How to Grow Potatoes Without Having to be a Farmer
Have you ever thought about growing your own potatoes? If the answer is yes, fantastic. If it is no, you are about to change your mind. Potatoes are not only tasty but healthy as well. You will want to have as many as you can to prepare exquisite dishes for you and your family.
Each day, many people are considering growing their own vegetables at home (including me). And the question is: How to grow potatoes? Can we grow potatoes at home? The answer is yes. Growing potatoes from seeds is easier than you think.
They are also relatively effortless to plant. The fact that they are not too complicated to grow is one reason that they are grown in various regions of the world.
When to plant potatoes
Potatoes are grown as annual plants, with fields planted each spring, and harvested in the fall. The best time to grow potatoes is in March, but it can be done as early as February. The whole season goes from March right through to November, and they don’t need that much water.
When planting potatoes you should know that, although they grow underground, they are stems, not roots, and are known as “tubers.” The best temperature for tuber formation occurs at soil temperatures between 60° and 70° Fahrenheit. They also need a slightly acidic soil with a pH of 5 to 6 preferably. The amount of water for your potatoes to grow healthy should be close to 1 inch per week.
How to plant potatoes
You can place your seed potatoes in rows very easily. If you are going for it:
1- Buy a bag of certified disease free potato seeds.
2- Set the rows about 2 ½ feet apart.
3- Cover the seeds to a depth of 4 inches at least. You can place them a bit deeper (2 to 3 more inches) if it makes you happy.
You could also use potato planters with potting soil.
The picture above shows you how a potato plant looks like when is grown.
For each row of potatoes, you should plant garlic cloves, also known as garlic seeds (in 1 feet spaced rows) which can help to prevent disease when growing potato seeds. Plus you will have some fresh garlic when cooking those home grown potatoes.
Plus you will have some fresh garlic ready when cooking those home grown potatoes. The potato plants produce flowers, and the fruit that grow from these flowers look a lot like green tomatoes, but you can’t eat them. Depending on weather, season and location, the potato plants begin to grow about 2 to 6 weeks after planting. Remember to keep the soil well drained.
Want your potatoes to grow bigger?
There is a way and is nothing out of this world. Just place mounds of soil around the plant. You should do this once the plant is close to 7 inches tall. The height of the mound can be a good 4 inches and you will have pretty large tubers in a few weeks (not bad).
When to harvest
Potato plants are harvested in the fall. You should wait until the plants are about 12 to 18 inches tall. Another way to know is to watch until they stop creating flowers and wait 2 weeks after that to harvest.
After digging up the potatoes, please do not expose them to the light for much time. Now, you know how to grow potatoes in your own backyard which means healthier potatoes without chemicals and a lot of savings on your next visit to the grocery store.