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How to start growing potatoes


Growing Potatoes: How to Plant & Harvest Potatoes

7 steps for planting, harvesting and storing potatoes at home By Kevin Lee Jacobs

Photo by: Kevin Lee Jacobs.

Potatoes are generous plants. They are easy to grow and produce abundant harvests. Give them the following and they will accept almost any planting situation:

You can grow potatoes in containers, pots, or a special “grow bag”. But in my experience, containers like these require constant attention to watering, and yield smaller harvests than growing in a raised bed.

RELATED: Raised Bed Gardening

I achieve an enormous harvest—enough to feed two for nearly a year—by planting potatoes in two 4'-x-8' raised beds. The tubers are wildly productive in the well-draining, rock-free soil the beds provide, and the vines require deep watering only once each week.

Of all the root vegetables I grow, it is the potatoes that give me the biggest thrill at harvest time. I love to stick my hands in the soil and retrieve the buried bounty, with a yield of eight to ten potatoes for every one that I plant.

However you decide to grow your potatoes, the planting directions are the same.

Photo by: Kevin Lee Jacobs.

Step 1: Choose Seed Potatoes

Start with organic, certified disease-free seed potatoes obtained from a catalog or farm store. (Grocery store potatoes that have been treated with a sprout-retardant are not suitable for planting.) If you buy from a farm store, as I do, try to select tubers which have already sprouted. Otherwise, pre-sprout them by simply laying them out on your kitchen counter. Pre-sprouted potatoes can be harvested a few weeks earlier than their non-sprouted kin.

Photo by: Kevin Lee Jacobs.

Step 2: Separate the Eyes

Only small, golf ball-sized potatoes should be planted whole.

Cut large tubers into pieces. I cut mine so that each segment has two or three "eyes" (the little bumps from which sprouts emerge, as shown in the photo). The reason for cutting the potatoes is because the many eyes on a large potato will create a crowded, multi-stemmed plant, with each stem competing for food and moisture, and in the end, bearing only small potatoes.

Photo by: Kevin Lee Jacobs.

Step 3: Cure the Cut Pieces

Next, "cure" the cut pieces. Either set them out in the sun, or place them on a table or counter in a warm (about 70°F), moderately lit room for three to five days. This step permits the cuts to become calloused. Calloused seed potatoes will help prevent rot.

Photo by: Kevin Lee Jacobs.

Step 4: How & When to Plant Potatoes

Plant seed potato segments cut-side down (eyes up) in a 6-inch-deep hole or trench. Space each segment 12-inches apart on all sides.

Between each segment, sprinkle 2 tablespoons of a low-nitrogen, high-phosphorous fertilizer. Then cover both potatoes and fertilizer with 2-inches of soil, and water the soil well.

When do you plant potatoes?

This will vary depending on where you live. Gardeners in warm climates often plant around Valentine’s Day, while those in cooler areas may get them into the ground near Easter, or early spring. A good rule of thumb is to aim for 3-4 weeks prior to your last frost date.

Photo by: Kevin Lee Jacobs.

Step 5: Hill Around the Stems

Because new potatoes form on lateral stems, or "stolons" above the seed potato, it’s necessary to "hill" the vines. When the green sprouts achieve 8 inches in height, bury all but their top 4 inches with soil, chopped straw, or shredded leaves. Hill again when potato plants grow another 8 inches. The more you hill, the more prolific your harvest is likely to be. I usually hill mine to a height of 18 inches. Stop hilling when the vines flower.

Potato tubers, like vampires, need to live in darkness. In fact, they will turn green if exposed to light. And a green potato can cause sickness if consumed. Therefore it is absolutely essential to keep the tubers covered with soil or mulch.

Photo by: Kevin Lee Jacobs.

Step 6: How & When to Harvest Potatoes

Two weeks after the vines have flowered, you can, if you wish, reach into the soil or mulch and retrieve a few baby potatoes. Otherwise, wait until the vines die back. Dead vines signal that the tubers have reached maturity. Now reach into the soil with your hands and pull the tubers up.

How long do potatoes take to grow? Small new potatoes can be ready as early as ten weeks. However, full sized potatoes take about 80-100 days to reach maturity.

Photo by: Kevin Lee Jacobs.

Step 7: Store Your Potatoes

Since my potatoes are grown for storage, I leave them in the ground until cool weather arrives. Why? Because potatoes will only store well if they are placed somewhere cold, but not freezing. The closet in my mudroom doesn’t cool off until the outside temperatures plunges to 45° at night. So harvest time for me is usually a sunny day in late October.

After digging the tubers, I let them sit on top of the raised beds for a few hours to dry, as illustrated. This brief drying-period toughens their skin, and prepares them for storage. Then I gently brush off any loose soil from the tubers, and place them in double thicknesses of paper bags.

More potato growing tips:

Preventing Potato Blight

The dreaded fungal disease known as the "potato blight” (Phytophthora infestans) was responsible for the Irish potato famine and can destroy your entire crop, too. To reduce the chance of infection, never plant potatoes (or tomatoes and other members of the nightshade family, such as eggplants or chili peppers) in the same patch of land without leaving an interval of at least three years. Also, promptly remove any volunteer potatoes that emerge in your garden. The disease overwinters in tubers left behind during the previous year’s harvest.

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How to Start a Vegetable Garden

How to Grow Tomato Plants

Growing Peppers

How to Grow Potatoes — Seed Savers Exchange Blog

Here are a few tips from SSE's gardening crew on how to grow potatoes for a healthy and bountiful harvest.

General Advice

Potatoes always do best in full sun. They are aggressively rooting plants, and we find that they will produce the best crop when planted in a light, loose, well-drained soil. Potatoes prefer a slightly acid soil with a PH of 5. 0 to 7.0. Fortunately potatoes are very adaptable and will almost always produce a respectable crop, even when the soil conditions and growing seasons are less than perfect.

Always keep your potato patch weed-free for best results. Potatoes should be rotated in the garden, never being grown in the same spot until there has been a 3-4 year absence of potatoes.

When to Plant Potatoes 

Potatoes may be planted as soon as the ground can be worked in the early spring, but keep soil temperatures in mind. Potato plants will not begin to grow until the soil temperature has reached 45 degrees F. The soil should be moist, but not water-logged.

Potatoes can tolerate a light frost, but you should provide some frost protection for the plants if you know that a hard, late season freeze is coming. If you want to extend storage times, and have a long growing season, you can plant a second crop as late as June 15 and harvest the potatoes as late as possible.

Cutting Potatoes Before Planting

A week or two before your planting date, set your seed potatoes in an area where they will be exposed to light and temperatures between 60-70 degrees F. This will begin the sprouting process. A day or two before planting, use a sharp, clean knife to slice the larger seed potatoes into smaller pieces. Each piece should be approximately 2 inches square, and must contain at least 1 or 2 eyes or buds. Plant smaller potatoes whole. A good rule of thumb is to plant potatoes whole if they are smaller in size than a golf ball. In a day or so your seed will form a thick callous over the cuts, which will help prevent rotting.

Planting Potatoes in the Garden

We find that potatoes are best grown in rows. To begin with, dig a trench that is 6-8 inches deep. Plant each piece of potato (cut side down, with the eyes pointing up) every 12-15 inches, with the rows spaced 3 feet apart. If your space is limited or if you would like to grow only baby potatoes, you can decrease the spacing between plants.

To begin with only fill the trench in with 4 inches of soil. Let the plants start to grow and then continue to fill in the trench and even mound the soil around the plants as they continue to grow. Prior to planting, always make sure to cultivate the soil one last time. This will remove any weeds and will loosen the soil and allow the plants to become established more quickly.

How to Water Potatoes 

Keep your potato vines well watered throughout the summer, especially during the period when the plants are flowering and immediately following the flowering stage. During this flowering period the plants are creating their tubers and a steady water supply is crucial to good crop outcome. Potatoes do well with 1-2 inches of water or rain per week. When the foliage turns yellow and begins to die back, discontinue watering. This will help start curing the potatoes for harvest time.

When to Harvesting Potatoes

Baby potatoes typically can be harvested 2-3 weeks after the plants have finished flowering. Gently dig around the plants to remove potatoes for fresh eating, being careful not to be too intrusive. Try to remove the biggest new potatoes and leave the smaller ones in place so they can continue to grow. Only take what you need for immediate eating. Homegrown new potatoes are a luxury and should be used the same day that they are dug.

Potatoes that are going to be kept for storage should not be dug until 2-3 weeks after the foliage dies back. Carefully dig potatoes with a sturdy fork and if the weather is dry, allow the potatoes to lay in the field, unwashed, for 2-3 days. This curing step allows the skins to mature and is essential for good storage. If the weather during harvest is wet and rainy, allow the potatoes to cure in a dry protected area like a garage or covered porch.

Storage Conditions

At Seed Savers Exchange.  we are able to store potatoes well into the spring in our underground root cellar. Try to find a storage area that is well ventilated, dark, and cool. The ideal temperature is between 35 and 40 degrees F. Keep in mind that some varieties are better keepers than others. Varieties like Red Gold and Rose Gold are best used in the fall, and others like Carola and Russets are exceptional keepers.

Saving Seed Stock

Home gardeners can save seed for several generations. Save the very best potatoes for planting. You may find that after several years the size begins to decrease; this is typical. Potatoes are very susceptible to viruses. If you are looking for maximum yields it is best to start with fresh, USDA Certified Seed Stock every year.

In collaboration with University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers, SSE is working to eradicate viruses from heritage potatoes in order to safely preserve potato genetic diversity and to offer high quality seed potatoes.

When and how to plant potatoes: advice from experts

How to harvest a high yield of potatoes? The cultivation of this culture has its own characteristics, the knowledge of which is indispensable. How to plant potatoes correctly, the editors of the site tvtomsk.ru learned in the Agrarian Center of the Tomsk Region.

Choice of variety

Obtaining high yields of potatoes largely depends on the right variety. Well-known varieties, for example, "blue-eye", of course, are very tasty, but are unstable to almost all types of potato diseases. nine0003

Experts note that late varieties have higher yields, but even a very good variety should not be planted for more than 8 or 10 years. It must be replaced by a new one.

The most common varieties of potatoes among the population of the Tomsk region: Nevsky, Zhukovsky early, In memory of Rogachev, Nakra, Rosara, Lina, Fresco, Antonina, Lyubava, Solnechny, Ketsky, Safo, Anniversary, Charm, Tomich, Sante, Ideal, Karatop, Feloks , Adretta, Lugovskoy, Tuleevsky, Udalets, Rozhdestvensky, Zekura. nine0003

Preparing the soil and potatoes for planting

The soil for potatoes for next year is already being prepared at the end of this summer. For digging, you can add urea, ammonium nitrate, double granular superphosphate or potassium salt.

Pure tubers must weigh between 55 and 100 grams. It is recommended to warm the tubers to room temperature for 3 days, then spread them out on the windowsill, in low boxes or on the floor near the window, so that the tubers get a little daylight. nine0003

Potatoes can be treated with copper sulphate, Energen, Buton or Agricola Vegeta biostimulants.

If the tubers are thick, strong and short shoots, they can be planted. Large potatoes should be cut with a knife so that at least 2 sprouts are located on the cut parts. Dry them for 2 days, then proceed to planting.

Planting potatoes

Potatoes are best planted after cucumbers, radishes, radishes, beans, green peas and green manure. It should not be placed after tomato and eggplant. nine0003

Potatoes should only be planted when the soil is warm to 8°C. Stick to a planting depth of 9-10 cm. Early varieties should be planted in early May. Plant mid-season potatoes in the 10th of May.

Planting methods

1. Smooth method. Plant the vegetable by spreading the potatoes in the furrow. The best potato growth is seen when the distance between the bushes is 65-70 cm and the aisles are wide. Row spacing and hilling should be loosened a week after planting. nine0003

2. Comb method. Cut the ridges with a tractor cultivator or walk-behind tractor. Plant potatoes 8 cm on loamy soils and 11 cm on sandy soils. It should be moderately moist, loose and free of weeds. Potato hilling is carried out when the plant is 15-17 cm in height.

When plants develop slowly, remember to feed them and water them regularly. Weak development can be recognized by the state of the tops. For example, if there is not enough nitrogen, then there will be thin stems and small leaves, and the tops of a light green color. nine0003

End each watering by loosening the soil. When watering, keep the watering can close to the ground. The water temperature must be greater than the soil temperature.

Potato fertilizers

Organic fertilizers are most valuable for potatoes. Not completely rotted manure is valid for 2-4 years. Manure that has decomposed to humus is 4 times more saturated with nitrogen than fresh manure. Therefore, it is better to choose rotten manure for fertilizer. It is also recommended to use slurry with water or humus. Use wood ash for digging, add to top dressing and to holes. nine0003

How to properly store potatoes

Store potatoes in a cool, dry and well ventilated area. During storage, the main thing is not to let the tubers germinate or rot. Potatoes go bad especially in the spring.

Protection against pests and diseases

Diseases and pests of potatoes reduce its yield and quality of tubers. The main fungal diseases of this crop are early rot and late blight. Of the insects, the Colorado potato beetle and wireworms cause the greatest harm. nine0003

Late blight

The most common fungal disease of potatoes. It affects leaves, stems and tubers. On the surface of the tuber, brownish-grayish depressed spots are formed, inside it is painted in a rusty-brown color. The fungus enters the tubers during the harvesting period. The disease spreads in damp, moderately warm weather. To prevent the development of the disease, after harvesting, all affected plant residues are removed from the site and destroyed. When the first signs of disease appear, the plants are sprayed 90% solution of copper oxychloride.

Control of the Colorado potato beetle

One of the pest control methods in private farms is the cultivation of resistant varieties of potatoes. The Colorado potato beetle affects the following varieties less: Pomegranate, Crystal, Lasunok, Spark, Loshitsky, Temp. Chemical control remains the most effective method of dealing with the beetle. Plants are usually treated when there are more than 15 larvae per plant in the plantings. For the first treatments, it is better to use insecticides such as Commander and Iskra Zolotaya - they provide protection for 20 days. nine0003

Wireworm control

Wireworm lives in the ground and damages stolons, roots, stem bases and especially tubers. Helps in the fight against wireworm early autumn digging of the soil. Deep loosening in the spring and summer contributes to the destruction of the larvae. Liming of acidic soils has an effective effect.

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drawing up a plan, cultivation methods, planting, the basics of agricultural technology and harvesting, calculating profits

Growing potatoes as a business is a profitable activity, because such a vegetable is always in demand, which means it will not be difficult to sell it. But it should be understood that creating a successful business is important to think it over and organize it correctly. First of all, it is necessary to draw up a business plan for growing a crop in order to determine the profitability of the activity, i.e. calculate costs and profits. To get the most out of your business, it's best to sell your potatoes at the retail market, but this can take a long time. Most farmers prefer to sell vegetables in bulk to enterprises or shops, although in this case the profit will be half as much. nine0003

Contents

Potato Business Plan

There are 2 ways to build a business on potatoes: equip greenhouses or grow crops openly.

To increase income, farmers often use both methods at the same time, but it should be understood that in this case they need to invest much more financial resources in organizing the business. The simplest and most common way to grow potatoes is open, and besides, it is less expensive. Already in the first season, you can not only recoup the invested money, but also get a good profit. nine0003

The business plan for growing potatoes is as follows:

For those who have not previously been involved in agricultural activities, the preparation of planting material will begin with its acquisition. nine0098 You should buy high-yielding varieties of potatoes for which the climatic conditions of the area where it is planned to be planted will be favorable. If the farmer has previously been engaged in the cultivation of vegetables, then he should know that for spring planting potatoes need to be selected in the fall, during the harvest. Selected tubers should be small and without any damage.

Vegetables are planted before planting, i.e. prepared in a special way: for about 20 days they are placed in a bright place, protected from direct sunlight, after which the potatoes are transferred for further storage in a dark room with a humidity of up to 90% and temperature +1-3 °C. Thanks to this preparation, the tubers will germinate well, and they will also gain resistance to decay.

Potato growing process (video)

Process for growing potatoes

Planting time will depend not only on the variety chosen, but also on climatic conditions. For example, in May, residents of central Russia begin to plant potatoes, while in the south of the country, it is possible to start farming as early as March. To reap a good harvest, carefully cultivate the soil. nine0003

When cultivating the land, it is loosened, cleared of weeds and fertilized. It is recommended to use horse or cow manure as fertilizers. To speed up and facilitate the work, it is recommended to use a tractor.

When the soil is ready, you can start planting potatoes. In order for the tubers to develop well, they must have enough free space, therefore they dig holes for them in even rows, with a distance of at least 30 cm. In addition, this arrangement is convenient for harvesting through agricultural technology. nine0003

After 2 weeks, potato bushes will need to be spudded and weeds removed. Watering the crop should be no more than 3 times a week, and if the weather is wet, then you can completely refuse it. It is best to spray the crop with an insecticide solution at a time when the bushes are just beginning to bloom, as this will prevent the appearance of pests that can harm the crop.

As soon as the potatoes are ripe, you can start harvesting. By As a rule, the culture matures within 3 months. For quick harvesting, agricultural machinery is used, which can be rented inexpensively, thereby saving the budget. The harvested crop must be prepared for sale. To make the product more attractive, it is washed and then dried thoroughly so that the tubers do not start to rot. If it was decided to sell vegetables at retail, then they can be packaged, which will slightly increase the price of the goods.

nine0094 Calculation of net profit

Potato growing business can be built even if there is a small plot of land, besides, in this case, you will not have to draw up IP documents and pay taxes. With a competent approach, this type of activity will bring great financial profit, and the feedback from farmers is a confirmation of this. To calculate the net income from 0.5 hectares of land, you must also take into account the costs:

  • agricultural machinery (walk-behind tractor, attachments, trailer, etc.) - 75,000 rubles; nine0086
  • fertilizers and insecticides — 15,000 rubles;
  • seed, taking into account the consumption of 30 kg per 0.01 ha, and its wholesale price of 10 rubles. for 1 kg - 15000 rubles.

Total, the total amount of expenses will be 105,000 rubles. It should be noted that much less financial investments will be required if you use your own potatoes for planting, do not purchase equipment, but rent it.

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