How To Grow Potatoes

Potatoes is the world’s fourth-largest food crop, following rice, wheat, and maize. Potatoes are abundantly produced and can adapt to any climate as long as the weather is cool and the soil moist enough for the plants to grow. Potatoes are a reliable bulk crop that you are able to have in store over the winter

How to grow potatoes requires time and consistency to be able to have a good produce. Care for them continuously and they will come out looking nice and plump. If you have your own piece of land like a yard or farm land you can start growing your own potatoes.

The tools you would need: a garden spade, garden fork and a shovel. Of course don’t forget water and the potato seeds.

Steps in how to grow potatoes:

1. Secure your potato seeds and keep them in a warm place for 1-2 weeks before you sow them. Sprouting is stimulated about a day or two before planting. Use a knife to sever the larger potato seedlings into smaller seeds about 1 ½ - 2 inches square with 1 or 2 buds. The smaller potatoes are sown as whole. In the next days, a tough callous will appear on the seeds over the cuts which help preventing it from decomposing when planted.

2. The soil should be evenly damp but not wet or soggy. You can start planting during early spring. The potatoes will not begin to grow until the soil temperature reaches 45 degrees F.

3. Plant your potatoes where they are exposed to complete sunlight because they need sunlight to grow efficiently. Also because potatoes easily rot, the best crops are produced when they are planted during the day. To have a good yield on the crop you can sow seeds within the earlier season about late April or earlier May when the soil is warm.

4. Potatoes can be grown in rows or mounds. Growing potatoes in rows promotes big and healthy produce. If you want to grow potatoes in a small location then the best method is to grow them on a mound. For each mound around 5-8 potato crops can be grown. When planting on a mound they should be in a circle to give room for each potato to grow. If planting on rows, seeds are to be sown 15 inches so that each potato will have adequate room.

5. Rotate the soil with loose, well-drained moist loam soil during development period. When the potato plants starts to flower that’s the time for the potatoes to be harvested. Observe during this time the vine is yellow in color that sometimes die. And it is best to note that potatoes when harvested needs to be stored in a dark, dry area at 40 degrees F.