There are easy step-by-step guides on how to plant potatoes. There are effective methods to grow potatoes right on your backyard. They're not only fresher and incomparable to the ones you buy in the market, they're also easy to grow and they can be stored even for months without affecting the taste.
Potatoes were initially cultivated by the Inca Indians of Peru during 200 BC. When the Spanish Conquistadors discovered them in the year 1537, these potatoes were brought to Europe and they arrived in North America in the year 1621. Since then, potatoes have been known as one amongst the world's largest food crops. In fact, in the US alone, they grow potatoes steadily, increasing from about 35 billions pounds to 50 billion pounds by year 2007.
If you're wondering where the best place to plant potatoes is, you need to understand that potatoes, just like other crops, need full sunlight in order to grow. Next, potatoes are aggressively rooting plants. This means, they can produce the best crops when planted in a loose, light and well-drained yet moisture retentive loan. They prefer a slightly acid soil having a 5.8 to 6.5 pH.
Potatoes are also very adaptable crops and they can produce respectable crops even once soil conditions become less than perfect. Moreover, potatoes require a three year program. So if you want to grow potatoes every year, you would need three suitable locations.
If you're already eager to plant potatoes, they can be planted around early spring when the ground can already be worked on. However, potato plants don't just grow easily unless the soil temperature reaches 45 degrees F. Aside from this, the soil needs to be evenly moist not to the point where it seems soggy or wet. Remember, if the soil has water logged into it when you dig, this can cake the soil and result to rotting potato seeds before you can even get started.
Similar to peas, potatoes can also tolerate light frost but frost protection may be necessary for these plants when still young. To do this, you can just apply a loose covering made of straw or even a temporary plastic tent will suffice. If you're planning to store potatoes over the winter, the earliest you can plant a second crop is around June 15th.
Another consideration before you plant potatoes is the seeds. Since potatoes are highly susceptible to various serious diseases, certified potato seeds are the best. They're not only disease-free; they can also guarantee the highest quality yields. These are available in most quality nurseries as well as garden centers. Just take note that there are different varieties of potatoes having various qualities and characteristics.
To plant potatoes, you need to wait for a week or two. This is since you still need to set the seeds where they can be exposed to warmth running between 60 to 70 degrees F and full light. This will help them start sprouting.
One day or so prior to planting, utilize a clean, sharp knife in slicing the larger potato seeds into "seeds". The approximate size should be around 1 •½ inches square. They also need around 1 to 2 buds or "eyes".
For the smaller potatoes, they can be planted whole. Then, after a day or two, the seed will feature a thick callousness over the cuts. This helps prevent any rotting once planted.
