How do you plant and grow potatoes?


Quick Answer

To plant and grow potatoes, plant seed potatoes or pieces of potato in the bottom of a trench or large container and cover with soil. Add soil and compost as the plants grow and give them plenty of water and organic fertilizer.

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Full Answer

To plant and grow potatoes in the garden, use the following steps.

  1. Plant the potatoes
  2. Gardeners can plant seed potatoes or pieces cut off from potatoes. They can use almost any potato with at least two eyes as a seed potato. When planting potato pieces, it is a good idea to let them sit for 1 or 2 days so that they can form a protective layer to keep them from rotting. Dig trenches in the garden bed or find a large container. Plant potatoes in the spring after the last frost in a bed that did not hold potatoes during the previous growing season. Space them 1 foot apart in the trenches with the eye side facing upward or plant up to three potatoes or pieces in a container. Cover the seeds with a few inches of soil.

  3. Water and fertilize regularly
  4. As the potato plants grow, be sure to give them plenty of water and organic fertilizer. Bone meal can be a handy fertilizer, as potato plants thrive on calcium. Avoid over-watering and ensure that the beds or containers have plenty of drainage, as too much water can cause potatoes to rot.

  5. Add soil
  6. As the plants grow, add soil and compost to the surface. Gardeners can slowly heap soil into beds to create small mounds. In containers, they can continually add soil until the containers are full. This gives the potatoes more room to grow.

  7. Harvest the potatoes
  8. Gardeners can harvest new potatoes in July. They can harvest fully grown potatoes for winter storage when the plant vines begin to die. This usually occurs in late August or early September.

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