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  • From: "Tradingpost" <tradingpost@lobo.net>
  • To: livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [Livingontheland] When and How to Plant Potatoes
  • Date: Tue, 08 Apr 2008 20:52:42 -0600



When and How to Plant Potatoes
http://www.motherearthnews.com/Real-Food/2007-04-01/When-and-How-to-Plant-Potatoes.aspx
April 1, 2007
Potatoes are one of the easiest crops you can grow, and early spring is the
time to get them in the ground.

Potatoes are easy to grow, but they prefer cool weather so you should try to
get them into the ground at the right time. The first thing you'll need to do
is start saving whole or cut-up pieces of potatoes to use as your "seeds." Or
you can order seed potatoes through mail-order garden companies. (Browse our
customized search tool, the Seed and Plant Finder to find mail-order
companies offering the specific potato varieties you want to grow.) Store
your seed potatoes in the refrigerator.

Your next step is to determine the recommended planting time for your
climate. Since it takes potatoes two to three weeks to emerge from the
ground, the earliest you should plant seed potatoes is two weeks before your
last anticipated freeze date of 28 degrees Fahrenheit or lower. (If you don't
know your local last freeze date, you can find it here.) About a week before
your planting-out date, bring the seed out of the fridge and place it in a
bright warm window for about a week. This will help break the spuds' dormancy
and assure they will grow quickly when you put them into the still-cool
spring soil.

If you garden in areas that have hot summers be sure to plant your potatoes
early, and to play it safe, choose varieties that mature in early- or
mid-season. This is because potatoes do not do well when the temperatures
climb into the 90s. They may actually keel over and die when the temperature
gets to 95 degrees. If a late planting or a late season variety runs into
that hot weather while the tubers are in the early bulking stage you may get
a very low yield.

To save work, or as a way to start a new garden bed, some people like to just
toss their potato seed pieces onto bare ground or even a patch of sod, and
then cover the pieces with a heavy mulch of straw or leaves. I've always
wondered if you get as many potatoes with this short-cut method as you would
if you buried the seed in a prepared garden bed, so I asked Jim and Megan
Gerritsen, who grow and sell certified organic potatoes at Wood Prairie Farm
in Bridgewater, Maine, what they think of this technique. The Gerritsens have
been advising gardeners all across the continent since 1976.

Q: Does planting potatoes in a deep mulch on uncultivated ground still give
reasonably good yields?

A: This deep mulch potato planting technique is called the Stout method,
named after the old-time popular organic gardener Ruth Stout. Over the years
Ruth had created beautiful soil and that fertile soil was a big factor in her
success. Perform the Stout method on great soil and expect great yields of
delicious potatoes. But try the technique on old worn out and unimproved
ground and get ready to learn some patience and gain some humility. Potatoes
are heavy feeders and they will respond dramatically to good fertility and
tilth. Your yield will suffer to the extent that the soil you plant in lacks
proper fertility and water.

Over the years, Stout's deep mulching technique will help you build wonderful
soil fertility plus conserve water. In the meantime, working some organic
fertilizer (we like fish meal) into the soil while you are building the
organic matter and fertility will pay big dividends with any method of
growing potatoes, including Ruth's.

As to laying the seed pieces on top of the ground, shallow planting the
potato seed piece into 1 to 2 inches of soil beneath the deep mulch would be
a good compromise and would provide superior results because it is more in
keeping with tried and true traditional potato planting methods Also, be sure
the mulch is not so dense and packed that the developing potato plants can't
find their way to sunlight. One final word of caution: If you have big
problems with slugs or mice the deep mulch method can add to your troubles.

If you have more questions about growing potatoes, or want to try out some of
Wood Prairie Farm's 16 organic varieties, you can reach them at
www.woodprairie.com or 800-829-9765. (And if you have trouble with insect
pests on your potatoes, be sure to try their new 'King Harry' variety, which
is naturally highly resistant to flea beetles, Colorado potato beetles and
leafhoppers.)

* Browse our customized search tool, the Mother Earth News Seed and Plant
Finder to find mail-order companies offering the specific potato varieties
you want to grow.





  • [Livingontheland] When and How to Plant Potatoes, Tradingpost, 04/08/2008

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