Growing Potatoes

Latest Update 18th October 2021.

Potatoes

• Potatoes are a staple crop in our household, and we can usually grow enough to last 6 months in our limited space.
• Before potato tubers are sown, I grow an autumn green manure in the Ecobed and cut it down as soon as it starts to set flowers.  I chop the foliage with a hedge trimmer, move it to the lawn and run the lawn mower over it.  I capture the lush mulch it makes and lay it back on the potato bed.   I then cover the clippings with lots of homemade compost and a deep layer of sugar cane straw.  Six weeks later in early August it is decomposed enough to plant the seed potatoes.
• I take delivery of certified seed potatoes in mid June and chit them for about 6 weeks so they are ready when needed.  The weather starts to improve as we move into spring and damaging frosts are usually gone by September when the tender shoots start to emerge from the soil.

Details.

• Binomial Name:                                        Solanum tuberosum. 
• Family:                                                    Solanaceae.
• Variety:                                                    Dutch Cream. 
• Garden bed:                                            Garden Ecobed.
• Minimum sun per day:                              6 hours.
• Plant spacings (centres x rows):                300 x 319 mm.
  
• Weeks to harvest:                                    20 weeks.
• Good companions:                                    Pea, bean, cabbage, nasturtium, marigold.
• Climate:                                                   Warm temperate
• Geography:                                              Southern hemisphere. 

Nutrition.

• This food is very low in saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium. 
• It is a good source of dietary fibre, and a very good source of vitamin C, vitamin B6, iron, potassium, copper and manganese.
• More from nutrition data.self.com.  

Maintain Healthy Plants

• This blogpage explains how I maintain healthy plants.  It describes how soil is prepared prior to planting, how to regulate the sun's intensity and how to help protect and feed plants through their leaves.

Propagation Plan 2020.

• This blogpage tells you when to sow seeds.

Services Plan 2020.

• This blogpage tells you when to make compost and plan other garden/household related activities.

Growing Instructions.

• Purchase your seed potatoes in May for deliver in mid June.  Use a certified organic supplier to avoid disease (buy at least 40 tubers).
• To get earlier growth you should "chit" them by placing them (eyes up) in a warm spot with plenty of indirect light for about 6 weeks.
• After a few weeks they will send out new shoots.  
• Reduce to 3 or 4 shoots to grow larger potatoes, but leave them to produce more shoots (more potatoes) if you're happy with smaller ones.
• Dig planting holes 100mm deep and sow the seed potatoes, in early August, 300mm apart in 8 rows.
• Cover them with about 50mm of soil and make sure the shoots are facing upwards; take care not to damage them.  Backfill gradually with soil as the shoots grow, but make sure the growing tips are never completely covered.
• Once the potato shoots are above ground, use straw mulch to keep the tubers covered (they spoil if left exposed to direct sunlight).  The potatoes will send shoots into the mulch to grow more tubers, so it pays to be generous with the mulch.
• The soil must be kept moist during the growth stage when demand for water is very high.  When the plants start to die back in December, their demand for water drops away dramatically.  They draw back nutrients and moisture from their foliage and redirect them to their tubers.

Harvesting and Storage.

• You can harvest a few delicious "new" potatoes as soon as the plants start to flower in November.  They are delicious and well worth sacrificing size for quality at this stage.
• Start harvest the main crop 2 weeks after the foliage starts to die back (usually in late December in our climate).
• Highly active organic soil can be dug easily using your bare hands, and my potatoes don't need digging implements to extract them from the Ecobed's soil.
• Wash the tubers and leave them in a well ventilated spot to dry. If you leave them for about a weak like this, out of direct sunshine, the potatoes' skin will harden and provide a protective barrier for storage.  
• Don't store any damaged or diseased potatoes, but if the damage is moderate, you should be able to use them in the kitchen for a week or two. 
  
• Store your Potatoes in a cool, dark, dry place in a hessian sack or cardboard box.  Note** They may rot if they are not perfectly dry.
• Check on them from time to time, and remove any tubers that may have starting to rot.  
• After a few months in store the remainder of your crop may start to sprout.  It is worth going through them at this stage to rub out any new shoots.  This will prolong the storage life of your crop.
• Alternatively you can preserve (pressure cook) potatoes in a saline solution for longer term storage in preserving jars (see article).

Organic Pest Control.

• Potatoes, like most vegetables, are vulnerable to attack from certain pests in my garden.  My blog on "Controlling Garden Pests" explains a little about these pests and what to do to protect your plants from them.  For details click on the appropriate link below.
• Slugs and snails. 
• Greenhouse Whitefly. 
• Root knot nematode.