Excerpt from Growing Food: A Guide for Beginners

By
Jean Ann Van Krevelen
www.growingfoodguide.com

Copyright 2009, Jean Ann Van Krevelen All Rights Reserved

Potatoes are an herbaceous perennial that are
related to tomatoes and eggplants. And while
these spectacular spuds originated in Peru,
most of today’s varieties can be traced back
to Chile. It is relatively easy to grow potatoes
if you follow a few key guidelines.
Potatoes have a wide variety of shapes and
sizes. Some are grown for early season
harvest and others are grown for late season
harvest. Make sure you follow the cultural
requirements for the type you are planting.
Believe it or not, potatoes grow up, not down.
They will produce a small crop underground,
but will not dive deep like a carrot. In order to
get a high yield, you will need to add
compost/hay up around the vine as it grows.
Grow potatoes from tubers, not seeds. When you
order “seed potatoes” you will get tubers with
“eyes” on them. Eyes are those spots on a potato
where roots start growing. When you cut and
plant, make sure each piece has 2-3 eyes on it.

When a potato tuber is exposed to sunlight, it

can turn green. This can be an indication that
toxic compounds, called glycoalkaloid, have
increased. These compounds are always present
in potatoes, but higher doses can cause illness.
Avoid eating green or sprouted potatoes and
leaves and stems as well.
Spuds differ greatly in the amount of starch
that is present. High starch varieties are good
for mashing, baking and frying (like russets).
Those with low starch are best for boiling,
roasting and salads (like reds). There is an
intermediate group that can be used as both a
low or high starch potato (like Yukon Golds). 
Try a couple of different types to see which
you like the best.
These tubers like a slightly acidic soil and
sunshine. If your leaves are a too yellow, have
your soil tested to find out the pH, and then
amend with a soil acidifier like sulfur.
Spuds like fertile soil. Make sure the location is
well amended with compost and the soil is
nice and loose.
Potatoes are grown from seed potatoes, not
seeds. Generally, they are sold by the pound.
Plant potatoes whole or cut in chunks, making
sure that there are 2-3 eyes per piece. Many
sources suggest letting the cut potatoes
callous over before planting. You can do this
by leaving the pieces in a bright, dry location
for 24 hours until the cut sides have dried. I
have also just cut the potatoes and plunged
them in the ground.
Plant 3-4 weeks from the last frost, usually
sometime in March. I like to plant around St.
Patrick’s Day.
They need to be about 5 inches deep and
spaced far enough apart that you can “hill up”
around them.
As the vines grow, add a combination of straw
and compost up around the sides of the stems.
Make sure there are some leaves exposed so
the plant will continue to grow. Keep adding
until the potato blooms.
When the potato blooms, you can harvest the
first potatoes. These are called “new potatoes”.
Potatoes have reached maturity when the stems
die back. At this point, you can harvest them or
leave them in the ground to cure for an
additional two weeks. This will help them last
longer in storage.

For more potato planting, harvesting, preparing

and storing information,
visit www.growingfoodguide.com