Pāriet uz galveno saturu

How to grow potatoes

Potatoes come in various shapes, sizes, and colors. By growing your own, you can guarantee a bumper crop of colorful and nutritious spuds.

TOOLS                                                       

  • hoe(Outperforms)
  • knife(satilVere)
  • pitchfork(Ready to Go)

  • Fiskars 60 Inch Steel Posthole Digger(Premier)

MATERIALS

  • seed potatoes
  • agricultural sulfur
  • compost

INTRODUCTION

Purchase the Seed Potatoes

Potatoes are planted from seed potatoes, potato tubers that have sprouting buds on them. Use only certified seed potatoes as grocery-store potatoes can harbor diseases that may ruin an entire crop. You can order certified seed potatoes from a catalog or buy them at a local garden center. There are numerous potato varieties to choose from.

STEPP 1 

rep Potatoes for Planting

About a week before planting, place the seed potatoes in a warm spot, between 60 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit. When the sprouts that form are about 1/4" to 1/2" long, the potatoes are almost ready to plant. A few days before planting, cut large seed potatoes into chunks about 2" wide. Each piece should have at least two buds. After cutting the seed potatoes, let them sit at room temperature for two or three days.

STEPP 2

prepare the Site

To grow well, potatoes need plenty of sunshine and loose, loamy soil. With a garden fork, work some compost or another garden conditioner into the garden bed. Add a 05-10-10 fertilizer at the recommended rate.

STEP 3

Plant the Potatoes

Dust the seed potatoes with agricultural sulfur by putting a handful of sulfur in a paper bag, adding the potatoes and shaking them around. This protects against fungal diseases. Dig holes 3" to 4" deep in hills 12" apart. Place the seed potatoes in the holes cut side down with the eyes pointing up. Cover the seed potatoes with of soil. Water well.

STEP 4 

Hill the Potatoes

About five weeks after planting, the potatoes should be "hilled." To hill potatoes, simply pile soil up around the stems. This forces new potatoes to grow above the seed potatoes planted earlier. When hilling, it is okay to leave a few of the upper leaves exposed or cover the entire plant. Hill frequently enough so that new tubers are never exposed to direct sun.

STEP 5

Harvest the Potatoes

On average, potatoes mature in about 70 or 100-plus days. One clue that the potatoes are almost ready to harvest is that the leaves will yellow and the foliage will die back. It’s best to leave them on the ground for two or three weeks after this point so that their skins toughen up. Use a pitchfork and your hands to carefully dig them up.

STEP 6

Eat or Store the Potatoes

Brush off dirt, wash and enjoy potatoes immediately. To store potatoes for later use, place them in a dry spot to cure for another two weeks. After curing, sort through the potatoes and discard any that are soft or shriveled. Place the rest in a cool, dry spot, where they should last for several months.



Etiķetes:

Komentāri

Ierakstīt komentāru

Šī emuāra populārākās ziņas

ALL ABOUT ORGANICS

ALL ABOUT ORGANICS When you choose organic food and other products, you’re helping more than yourself. You’re supporting farmers and producers who work hard to meet the standards because they believe in good health, quality and sustainability. It takes a lot and pays it forward.
Ierakstīt komentāru
Lasīt vairāk

Eco-Living

How do we practice authentic eco-living? Environmental experts say that it will take humanity 100 years to heal the damage we’ve done to the earth. What can we all do to become more eco-friendly? What does it mean to practice eco-living? The key to being eco-friendly is for everyone to live more as a whole, to inflict minimal or no harm on the environment. As we become more conscious as a society, we realize it’s time to restore damaged ecosystems, forests, soils, waters, and the air. Earth restoration is the first step towards creating a healthier planet. By implementing local and organic farming, green building, and renewable resource usage, we become more sustainable. Examples of eco-living are: local and organic farming, composting, building green, reducing consumption, reusing or completely stop using non-renewable materials, recycling, and promoting the use of renewable resources and renewable energy. Bamboo Living strives to be a leader among eco-conscious companies. We build ou...
Ierakstīt komentāru
Lasīt vairāk

How to Start a Hobby Farm

If you want to start a hobby farm, you probably have a lot of questions about how and where to begin. What do you need to know before you take the next step of buying a hobby farm and beginning to farm? What things should you consider as you move forward? What Is Hobby Farming? Before you can decide you do want to start a hobby farm, make sure you know what you're getting yourself into. Hobby farming means that you're not trying to run a  small farm business  where your farming products will be a main source of income. And it means that your goal isn't total self-sufficiency like a homesteader. However, it's also, however, you define it: you could sell some eggs, or broilers, or vegetables, and still, consider yourself a hobby farmer. But if your primary income is from running your farm, you've got a business. Also, many people who consider themselves hobby farmers have money to spend on livestock, equipment, and buildings. In contrast, homesteaders are...
1 komentārs
Lasīt vairāk