growing potatoes - do I have it right?

5 years ago

last modified: 5 years ago

I grew potatoes in a pot last year that seemed pretty simple so this year I ordered more and want to grow them in the ground. I sent away for potato seed, they arrived from Potato Lady in Maine - they look excellent - I let them sit in a darkened room with the bags open which is probably not the best way to do it, but I had a lot going on. They are starting to sprout and I got a bed ready for them, or started one at least. Yukon Gold and Santina? another yellow.

I read the instructions from her site - I didn't get these potatoes until about 10 days ago and the instructions are talking about what to do 4-6 wks ahead...I think I got them late because they were so busy with orders. But they are sprouting so I'm thinking I can go ahead and just plant them now?

Directions say 2-3 eyes per section, you can use a whole small potato or a larger one cut in two maybe. The spacing has me scratching my head. One potato in a 6in trench - 12 inches apart in rows 32-36" apart. I have a raised bed 4ft x 20ft and one side is trellised that I was going to put beans on. It looks like I won't have enough room for these 2 bags of 5lbs of potatoes if I space them that way.

I thought I could plant two potatoes per 1ft x 4ft section then maybe 12-18" away from that, do it again.

Would love some input on the spacing...thanks.

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Comments (3)

robert567
5 years ago
Definitely plant them now, you don't have to wait for them to sprout more when it's warm. You can plant them whole, but if you cut some in half I think you need to wait for the cuts to dry. Just stick them in the ground uncut now, it is getting late, you probably have enough potatoes for the smaller space.

Potatoes are super easy, you will get perfectly edible potatoes if you plant them pretty close, but you may not get big ones or as many. It is hard to screw them up totally. You can plant them close especially if you plan on digging out new baby potatoes, I plant them very close in a bag. The plants do grow vertically up a couple of feet at first, then they tend to flop over in the heat or rain storms so the branches can cover other plants.
prairiemoon2 z6b MA thanked robert567
stevie
5 years ago
potatoes can just about be planted any time the ground isn't frozen.. in my yard they are like weeds, they grow every year from potatoes i never harvested or missed the previous year, even after being chopped multiple times with a shovel lol..

just in case you didn't know - you can save a lot of money by just buying store bought potatoes (preferable organic for no reason other than some potatoes are treated so they don't grow roots). i tend to look for the bags that have smaller potatoes (for obvious reasons).. heck, sometimes when i buy them i look for the old bags and some are already rooting.

i wouldn't plant any closer than 12" (preferable 16" apart) unless you like those small tender finger-sized potatoes.

I would mound them with soil as they grow, otherwise they will flop over and be all over the place as Robert mentioned above.
prairiemoon2 z6b MA thanked stevie
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prairiemoon2 z6b MA
Original Author
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
Wow, this is great! I thought they were pretty easy in a pot, sounds like they are easy in the ground too. I got some of the bed ready yesterday and I seem to have strained my back doing too much lately. *sigh* But at least the space has been dug and ready to go and I'm going to get them in there by hook or by crook in the next couple of days.

Thanks very much, appreciate the reassurance that I am on the right track and as I suspected I've just delayed a little too long. I did the mounding in the pot last year and planned on doing that in the ground too. Thank you both!