| "Potatoes" are
grown from pieces of potatoes called eye sets. They can be
purchased at your local garden center or greenhouse.
The Bed: Add a fresh layer
of rich compost to the top soil, then till or spade the bed to
loosen the soil and work in the compost. Rake level. Do not add
fresh manure to the Potato bed!
How to Grow: Potatoes can
be planted 7 - 8 weeks before last frost in either hills or the
black plastic technique.
Black plastic: Plant potatoes in
holes cut in black plastic that covers the bed. Plant eye sets
3" to 5" deep in rows 10" - 12" apart. Water
as needed.
Hilling: Plant eye sets in furrows 3" to
5" deep, spaced 10" to 12" apart. Rows
should be 24" to 36" apart. Each time the potato grows
6" or more, mound the stem with soil. Water as needed. For
both growing methods, cut back on watering as the potatoes mature
and the tops start to die back.
Harvesting: Potatoes can
be harvested in 8 to 10 weeks or they can be left to mature to
full size and harvested after the tops start to yellow and die
back.
Available Hybrids - Cultivars: Dark
Red Norland, Yukon Gold, Kennebec, All Blue, and Rose Finn Apple,
to name a few.
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