Potato (Solanum tuberosum) is an annual tuberous vegetable native to South America. There are over 100 sorts of potatoes which you can develop in your house backyard. Potatoes are available many colours, together with white, yellow, pink, purple, and blue, and so they come in numerous sizes, from tiny orbs to fist-sized giants.
Essentially the most enjoyable factor about rising your personal potatoes is digging them up. Potatoes are particularly enjoyable to reap with children. You possibly can plant one single potato, watch the plant develop vigorously, after which die again.
Now it appears like a pile of earth with a lifeless plant within the center, however then you definately fastidiously dig up the earth round it and uncover 8 to 10 new potatoes! That’s a fairly good return in your preliminary funding.
If you concentrate on rising potatoes and film large fields with row upon row of potato crops, don’t fear, you may develop as little as one potato plant or as many as you care to make room for. You possibly can even develop potatoes in a container in your entrance patio or again deck. All you really want is a sunny spot and a plot of wealthy, unfastened, moist soil, and a potato to get you began rising.
Potato crops are very straightforward to develop within the residence backyard. So long as you will have the proper rising situations, you may develop potatoes. In contrast to most crops you can begin from seed, most individuals begin a potato plant from a potato (though it’s attainable to develop some varieties from seed, too). Let’s dig deeper into the above-ground and below-ground levels of potato rising.
9 Phases of Rising Potato Crops
| Stage | Key Notes |
| Deciding on Seed Potatoes | – Develop potatoes from potatoes or from seed – Choose licensed disease-free seed potatoes – Purchase high quality seed potatoes, not grocery retailer potatoes – Many sorts to select from |
| Planting Potatoes | – Cool season crop – Shield from arduous frosts – Begin in spring for summer time harvest – Prep planting website – Chit potatoes for planting, as wanted |
| Sprouts | – 2-4 weeks from planting to sprout – Sprouts develop from potato eyes – First leafy inexperienced development |
| Vegetative Progress | – Crops develop bigger, fuller – 60-100 days of speedy development – Inexperienced leaves convert daylight into vitality – Tubers begin to kind beneath floor – Look ahead to pests on leaves – Hold plot weeded – Take away leafy particles |
| Tuber Formation | – After sprouting, 15-30 days of tuber formation – Plant creates all tubers for the season – Very small, beanlike growths on roots – Hold soil evenly moist |
| Tuber Progress | – Flowers bloom 60-70 days after planting – Blossoms are white or pale purple – Plant nearing the tip of life cycle |
| Flowering | – 10-20 days for last maturation – Flowers die – High vegetation yellows and dies again – Planting on the finish of life cycle – Tubers beneath floor end maturing |
| Maturation | – 10-20 days for last maturation – Flowers die – High vegetation yellows and step by step dies again – Tubers beneath floor end maturing |
| Harvest | – As much as 120 days after planting – Harvest when vegetation dies again – Loosen the soil across the plant with a backyard fork – Harvest potatoes – Retailer in a cool, darkish, well-ventilated place – Retailer for as much as 8 months |
Relying on the range, it takes a potato plant anyplace from 60 to 120 days from planting to reap. All potato crops profit from comparable rising situations. If you would like your potato crop to thrive, you could present one of the best rising situations attainable. Be particularly conscious of soil moisture and diet.
Potato Rising Fundamentals
| Gentle | Full solar, a minimum of 6 or extra hours of direct daylight per day |
| Temperature | Heat however not scorching. The perfect temperature vary to develop potatoes is between 65°F and 80°F throughout the day and 55°F to 65°F at night time |
| Soil kind | Nicely-drained, loamy |
| Soil moisture | Constantly moist, however not moist |
| Soil pH | Considerably acidic, between 5.0 and 6.0 |
| Fertilizer | Fertilize 2 weeks after planting and once more 4 weeks after that. Use a balanced slow-release fertilizer and comply with the instructions on the package deal. |
| Weed management | Take away weeds commonly. Mulch round crops to assist hold weeds away. |
Deciding on Seed Potatoes
Potatoes are extraordinarily straightforward to develop from seed potatoes. These will not be potato seeds however licensed disease-free potatoes that can develop the healthiest crop of recent potatoes.
It’s technically attainable to develop a potato from seed (Clancy is a fast-growing selection for many who wish to attempt from precise seed), however this course of is extra time-consuming than shopping for seed potatoes. Because of this, most suppliers promote seed potatoes, not potato seeds.
However why would you purchase seed potatoes somewhat than simply fresh-eating potatoes? If you purchase potatoes from the grocery retailer, they continuously are handled with a development inhibitor to delay sprouting. They’re additionally not assured to be disease-free and should carry fungal spores. These might introduce quite a lot of disagreeable potato ailments to your backyard that may have an effect on your potato crop and different associated crops like tomatoes and peppers.
In the event you order seed potatoes on-line, purchase from a good firm, and they’re going to ship your seed potatoes near planting time. In the event you purchase seed potatoes from a backyard heart, choose agency, wholesome, and unblemished potatoes. It’s okay in the event that they have already got sprouts, however don’t purchase any potatoes with mushy spots, gashes, or mould.
In contrast to shopping for seeds, seed potatoes don’t final for a number of years and can must be planted inside just a few weeks. If you’ll want to retailer them for a bit longer, hold them in a cool, darkish place to stop them from sprouting. The temperature must be between 45°F and 50°F with comparatively excessive humidity and good air flow to stop rot.
Planting Potatoes
Potatoes are typically thought of a cool-season crop. They’re mostly grown within the spring for summer time harvest, however it’s also possible to plant them in the summertime for fall harvest.
For spring planting, get your potatoes within the floor any time after the hazard of main frost. Potatoes will tolerate a quick mild frost, however plan to cowl and shield your crops from something extra. For a fall harvest, attempt planting them mid-summer.
Earlier than you plant, put together your planting website. Potatoes want full solar with a minimum of 6 hours of direct daylight per day. The soil must be unfastened and well-drained. If the soil stays too moist, the potatoes will rapidly rot. Domesticate the soil 8 to 10 inches deep. Work in some nutritious natural matter like aged manure or compost to counterpoint the soil and feed the potatoes as they develop.
You may additionally want to arrange your potatoes upfront. Small seed potatoes might be planted complete, simply as they’re. Bigger potatoes might be lower in half or quartered, offered every part has a minimum of one eye and ideally 2-3 eyes from which to sprout. Use a clear knife and work on a clear floor whereas doing this.
Let your lower items air dry for two or 3 days in a location with good airflow however out of the solar. The lower edge will harden and turn into a bit leathery to the contact. This drying step is essential; your potatoes might rot when planted in the event that they’re nonetheless fresh-cut! Your potatoes are able to plant as soon as the lower edges have dried and fashioned a pores and skin.
Potatoes might be planted in rows, hills, or massive containers. Dig a gap or trench 4 to six inches deep and lay your potatoes with their eyes going through up within the gap. Give them some house so they’re between 8 and 12 inches aside. Cowl them utterly with a number of inches of soil. Contemplate including a layer of straw mulch on high to assist keep soil moisture and hold potatoes shielded from daylight.
Now that your potatoes are planted, the next move is to attend for the primary sprouts. Whilst you’re ready, hold the soil moist.
Sprouts
Every eye on the seed potato has the flexibility to turn into a brand new vegetative sprout. As they begin to sprout, they seem like little specks of recent white or pink growths rising from the potato.
It’s fairly frequent for a potato to start out sprouting earlier than it’s planted within the floor. If this occurs, don’t fear! Get pleasure from having a transparent view of the brand new sprouts, however attempt to plant them quickly to allow them to develop within the floor. In the event you planted a seed potato that hasn’t but sprouted, you received’t see this stage as a result of it’s occurring solely underground.
You’ll most likely have to attend 2 to 4 weeks for the primary sprouts to emerge from the soil. Above every potato you planted, hold look ahead to the primary sprouts to interrupt the soil floor. You might discover only a single clump of greenery or a number of clumps in shut proximity.
The tuberous potato you planted will turn into the first vitality supply for the brand new plant. Because the vegetation grows, the seed potato will shrivel and wither away. The plant will kind new roots and recent inexperienced vegetation and can begin to develop tiny new potatoes.
Vegetative Progress
Throughout this speedy vegetative development section, your plant will rapidly develop bigger and bushier. You will have both a single stem or a number of stems rising over every potato. You received’t have to do any thinning in any respect. Simply let every stem develop freely. They may work arduous each above and beneath the soil floor to provide the subsequent crop.
When you see the primary inexperienced sprouts, it might probably take 60 to 100 days for a plant to succeed in maturity. Throughout this time, the plant shall be rising quickly. The majority of the vegetative development occurs between the sprouting and flowering phases. After flowering, the plant begins to die again, and the vegetative development section has ended.
Foliage Pests and Ailments
Potato foliage is vulnerable to quite a few pests and ailments. Luckily, the house gardener received’t usually have as many points as a big potato farm, however you must nonetheless concentrate on a number of the most typical above-ground potato pests.
Potato Leafhopper
- Inexperienced physique with small spots
- Leafhoppers feed on the undersides of leaves
- Trigger brown spots, yellowing, and wilting of leaves
- Plant pest-resistant potato varieties
- Use a tough jet of water spray to take away nymphs
- Insecticidal cleaning soap could also be used if infestation continues
- Use pesticides with warning
Colorado Potato Beetle
- Oval beetle, yellowish physique with black stripes and spots
- Adults and larvae chew holes in leaves
- Heavy infestations can kill crops
- Hand-pick and kill adults and larvae
Flea Beetles
- Tiny black or brownish beetles
- Feed on leaves, creating many small holes
- Can transmit blight
- Hold the backyard space freed from weeds and leafy particles
- Use pesticides with warning
Ideas for a Wholesome Crop
| Crop rotation | Potatoes, tomatoes, and peppers appeal to most of the similar pests. Don’t plant these crops in the identical location in successive years. Crop rotation will assist forestall pests and ailments from accumulating in the identical place. |
| Soil moisture | Hold soil uniformly moist however not moist. Attempt to keep away from massive fluctuations between moist and dry soil. Soggy soil will trigger potatoes to rot. |
| Be proactive | Verify your potato crops commonly. Be alert for pests and adjustments to your crops’ well being. Establish and deal with issues promptly. |
| Hold the realm clear | Hold weeds, contaminated crops, and leafy particles away from wholesome crops. These can all harbor pests that assault and feed upon potato crops. |
| Pesticides | Use pesticides with warning. Begin with less-damaging strategies like arduous water sprays or less-damaging choices like insecticidal soaps or horticultural oils, and solely step by step enhance the efficiency if infestation continues. Deal with solely contaminated crops. Whereas potatoes don’t depend on pollinators to provide a crop, many different crops do. |
| Companion crops | Companion crops can profit potatoes by enhancing soil high quality and repelling pests. Some good companion crops for potatoes embrace beans, cabbage, carrots, corn, cucumber, garlic, lettuce, and peas. |
Tuber Formation
From 15 to 30 days after sprouts seem, potato roots have reached a section the place they start to provide new tubers. Each new tuber your plant produces shall be created throughout this section!
They begin out wanting like little bean-sized lumps alongside the foundation system. After this, the plant devotes its vitality to every of those current tubers and grows them bigger.
Above floor, you will notice the vegetative development stage, the place the plant sprouts new leaves and grows bigger and taller. Beneath floor, the plant will try to provide buds for as many as 20 or 30 tubers, however not all of those will attain maturity.
From 5 to fifteen tubers on every plant will attain maturity, relying on rising situations, soil moisture, and obtainable vitamins.
That is an particularly essential section that straight impacts your last harvest. Throughout this time, guarantee your plant has the best situations, particularly constant soil moisture, to assist guarantee a superb harvest in a while.
Extremely variable climate and moisture throughout this time could cause your crops to have poor manufacturing charges, and few potatoes will develop.
Tuber Progress
The tuber development stage, often known as tuber bulking, is when your potato tubers develop bigger. Between 45 and 90 days after the primary sprouts emerge, the tubers produced throughout the tuber formation stage will develop from tiny buds to full-size potatoes.
The crops received’t make new tubers, however the current tubers will get greater and greater, storing vitamins and carbohydrate vitality. They received’t attain their most dimension till the flowering stage when the plant reaches maturity.
You received’t be capable of see the tuber development as a result of all of it occurs underground. However you need to be conscious of what’s occurring since you don’t need these tubers uncovered on the soil’s floor, or they are going to flip inexperienced and bitter.
To assist hold the tubers rising solely underground, potato gardeners typically use a apply referred to as hilling. In hilling, you add recent soil or hay by mounding it alongside the perimeters of the crops each few weeks. This prevents tubers from being uncovered to daylight and has the additional advantage of serving to management weeds.
Throughout this section, it’s possible you’ll observe that the plant appears to have stopped rising, and the leaves will begin to flip yellow. That is an above-ground signal that the plant is diverting all its remaining vitality into rising the below-ground tubers to their last dimension. Your potatoes shall be largest in case you have supreme rising situations, together with brilliant daylight, moist soil, loads of house between crops, and high-quality soil vitamins.
It’s essential to take care of even watering throughout this time. Ideally, you’ll want to hold the soil uniformly moist. Uneven watering could cause uneven tuber improvement, cracking, and splitting. It may well additionally trigger your potatoes to have hole, ethereal pockets within the facilities when they need to be totally stable.
Tuber Pests and Ailments
Potato Tuberworm
- Whitish or brownish caterpillars, the larvae of the potato tuber moth
- Caterpillars bore into potato tubers inflicting intensive harm
- The larvae additionally eat holes in potato leaves
- Primarily impacts tubers closest to the soil floor
- Hold potatoes utterly underground to keep away from tuberworm harm
Potato Wireworm
- White or tan larvae of a click on beetle
- Wireworms chew holes within the roots and tubers
- Rotate crops to scale back publicity
White Grubs
- White grub-like beetle larvae
- Grubs chew stems, roots, and tubers of many crops
- Underground harm can happen earlier than the above-ground plant exhibits signs
- Crop rotation reduces entry
Frequent Scab
- Bacterial an infection affecting tubers
- Irritation of the outer pores and skin of a potato
- Use disease-resistant seed potatoes
- Develop in acidic soil
Bacterial Comfortable Rot
- Frequent bacterial an infection
- Tubers develop quite a few comfortable spots
- Don’t let potatoes sit in moist soil
- Treatment (dry) tubers totally earlier than storage
Flowering
The flowering stage occurs in the direction of the tip of tuber development and the start of maturation. Potatoes are flowering crops that bloom about 60 to 70 days after planting. The flowers aren’t, in fact, the place the potato tubers come from. However that is nonetheless a necessary stage of the expansion cycle of the potato plant. As a bonus, the flowers are small however showy and appeal to some pollinators.
Potato flowers are usually white or pale purple with considerably outstanding yellow anthers. Some potato varieties have darker pink flowers or darkish pink or purple anthers. The flowers every final only a few days and sign that the plant is close to the tip of its life cycle.
Maturation
The ultimate stage earlier than harvesting your potatoes is maturation. This section lasts roughly 10 to twenty days. Throughout this section, the leafy inexperienced components of the plant flip yellow and die off.
Because the above-ground a part of the plant dies, the potatoes are nonetheless secure underground, ending their development course of. At this level, they are going to be as massive as they are often. When the highest a part of the plant has utterly died again, it’s time to reap.
Harvest
You’ve waited for as many as 120 days for this second, and now comes the enjoyable half. Are you able to dig some potatoes? Put in your work gloves and seize a backyard fork. You’ll most likely additionally wish to carry a sturdy basket to place your potatoes in.
Your harvest instances may differ barely relying on the number of potatoes you planted. Child potatoes might be harvested 2 or 3 weeks after your crops have completed flowering. A extra mature potato you wish to bake or retailer for a very long time will want extra time within the floor. Wait till the plant foliage has utterly died again earlier than digging for absolutely mature potatoes.
When able to dig your potatoes, use a sturdy backyard fork to fastidiously loosen the soil across the place the place the plant was rising. Don’t dig near the primary stem, or you’ll find yourself piercing via many tubers. As you flip the soil, you will notice a mass of potatoes across the base of every plant. Fastidiously take away the potatoes from the earth.
If the climate is heat and dry, depart them to dry within the solar for just a few hours. This permits the skins to dry and treatment, making them extra sturdy for storage.
As soon as dry, carry them in and retailer them in a cool (45°F to 50°F) location for as much as 8 months. Don’t retailer them in an hermetic container; they want good air flow to stop rotting. In the event you retailer them in a heat or brilliant location, they are going to begin to sprout once more. Any potato with comfortable spots or harm to the pores and skin must be eliminated and eaten rapidly, or it’s going to rot.
Last Ideas
Potatoes are a enjoyable crop to develop. You might discover solely 3 or 4 potato varieties at your native grocery retailer, all of that are optimized for lengthy storage over taste, however you may develop over 100 distinctive varieties at residence! Begin some seed potatoes within the spring and harvest them in mid-summer.
You’ll want to purchase and plant solely licensed disease-free seed potatoes. Give your crops loads of daylight, moist soil, and hearty diet. Look ahead to mid-season pests, and hold these potatoes underground till they’re prepared to reap. Then one of the best half is harvesting your very personal homegrown crop of potatoes. How will you prepare dinner your potatoes for dinner tonight?
