Taking Care of Your Potatoes
Potatoes are cool-season vegetables that are on the same level as wheat and rice
as one of the most important staple crops in the human diet all over the world. The white potato is also known as the "Irish potato" because it is associated with the potato famine in Ireland in the 19th century. Potatoes are not roots but "tubers", which are specialized underground storage stems. Maximum tuber formation begins at soil temperatures between 60 and 70F. The tubers cannot form when the soil temperature reaches 80F. Potatoes survive light frosts in the spring and can be cultivated throughout most of the country in the cooler part of the growing season, but they are more susceptible to growth on the northern tier of the United States for maximal yield and quality.
When to Plant your Potatoes
Potatoes are usually among the earliest vegetables planted in the fields or gardens. Early, mid season and late varieties are planted in March or early April. Planting them too soon in cold, damp soils makes it more possible that seed pieces rot before they have a chance to grow. Potatoes planted in March may also be frozen back to the soil by late frosts. Plants usually recover fully, provided they are taken care of, but the blackened shoots of potatoes are always demoralizing to the gardener. Medium-early plantings, when the grounds have warmed and dried, may do as good as extremely early, winter-defying plantings. Mid season and late varieties of these potatoes may be planted as late as the first of July. Late potatoes are always best for winter storage.
Soil Preparation for your potatoes
Begin by selecting an area of the garden that receives full sunlight. Loosen the soil by lightly turning it over with a shovel, working in some balanced fertilizer at the same time. The ground should be well drained and fertile. Clay soils should be mixed with organic matter and plowed deeply in the fall. If the garden space allows, a cover crop such as buckwheat, winter rye or clover grown in the potato bed the year before potatoes are planted greatly enhances the soil structure. Organic-matter content and subsequent potato production will also be improved. Your potato bed is almost ready.
A protective covering, usually made of organic matter such as straw, leaves, or peat, placed around the plant is greatly beneficial in growing potatoes. This will prevent the evaporation of much needed moisture, the unwanted freezing of roots, and the annoying growth of weeds. Mulch plays a big role in the development of the potatoes. After the potato plants have sprouted, organic mulch can be applied to conserve moisture, help keep down weeds and cool the soil. Some potato growers cover rows of early potatoes with clear plastic film at planting to warm the potato bed and promote early growth when the soil temperature is very low. When the potatoes sprout, remove the plastic cover to enable the plants to grow unhindered.
After the potatoes break the surface of the potato bed, gradually form up a low ridge of loose soil by cultivation and hoeing toward the plants. This ridge, which may become 5 to 7 inches high by summer, minimizes the number of "sunburned" tubers. The object of potato cultivation is to remove competition from weeds, to loosen and aerate the soil.. Misshapen taters develop in hard, compact soil. Use delicate care when hoeing near potato plants simply because developing tubers are easily cut and ruined.
Irrigate to ensure uniform moisture while the tubers are still developing. A uniform moisture supply also improves the ground by colling and eliminate knobs caused by secondary growth.
Harvesting and storing your potatoes
Harvest potatoes after the most of the vines have withered. Handle as carefully as possible during harvest because the tubers develop 4 to 7 inches beneath the ground surface, a small shovel or spading fork is a recommended tool for digging potatoes.
Potatoes for consumption in early summer, also known as "new potatoes", may be dug before the vines die (usually in July). Late potatoes are usually harvested in August or early September. They store in the basement for several weeks in their natural dormancy. Store the potatoes during the winter season in a dark room at a temperature between 38 and 40F with high humidity. Check regularly for spoilage. Temperatures below 38F during storage cause internal damage to the potatoes.
Taking Care of Your Potatoes
By: howtogrowpotatoes
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