planting my rows of potatoes too close to each other. I am not a beginner vegetable gardener but apparently had not learned this. Now if I can just remember to cover my newly planted potatoes so that the crows don't dig them up, I'll be happy. Judi R. February 24 at am. Thank you for this article. I see where my past mistakes have been and look forward to this new crop.

Do you cut up your seed potatoes before you plant them? We have always done this but it looks like in the pictures the potatoes are whole. Thank you! Hi Judi, Great question!

That depends on how many "eyes" each seed potato has. If a seed potato has 5 eyes, for example, you can cut it in two pieces so that each piece has eyes. You can cut them up the night before planting and let the cut edges dry overnight to prevent rotting. February 22 at am. Sabra Lee. February 19 at pm. I'd like a recommendation for good potato varieties for the Berkshires.