Guess what? We’re planting potatoes today! I always plant my first round of potatoes in mid-March. This way, I can harvest them in mid-July and plant another round late August for a second harvest around Halloween.
You won’t believe it, but I’ve been having a blast growing potatoes in these raised beds that my daughter built during COVID. We have super hard clay soil here, and I think the reason these raised beds are so successful is because the dirt is so loose. When she built and filled them with soil, she added some sand, which is perfect for the potatoes to grow and spread out. I don’t mess with things that are working, so we just keep planting them here. Check out my YouTube video showing how I planted my seed potatoes
Last year, I saved some tiny potatoes from my last harvest, hoping they would make it to plant this year’s first harvest, and they did! Look at these beauties!
When planting potatoes, you only need one “eye” to start a plant. A typical potato has 3-4 eyes, so you can just cut it into pieces, and each one will grow. These eyes have really grown, making them super obvious. Most of the time, they just look like little divots or what you would cut out if cooking them.
Usually, I plant and then forget about these guys. You don’t dig them up until after all the foliage above ground dies. So, my approach has always been to set it and forget it. But this year, I’m trying something new. I’m going to build up my potatoes. Basically, when the plant grows 8-10” tall, I’ll mound soil up around the plant base 3-4”, leaving around five inches of foliage. This is done to encourage more root growth, which means more potatoes. I’ve tried this in the past and covered too much of the plant just because I didn’t understand, but after more research this year, I think I have a better idea. At least I hope so!
If you missed the linked to my YouTube check me out here talking more about potatoes!