Potato Planting & Growing
Prepare the soil
utilise your best method acting to loosen up the ground 8 to 12 inches deep . Mix in compost or fertilizer if needed . If the land is dry , H2O it a few days before planting . It ’s well to plant in damp soil , not soaked and wet .
Plant the seed
Plant no in the first place then 2 weeks before your last frost with a land temperature above 45 ° F. If the ejaculate is egg - sized or small , you could plant it whole . If it is larger you could turn out the potato into egg - sized pieces with one or more eyes on each piece .
Trenching and Hilling Method
Make trenches 6 inch deep and 2 to 3 substructure apart . The trenches should have a squeamish money box of soil on each side . A shallower 3 - inch oceanic abyss can also be used but you ’ll in all probability want a larger hill with this one . imbed each seed slice about 12 inches apart . Cover the germ with about 3 to 4 inches of soil .
When the industrial plant emerge in about 2 weeks , you could rake in the bank around the nucleotide of the industrial plant . This will fulfil in the deep and set out forming a gracious pitcher’s mound . Be sure there is at least 1 column inch or more of plant exposed for grow . In about 2 week or when the vines are 8 inches marvellous , you could add more grunge to the hill . Be careful about hilling after 4 weeks because this is when the Tuber commence to form underground .
Mulching Method:
machinate the dirt as mention before . Plant the seed pieces very shallow or on the control surface of the grunge . Cover with 6 to 10 inches of light straw or hay . When the plants grow out of the mulch , cover with another 4 to 6 inch . Make certain there is enough mulch to keep the sunlight from reach the tubers . At harvest time , just pull back the mulch to retrieve your prissy cleanpotatoes .
Potatoes mound in a field
Barrel Method:
Place your gun barrel or wire cage over a fain bed of ground . constitute about 2 or 3 seed piece and cover with 4 in of soil . As the plants emerge and grow , proceed covering with mulch or grunge . The longer growth will produce more potatoes . If you glean asparagus that will be take by and by , wash the fizgig and post the cut ends in about 2 inches of water . Like fresh flowers , they will keep in the refrigerator for several twenty-four hours .
Watering
It ’s best to plant seed potatoes in moist soil but not too wet . As long as the soil does n’t completely dry out out , it ’s in force to look about 2 weeks for the plants to emerge before watering again . That ’s when the focal point changes from not applying too much water to piddle sure the soil does n’t dry out . As the potatoes grow throughout the season , you ’ll be capable to observe how they use more and more piss . When I irrigate , I like to soak the grunge exhaustively . Next I ’ll let the potatoes drink some of the body of water and then I ’ll go over the stain in 2 to 3 days . The soil will go from wet to moist to dry out . It ’s honest to irrigate before the grunge set out to the dry level . Solanum tuberosum habituate 1 to 2 inches of weewee per week .
body of water thepotatoesas evenly as possible . This help the tubers to have unvarying shape and helps make a well yield .
Stop water about 2 weeks before harvest home or when the vine turn yellow and naturally cash in one’s chips after 90 to 120 day . This will help cure the potato for crop .
Potatoes mounds in a field
Weeding
Pulling the weeds early in the season will let the potatoes to take up their space and keep the weeds down after that . school or hoe the weeds as shallow as possible because this process could damage some of the stolons ( hole-and-corner staunch ) that make the tuber . For small patches , it ’s better to draw weeds by hand , getting them out before they are big than the potato vines . Keeping the weeds down allows the potatoes to farm a better craw .
Pests
If insects are frame too much stress on the plant , we recommend using constitutive methods like insecticidal soaps and ladybugs .
Harvesting
you could contain for new potatoes in about 50 to 60 days or when the plants are blooming . One of my fond memories of childhood is eating Modern potatoes because they smack so salutary . Only harvest enough for 2 or 3 days and keep in the icebox because these do n’t last long .
At the goal of the growing season , 90 to 120 days , the vine will die back from age or from rime . Although not necessary , await about 2 weeks after the vines die will allow the Irish potato cutis to indurate . This way you’re able to avoid skinning them during harvesting and the potato will also last longer in storage .
Storage
The best place to store your potato is in the dark with a temperature above freeze . A constant 40 degree Fahrenheit is idealistic and a high relative humidity is good , ( 85%-90 % ) . Storing potatoes from 34 to 38 degrees helps them last longer . At this temperature , some of the starch in the potato will deform into bread . It makes the potatoes taste a little sweeter and the boodle is what turns brown when they are fried in rock oil . Storing murphy from 40 to 50 degrees helps them keep their amylum cognitive content and they wo n’t brown when fried . This is how they are hive away for the chipping industry . However , the potatoes wo n’t last as long when they are stored at 50 degree .
Potatoes mounds in a field
