How to grow potatoes

Photo by A Piece of Rainbow

 Potatoes are starchy tuber plants that are in the nightshade family, green parts (including leaves) are highly toxic to humans. Even though wild potatoes can be found in the Americas, cultivars have been selectively bred to thrive in Europe!

 

Types of potatoes:

• First earlies – ‘new potatoes’ harvest sooner in the year, plant late March
• Second earlies – ‘new potatoes’ harvest later than first earlies, plant early to mid-April
• Maincrops – large, heavy potatoes, plant mid to late-April

Photo by A Piece of Rainbow

Planting:

• Chit the potatoes before planting (let them sprout somewhere dark and dry)
• Plant in full sun
• Dig a narrow trench, roughly 5 inches deep, and plant your potatoes
• You can add a general fertiliser at this stage

TIP: over the winter, you can prep the soil by mixing in compost or manure

• For small potatoes, you can also grow them in deep containers

Photo via Pinterest

Harvesting:

• lift up potatoes with a fork
• first earlies – June to July. Wait until the flowers open and buds drop
• second earlies – July to August
• Maincrops – late August to October. Cut the foliage off when it turns yellow, then wait 10 days before harvest

 

Photo via APS Net

Problems with potatoes:

• Exposing them to light – this turns them green and poisonous. To avoid, add extra soil around the shoots

• Blight (pictured above) – a disease that causes rot. Difficult to stop, earth up some potatoes to protect the unaffected ones, remove affected leaves

• Rot – harvest when soil is dry and loose to avoid rot

• Blackleg – bacterial diseases that causes rot at stem base. Remove and dispose affected plants, then rotate your crops

----> Thank you for taking the time to read my blog, Nate.

 

Links for potatoes: 

New Potatoes - Van Meuwen 

Maris Piper - Van Meuwen

Potato 'Salad Blue' - Thompson & Morgan 

Sweet Potato 'Erato Orange' - Thompson & Morgan 

 

(This post contains affiliate links)