How to Grow Potatoes : Preparation, Planting, Care, Harvesting & Benefits
Potato is a very well-known crop. It is hard to find someone who hasn’t eaten potatoes. There are lots of dishes you can make with potatoes, and by growing them, you can also support your finances. Many people believe growing potatoes is a very difficult task, but it is not. Actually, you can grow potatoes anywhere if you want, you can grow them on your farm, in your garden, or even in an abandoned area of your house. If you are lacking ground or land, you can also learn how to grow potatoes in a bag, pots or container.
For me, growing potatoes is a very easy task. If you ask me, I grew potatoes last year in the abandoned area of my house and yielded much better than expected. I will share my knowledge and experience with you on how to grow potatoes in your garden.
Best Time to Grow Potatoes
Basically, potato is a winter crop; that is, winter is the perfect time for growing potatoes. Different countries plant potatoes based on the environment, but in America, the right time to plant potatoes is March, April, or May. Many people often ask, “when do you plant potatoes?” Well, many people ask me why I plant potatoes in the middle of March. Actually, I grew up in a farming family, so my ancestors were farmers, and I always saw my parents planting potatoes in the middle of March, and I followed them. I believe that in March, the weather starts to grow colder, and by the middle of March, it becomes much cooler, making it the right time to plant potatoes. If you’re wondering how long do potatoes take to grow, they typically need about 70 to 120 days from planting to harvest, depending on the variety and growing conditions.
Best Way to Grow Potatoes
How to Grow Potatoes in a Raised Bed
Growing potatoes in a raised bed is so rewarding. In America, growing potatoes in raised beds has become a trend. Many people grow potatoes in raised beds because of their benefits. If you want to grow potatoes in a raised bed, choosing the perfect raised bed is important. The size of the raised bed doesn’t matter, but one thing you have to keep in mind is that the raised bed must be at least 15 to 18 inches deep. After choosing a raised bed, you have to choose a sunny location where potatoes can have 6 to 8 hours of direct sunlight. Like other vegetables, potatoes also need proper sunlight to grow. After that, you have to fill the bed with a soil mix. For the soil mix, you should add a combination of well-drained soil, compost, and organic matter. After that, you have to sow the seeds in the soil. In the soil, you need to dig shallow trenches about 4-6 inches deep. Remember to space the seeds about 12 inches apart in the trenches. After that, cover the potato seeds with regular soil. Then, water them gently, remembering not to use too much water. Too much water can cause problems for potato plants, as they do not like waterlogged areas.
How to Grow Potatoes in a Bag
If you are lacking space in your garden, you can grow potatoes in a bag. This way, you can grow more potatoes in less space. So, first of all, before planting, you need to choose the right bag for potatoes. For potato growing, look for a bag that is at least 10-15 gallons in size. The bag must also have drainage holes at the bottom. After choosing the right bag, fill it with potting mix. You should add 6 inches of potting soil to the bottom. After that, you need to plant the potato seeds. Remember, the space between each seed must be 6 inches. After planting, cover them with regular garden soil. You only need to cover them with an additional 2-3 inches of soil. After a few weeks, your potato plants will start to grow. Also, if you are growing potatoes in a bag, you need to add more soil during the growing season. When your plants are about 8 to 12 inches tall, add soil covering the lower leaves. This process is called hilling, and it promotes more tuber growth.
How to Grow Potatoes in a Container or Pots
You can also grow potatoes in pots or containers. There are actually lots of benefits to growing potatoes in pots or containers. I also grew potatoes in containers in my garden because it’s really easy to harvest, and you don’t have to worry about potatoes while harvesting. Last year, I grew potatoes in 10 containers. Each container was 20 liters. How do you make the containers ready for planting? Well, it’s pretty simple if you ask me. First of all, we need to fill the bottom with a small layer of compost. After that, we have to cover it up with blood fish and bone compost. Blood fish bone is a fertilizer you can buy from the market or store. Now, how many potatoes should you plant in each pot? That depends on the variety of potato. For first early and second early potatoes, you should plant two potatoes in each pot. For the main crop, you should plant one potato in each pot. Now, cover the pot with compost, or you can also use light soil. If you ask me, I suggest compost because, by using compost, potatoes can grow really fast. Now you have to dig a little hole in the garden and put those containers in the hole because if the roots reach the bottom, potatoes can get nutrients from the soil. Taking care is the most important part. It’s really important that they don’t dry out, so make sure you keep your pots well watered. That’s pretty much all for growing potatoes in containers.
How to Grow Potato Sprouts
Previously, we discussed how to grow potatoes in a container and how to grow potatoes in a raised bag. But now we will discuss how to grow potato sprouts. First of all, we have to choose some healthy potatoes. You have to make sure they don’t have any fungus or disease. After choosing healthy potatoes, you will need some tissue paper. After getting tissue paper, you have to wrap your potatoes in tissue paper. Now, get a perforated bag and put the potatoes in the bag. Why do we have to use a perforated bag? Well, a perforated bag is not completely sealed, and it will allow airflow, which will prevent the potatoes from rotting. After putting the potatoes in the bag, we have to put a big onion in the bag. Many of you may be wondering why we should put an onion with the potatoes. Because onions contain ethylene gas, and ethylene gas from the onion will make the potatoes sprout faster. In the next step, you have to place the bag next to the window so that it can have indirect sunlight. After three weeks, you will see your potatoes have started to sprout.
How to Make Soil for Potatoes
Soil is the most important part of any crop or vegetable. That means you must prepare the soil before planting crops. For potatoes, you also have to prepare the soil properly if you wish to have a better yield at the end of the season. So how can you prepare the soil for potato planting? It’s pretty easy. Potatoes like light soil. So you have to make your soil light that potatoes can grow properly. Let’s talk about how you can make your soil light. Potatoes like well-drained soil. If your soil is heavy clay, you can add some sand to make it light. Before planting, you also have to prepare the soil. For that, you should use 40-50% soil, 30-40% compost, and 10-20% aged manure, and if you want, you can add perlite and peat moss. For perlite, you can use 10-15%, and for peat moss, you can also use 10-15%. After mixing those accordingly, your soil will be ready for planting.
Best Fertilizer for Potatoes
Fertilizer is a must before planting potatoes. You cannot prepare soil without using fertilizer. Not just for potatoes; if you want to grow other vegetables such as cabbage, radish, or onions, you also have to use fertilizer for a better yield. So, before planting, you can add a balanced fertilizer with an N-P-K ratio such as 10-10-10 or 5-10-10. These two fertilizers provide a good balance of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. These nutrients are very important for healthy plant growth and tuber development. Those nutrients can be found in fertilizer. There are also some specialized potato fertilizers. Many brands offer fertilizers that are specifically made for potatoes. You can also use them. There are also liquid fertilizers you can use, or you can use homemade fertilizers like banana peels and eggshells. Now let’s talk about when we should use fertilizer. For potatoes, we need to use fertilizer two times: once before planting and once in mid-season. Before planting, we should use fertilizer for soil mixing. I already told you about this. In mid-season, we have to apply additional fertilizer when plants are about 6-8 inches tall. We also have to avoid too much fertilizer, as it can cause too much lush foliage but fewer tubers.
Best Organic Fertilizer for Potatoes
Organic fertilizer is much more in demand than ordinary fertilizer. In America, organic fertilizer has a high demand. If you want, you can use organic fertilizer instead of regular fertilizer for potatoes. Vegetables and fruits require three key nutrients to grow: nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. All these nutrients can be found in organic fertilizer. There are lots of fertilizers that you can use for potatoes, such as compost, well-rotted manure, bone meal, fish emulsion, wood ash, banana peels and eggshells. All these organic options contain many benefits for potato plants. First of all, compost helps to improve soil structure and provides a balanced source of nutrients. Well-rotted manure helps to improve soil fertility. As for bone meal, it plays an important role in root and tuber development. If you prefer organic fertilizer over ordinary fertilizer, I would suggest you use it. Now, let’s talk about the perfect time to use it. Before planting, we should use it for soil mix. In mid-season, potato plants normally show signs of nutrient deficiency. So, when potato plants are about 6 to 8 inches tall, we need to add additional organic matter so that they can have proper nutrients to grow tubers.
How to Prepare Seeds
The next step is to prepare potato seeds. We have to collect potato seeds of improved varieties from the market. We can plant whole potatoes or cut the potatoes and then plant them. If you want to cut the potatoes, at least two eyes must be placed on the part. While cutting potatoes, it is important to keep the knife and bowl clean with soapy water to avoid spreading germs from one potato to another. The potato seeds should be cut lengthwise.
Best Time to Harvest Potatoes
Potatoes are known as a starchy vegetable. Harvesting potatoes is a very interesting part. Last year, I cultivated potatoes in my garden, and the harvest was pretty good. Now let us talk about the best time to harvest potatoes. I will try to share my knowledge and experience with you.
Based on variety, we can divide potatoes into three categories: early potatoes, second early potatoes, and the main crop. Early potatoes are considered new potatoes; they are small, sweet, and delicious. They grow faster, and it takes only 11-12 weeks for them to be ready to harvest. So, how long does it take potatoes to grow? Early potatoes, for instance, are quite quick to reach maturity.
Now let’s talk about second early potatoes. The best time to harvest second early potatoes is mid-July, only a couple of weeks after the first early potatoes. They are also known as ‘salad potatoes.’
Now let us jump to the main crop. Main crop potatoes, from sowing to harvest, usually take 15-18 weeks. Likely, the best months to harvest main crop potatoes are September to October.
Now, how will you know that your potatoes are ready for harvest? It is actually pretty easy to know. When the potatoes are ready to harvest, the leaves will eventually start to turn yellow. If that happens, all you need to do is wait for one or two weeks and then start to dig around the plants.
Best Way to Harvest Potatoes
Harvesting is the most important process. If you do not harvest your potatoes properly, it might damage them. When you see your potato plants dying at the end of the season, get a shovel and put on hand gloves. After that, gently remove the soil at the base of the potato plant and use a shovel to pop them up. Remember to do it gently to avoid damaging the potatoes.
Benefits
If you are growing potatoes, you can enjoy many benefits. You can grow potatoes in the ground, in a bag, in a raised bed, or in containers. By growing potatoes, not only do you have enough for your family, but it can also support your financial status. You can make a lot of money by growing potatoes. During peak harvest season, growing your own potatoes can save you money compared to buying them at the store.
Moreover, you can gain numerous health benefits by eating potatoes. One of the most eye-catching benefits is their storage capability; you can store potatoes for several months. This means that if you learn how to grow potatoes, you won’t have to buy them for a long time.
