Content

• To step
• Method 1 of 2: Growing potatoes in your garden
• Method 2 of 2: Plant potatoes in a pot

The only thing better than one potato is two potatoes! Potatoes are tasty, multifunctional and relatively easy to grow. All you need to do is put a seed potato somewhere sunny in your garden or plant it in a large pot on your patio and wait about five months for the potatoes to mature. Once they have grown: dig up, eat and enjoy!

To step

Method 1 of 2: Growing potatoes in your garden

1. Choose a spot in your garden with a lot of sun. Potatoes grow best with eight hours of sunlight a day, but they don't do well if it's too hot. Choose a spot in your garden where the plants will be exposed to the sun but do not bake in the heat. They prefer summer temperatures of roughly 21 ° C, but can handle slightly warmer temperatures as long as they are not exposed to direct sunlight for more than six to eight hours a day. The ideal time to plant them is in late spring.
   • Expert gardeners recommend planting potatoes around the time of the last expected frost, but that time can vary depending on where you live.
2. Buy seed potatoes from a garden center. The best way to grow potatoes is from potatoes, but not all potatoes are suitable for this: they must be specially grown seed potatoes from a garden center. Regular potatoes from a supermarket are often treated with pesticides that can spread disease throughout the crop, so order the seed potatoes from a catalog or go to a garden center.
   • Seed potatoes come in all variations - Russet, Yukon, Fingerling, you name it. The garden center has options for you to choose from and they can order you all kinds of potatoes that they don't have in the store yet.
3. Let the sprouts grow for a week before planting. Unlike most supermarket potatoes, the seed potatoes have small protrusions called sprouts. Once planted, these sprouts form the tops of new potato plants - they are essential to the growing process! Place the seed potatoes in a warm and dry place (a bowl on the counter where the sun shines) and leave them there for a week.
   • A week is enough time for the sprouts to grow between 1 and 1.5 cm in length. This means that they are almost ready to be planted.
4. Cut the potatoes into 5 cm wedges. Small potatoes are fine to be planted whole, but a potato larger than a golf ball should be cut into pieces about two inches wide, each with at least two sprouts. Usually it is sufficient to cut the potatoes in the shape of "burgers". Return the sliced ​​potatoes to the warm spot where they have been for the past week and let them sit for another two or three days before planting.
5. Prepare the area where you will plant with fertilizer. Use a garden fork to rake compost in your chosen spot. Potatoes prefer loose and loamy soil, so work up any clumps until the soil is light and breathable. Make sure the fertilizer is covered with at least 2 inches of soil, otherwise it can damage the potato roots.
   • If you don't have your own compost, buy a balanced fertilizer, superphosphate or bone meal - all available at a garden center.
6. Plant the potatoes in holes that are 30 cm apart. Place the halved potatoes cut side down in holes about 10 cm deep and with the eyes, or sprouts, facing up. Cover with soil and water.
   • In general, you should provide the potatoes with an inch of water per week, including rain. They prefer moist, but not soggy soil.
7. Make mounds around the potatoes after five weeks. To place the potatoes on a hill, stack the soil around the stems to create a 12-inch slope on both sides. This will force the new potatoes to grow above the previously planted potatoes. You can cover the entire plant with soil, or choose to leave the leaves uncovered (this can be useful later, as their changing color can indicate the growth of the potatoes).
   • Make mounds about once a week: it will protect baby potatoes from direct sun exposure.
8. Harvest the potatoes after a period of 70 to 100 days. Sometime about five months after they are planted, the potatoes will start to show signs of ripening. The leaves turn yellow and the foliage dies, which means it is almost time to harvest them. Leave them in the ground for another two to three weeks, then dig them up with a pitchfork and collect them with your hands.
   • Many potato varieties will grow into tubers that are large enough to eat after 10 weeks, but leaving them in the ground longer will yield the greatest harvest.

Method 2 of 2: Plant potatoes in a pot

1. Fill a large deep pot one-third with potting soil. The bigger the pot, the better (potatoes need a lot of space to grow), but it must have a minimum capacity of 38 liters for four to six seed potatoes. If you plan to grow more than six seed potatoes, go for a barrel-sized pot.
   • The pot should also have a significant drainage hole. Black reusable plastic pots from a garden center work well for growing potatoes because the black color retains heat and they have a built-in drain in the bottom.
2. Plant the seed potatoes 15 cm apart and with the sprouts facing up. The potatoes should not touch each other or the edge of the pot, otherwise their growth will be stunted. Once planted, cover them with 6 inches of potting soil. Water them until it starts to run out of the bottom. Leave the pot in a moderately sunny spot in your front or backyard where it can be exposed to six to eight hours of sun per day.
   • Do not overload the pot: the minimum space in which a potato can still grow is 15 cm.
3. Water the potatoes when the top 5 cm of soil is dry. The dryness of the soil depends on the weather where you live, so test if it is time to water by sticking a finger in the top of the soil. If it feels dry, then it is time to water again. Keep watering until the water starts to drain from the bottom of the pot.
   • When the weather is warm, the soil dries faster and you need to water more often. Check this twice a day.
4. Add potting soil while the potato sprouts are sprouting from the ground. Only about an inch of the sprout should be exposed at any point in the growing process, so keep adding soil regularly. Mix the soil with fertilizer (a 5-10-10 mixture from the garden center is sufficient) for healthy and fast-growing plants.
5. Harvest the potatoes when the leaves turn yellow. The seed potatoes are fully grown after 18 to 20 weeks. Dig them out of the pot by hand or empty the pot and go through the soil to harvest the tubers.
   • Check the skin of all potatoes for white and mushy spots - this could mean mold and it is not safe to eat the potatoes. They should be uniform in color with a tight and firm skin.