Preparing for the Potatoes

Many are now thinking about the spring garden. So I thought we could go over the more basic of cool weather veggies/roots. This article was originally posted on A Homesteading Neophyte.

March is the best time for potato planting in the Heartland, but the best time for everyone is when your soil is workable.

You can find local seed potatoes in your locally owned family hardware store, or create your own with grocery store bought {though this is a gamble}, or catalog orders. There are over 1,000 varieties of potatoes to choose from.

To start, make sure you are not planting in the same area as tomatoes or eggplants did the year before. Potatoes do not like rich soil, so no extra fertilizing! Or if you are going for the container method; Plant your seed potatoes in the bottom of a tall container, like a clean garbage can or barrel. Place about 6″ of soil in the bottom first and then spread out your seed potatoes, usually you will use about five seed potatoes for this. Keep adding soil or mulch as the plants get taller. {I have done this in an old bassinet} You can do the traditional in ground method, or Lazy Bed. The lazy bed is a very wide and tall row, and instead of burying the seed potatoes, you place them on top of the soil and cover them with straw.

Potatoes like water, so make sure they stay hydrated, about an inch a week.

You do not want to allow the tubers to be exposed to sunlight. Exposure means green skins that can be slightly toxic. DO NOT EAT THEM! They belong to the nightshade family.

To keep your recently cut up seed potatoes from rotting in the ground, keep them out overnight to callus.

Once your plants have flowered and the stocks have dried up and died, it is time to carefully dig them up. If heavily mulched in a barrel or lazy bed, you can winter store them where they lay.

Tools needed for this: a potato fork