My husband went to the local co-op this weekend and got a few “spuds” and planted our mound of potatoes. I am so excited, there is nothing like digging potatoes out of the ground, and then slicing and grilling them. Yum!
Potatoes
One thing I learned this week is that potatoes don’t grow from seeds. All you have to do is get a spud that has the roots growing on it and plant it in the ground. Pretty neat huh? Same exact concept as growing green onions from the grocery store. Once a potato has the knot on it, put it into water and the roots will grow, then you just put it into the ground and make a kind of “mound” over it so it has plenty of room to grow.
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Do you have any tips on planting potatoes? How do you guarantee a bountiful harvest of them?
Photo Credit: Every Stock Photo
Nice post. I would suggest for good spuds keep them well watered if there is not enough rain but try and keep water off the leaves when watering to try and deter blight
We always cut our potatoes in half, sometimes quarters. Plant them in a deep hole and don’t fill it full, as the plant starts to push through, cover it up with more dirt or good compost and keep doing that until they are in a hill.
I also know people who plant one or 2 in the bottom of a large trash can with some drainage holes. Put about 6″ of dirt on the bottom, drop in the potato(es) and add about 6″ more of straw and an inch of dirt. As they push up, add another 6″ of straw and dirt. Keep doing that until the can is full. Keep it moist. After the plants die back, dump the can and pick up your bounty!
My dad grew some potatoes in some old tires once! They turned out small, but that wasn’t due to the tires (I think it was the soil).