I’d Like To Plant Potatoes
Hi Karen:
I’d like to plant potatoes, perhaps about 4 different varieties, here in Kentucky this fall. Can you recommend some particular varieties to me, as well as point me in the right direction for timing and technique?
Thanks, Sheila
(my first year growing vegatables)
July 26th, 2008 at 10:31 am
Sheila,
Welcome to the world of vegetable gardening. The first thing to consider is the days to maturity with any vegetable. The next with potatoes is to only use certified seed potatoes; potatoes from a grocery store could be sprayed with an inhibitor to keep them from sprouting, and they can also be more prone to diseases.
There are several methods of growing. There is a traditional trench
method: dig about a 6″ shallow trench and with the eye facing up place the potato in the trench. As they grow, mound the soil up, keeping the soil loose and the developing tubers safe from the sunlight. Stop hilling the dirt when the plants begin to flower. Another method is to just scatter them on the ground and mulch them with a few inches of an organic mulch, continuing as the plants grow, similarly to the trench method. This is often more susceptible to attacks by rodents, so it might not be the best choice. A good choice for a beginner might be the container method because it’s smaller and easier to work with. Almost anything can be a container from a traditional pot or whiskey barrel to a stand of bamboo fencing or a bale of peat. You can start with about 6 inches of soil and add the soil or mulch as the plants grow.
Potatoes don’t care about “rich” soil; good organic substance and a balanced pH will make them content, along with consistent water. In dry weather, water an inch a week.
Some suggestions for 70-90 day maturity varieties are: (these three are the earliest) Caribe, Redale, Yukon Gold, Cranberry Red or All-Red, Onaway, Norlan, and White Rose. You might also consider an early sweet potato such as: Allgold, California Gold, Carogold, Carver, Continental Red, Frazier White, O Henry, Sumor, Red Yam, Orange Oakleaf. There are many varieties but not all may be available in your area for ordering online. Just be sure to check the frost date for your area and work backwards from there.
You might want to also consider planting some of the other late-season vegetables that we discussed in an earlier blog entry.
Happy gardening~