Have you ever thought about expanding your small kitchen garden by trying some vegetables you’ve never grown before? Well, here’s your chance to try your hand at growing your own potatoes!
Using heirloom seed potatoes, like these found on Amazon, are often the best way to grow a potato from a potato.
The rest of the article will talk about choosing the kind of potatoes you want to grow, preparing the potatoes for planting, preparing the soil, how to care for the plants once they start growing, when to harvest, and how to store the potato crop.
1. Choose the type of seed potatoes to buy
Before buying your seed potatoes, you must decide which type of potatoes you need and which variety or varieties you want to grow.
There are two varieties of potatoes:
- Early Varieties There are the Early Varieties which are divided into first earlier, which are ready for harvest in early summer, and second earlier, which are ready a few weeks later. The Early Varieties are usually smaller, but they have a better flavor and smoother texture.
- Maincrop Varieties The Maincrop Varieties are usually larger potatoes that produce a larger harvest and are normally ready for harvest in late summer and early autumn.
Your next major decision is which kind or kinds of potatoes you want to plant. This will be determined by how you will use them and which varieties grow better in your area. There are many different kinds, but here are just a few of the best known:
- Russets
Russet potatoes have rough brown skin and white flesh, and are best for baking, mashing, frying, and roasting, but will fall apart when used in stews, soups, or casseroles. - White Potatoes
White potatoes have smooth, light brown skin. They can be used in a variety of ways, including baking and boiling, and are considered all-purpose potatoes. - Waxy Potatoes
These potatoes, like Yukon Gold, have a dense flesh that doesn’t disintegrate when cooked so are perfect for adding to stews and soups. They are also good for baking, roasting, and boiling for potato salad. - Colorful Potatoes
Potatoes that have unique colors are best when fried or baked because some change color when boiled, changing to a greyish color that is unappetizing. - Fingerling Potatoes
Fingerling potatoes are small and elongated, have thin skin, and can be boiled whole. These are great in soups, stews, and for making potato salad. - New Potatoes
New potatoes that are harvested in the late spring are actually immature potatoes before they are ripe and can be any variety. They have a thin skin and are usually boiled whole with just a little butter and milk added and stirred to make gravy. The new potatoes do not have a long shelf life, as do the mature potatoes.
Can I Grow Potatoes from the Sprouted Potatoes in My Pantry?
Yes, you can grow potatoes from those that sprouted in your pantry. I have actually done this very thing. But, it is not a good idea to do so.
Potatoes that you bought from the grocery probably have been sprayed with chemicals that make them last longer and could affect the way they grow, or they may have been contaminated by blights or viruses.
The biggest problem with growing potatoes from the grocery is that they don’t always grow “true to seed,” which means that they don’t always produce the same type of potato.
So, if you plant a russet potato that sprouted in your pantry or potato bin, your harvest may or may not consist of russet potatoes.
The best way to ensure a good potato crop that is true to seed is to buy seed potatoes, like these found on Amazon, or potatoes that have been grown specifically for replanting.
And, the best seed potatoes are heirloom potatoes that have been produced in a sterile lab to guarantee that they are virus-free. Always select seed potatoes that are firm and free from blemishes
2. Prepare the potatoes for planting
Prepare your seed potatoes for planting a week or two in advance by placing them in an area that exposes them to light and temperatures that are between 60 and 70 degrees F to begin the sprouting process. Then, a day or two before planting, cut them into chunks.
Most people cut them in halves or quarters, making sure there are at least 2 eyes or sprouts in each section.
Each section should be at least 2 inches square. Plant the very small seed potatoes whole.
Lay the pieces out on a tray to allow the cut edges to dry and form a skin over the cut area before they are planted. If the cut sections are planted without drying, they will be more likely to rot.
3. Prepare the soil in the garden area
Potatoes should be planted in a section of your garden that gets full sun at least 6 to 8 hours each day, but preferably all day, and they grow best in rich, moist but well-drained soil that is slightly acidic (PH between 5.0 and 6.0).
Till the soil well before planting, add a layer of organic fertilizer, like this type found on Amazon. Or, use compost or manure, then till again, working in the fertilizer.
Preparing the soil in this manner will give them ideal growing conditions, but potatoes usually grow well, even in less-than-perfect conditions.
Potatoes should not be grown in the same place every year and should not be planted in the same area more often than every 3 or 4 years.
This is called crop rotation, and the main reason in the case of potatoes is to prevent the potatoes from getting potato blight, which is the fungal disease that caused the Irish potato famine of 1845-1852.
4. Plant the potatoes
Depending on how long it has been since you prepared the soil for planting, you might need to till the soil again right before planting to get rid of any weeds that have come up.
Plant the first earlies as soon as the soil begins to warm up in the spring. They can be planted as soon as the ground can be prepared, but will not begin to sprout until the temperature of the soil reaches 45 degrees.
Second earlies should be planted a few weeks later, with the maincrop potatoes to be planted a couple of weeks after the second earlies. The exact