Planting Potatoes
Potatoes like to go into a cool soil. It is said that it is time to plant the potatoes when the dandelions begin to bloom. I like to “green” the potatoes for a week or two before planting. This is accomplished by placing them, right side up, in a bright, but not sunny, location. You can tell the down and up sides of a potato by locating where it was attached to the vine when it was growing. This is the down side. Most of the eyes will be opposite this spot.
As they green up, tight sprouts will form at the eyes.
Potatoes grow above where they are planted, so I begin by creating a low space surrounded by hills.
The potatoes will be dug down into the soil another six or eight inches. As the potatoes grow, this dirt on the sides will be hoed around the plants making the place where the potatoes are the hills. If frost threatens, the dirt can be placed on top of the plants to protect them.
Digging up the potatoes at the end of the the growing season is my most favorite garden job. You really never know how many you are going to find and it is like finding buried treasure. They keep, too, in a cool, dark spot usually until some time in April. Happy planting!
Thanks, I learnt how to plant right my potatoes !
How do you know when potatoes are ready to harvest?
Potatoes can be harvested as soon as the flowers appear. However, you can also wait until the fall. This is what I do as there are so many other things available to eat and potatoes will keep in a root cellar until April.
you said April? are they then planted in the fall or how does that work. No that can’t be right. what does cool soil mean, shade? thx
The soil is still cool in April. They do need to be planted in the Sun.