Gardening with Gary




Gardening Advice from an Expert

Potatoes

Growing Potatoes:

The number of weeks needed for potatoes to be mature varies. Please read the information when you buy the eyes, or seeds. The simplest way to propagate potatoes is to take the slightly sprouted ones in your hamper and cut them into sections, each with an eye with a sprout. You can get up to 8-10 per potato.

Plant in a very well-worked, drained soil. Place them 12-18" apart, as their roots spread quite a distance and the colony of new potatoes underground will be a large circle, so to speak. Planting in good soil is necessary as they must grow easily through it and form the potatoes. Digging them in the fall is easier if the soil is loose and fine.

Compost or leaf mold spaded in will give them added nutrients.

Feed well throughout the season, and water deeply often to soak the root area. Try to avoid foliage wilting in the hot summer sun. Watch for nasty potato bugs, aphids and Japanese beetles. Spray immediately.

When fall arrives and the tops go dry, use a pronged spade to carefully dig down all around the plant, being careful not to slice into the potatoes. Allow them to air dry, wash off all dirt, and store in a cool, dark, dry location.

Growing Potatoes in Straw:



Member Glenita helps out with hands-on advice for growing potatoes in straw:

It is the only way my husband will let me plant potatoes. You plant your potatoes and let them start to grow. When they are up through the ground, completely cover them with straw. You want the straw about a foot deep. It will settle during the summer so the thicker the better. Now all you do is water the potatoes and keep the bugs off.

At harvest time, all you do is rake back the straw and pick up the potatoes off the ground. We have grown huge potatoes because they don't have to move the dirt around, it just has the soft hay to move. We love to grow the potatoes this way.

Note from Gary: Thank you, so much. I welcome corrections and additions to my advice. Hey, I can learn, too!

Red Potatoes:

Q. I want to plant red potatoes. I want to plant them in straw, but will need your instructions; when to plant (here in Vermont), how deep to plant, how much straw will be needed per plant, the care, and when to harvest the crop. I am so pleased to know you are available to answer questions! Thank you in advance for your answer to my question. Have a wonderful weekend.

A. I am not experienced with growing potatoes in straw. Is this the only medium that touches the roots and tubers? Is it done so that the potatoes may be dug up more easily? I am truly clueless.

I have grown them in garden beds in Ohio, Michigan and California. I plant the eyes about 5-6 " deep and 2-3' apart. I make sure that the soil is loosened very well in the spring and plant them when the soil is no longer cold and the frost date has passed. If you do not know your date, call your local agricultural station and an employee there would know, as it varies from state to state, city to city!

They require good deep watering and not soggy, therefore well-drained. Straw would supply that, but since it does not hold food, you would need to feed them often, about once per week, to enable the plants to grow and bear tubers. Watch for the dreaded potato bug and Japanese beetle. Do not allow to wilt on hot days. They need full sun to produce best, but 2/3 day will suffice.

As the temps drop in the fall, the foliage will droop. Knock it down and let dry. Using a pitchfork, spade them up before the ground gets cold. Wash and air dry, then store in a cool, dark, dry spot.

Judi writes~
I'm not sure how to plant. I have cut my red potatoes into sections each with an eye. Do I plant eye down or up? Thanks for any help, this is the first time for potatoes!



A. Potatoes are one of the very easiest vegetables to raise. You need a well-tilled light and airy soil, with sand and leaf mold added if desired, not one heavy with clay. The tubers will need to expand easily and loose soil will assist removal from the soil when harvesting. The tuber sections should have one eye each, planted face up. From each eye will sprout vegetative growth which will break the soil surface and form the bush to supply nourishment for newly growing tubers below. Plant sections 6-8" deep, and 2.5-3' apart, allowing ample room for light, air movement and moisture. Water well and often if rains are lacking. Feed regularly. Watch for predator insects and apply suitable spray to prevent foliage chewing. When temperatures begin to drop, knock down the bush stems and allow the tubers several more weeks to enlarge. Dig around the plants in a wide circle so as not to split the tubers with a digging fork. Lift gently; allow to air dry and wash well before storing in a cool, dry, dark place.