Over the last 12 months Darren and I have had great success growing potatoes in our veggie garden. As we find potatoes sprouting in our pantry we plant them straight into our garden.
For successful crops this is what we've done -
* If the sprouting potatoes are large and have many sprouts, cut them in half ensuring you have at least a couple of sprouts on each half. Let the potatoes sit for a couple of days so the cut dries up and heals
* Plant your potatoes wrist deep into a reasonably loose soil / compost combination with the sprouts facing upwards.
* Plant potatoes about 30 cm apart in rows 45 cm apart.
* Cover with soil and water in.
* As the greenery pokes through the soil and grows up, hill the soil around it to encourage more potatoes to grow. You might need to do this a few times. Hilling the soil up also protects any potatoes growing near the surface from turning green.
* Water the plants regularly but only if you think they need it. Over watering can increase the likelihood of rot.
* When the plant produces flowers, pick them off so the plant concentrates all it's energy on growing potatoes.
* Dig up the potatoes when the plants have fallen over and died off. Use a spade or garden fork to dig up the soil starting about 30 cm away from the plant to avoid hitting a potato.
* Spread the potatoes on hardboard or in a shallow container for a few days outside away from direct sunlight. This lets the skins dry out on the potatoes. Once dry, store in a cool dark place. Under the house or in the garden is an ideal location.
* Only brush off excess soil before storing. Do not wash the potatoes if storing for long periods of time.
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| Trenches to plant the potatoes |
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| Covering them up in colder weather. |
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| Small plants |
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| Larger plants |
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| Digging up the potatoes |
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| The harvest |
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| Drying them out. |
Wow, that’s a lot of potatoes! Good for you!
ReplyDeleteI have grown them. I’m in the north of North America so we’re headed into dark, winter days. I look forward to spring, though!
North of North America would be dark and cold. I can understand you looking forward to Spring. Were you able to grow some veggies to put away for Winter ?
DeleteCurrently growing a small crop at the moment and like you, from sprouted pantry spuds! We have not 'hilled' ours so will need to be very careful in what we select to eat. I do plan on arranging a spud garden some time in the near future. At the moment though, they are sharing the ground with spring onions and a self sown tomato plant!
ReplyDeleteVicky
Self sewn tomato plants are great too.
DeleteWe've grown potatoes once and it was so much fun.
ReplyDeleteI haven't had much success. I am told the Brisbane climate is not good for growing potatoes. Maybe if I used seed potatoes instead of those that I buy to eat I might succeed. I have some sweet potatoes to try.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the information as I learned a heap.
I grew them one year and they were fun--especially the treasure hunt of digging them up. I'm not sure why I only did them the one year. I actually started with seed potatoes. I hilled them up once or twice. Your crop looks fantastic!
ReplyDelete