Potatoes are an incredibly versatile root crop. There are 5,000 different cultivars of potato plants to choose from in an array of colors, sizes, and tastes. With so many options available and their versatility in the kitchen, it's no wonder why growing potatoes is popular for many home gardeners.

Learning how to grow potatoes isn't hard, in fact, it is a fun activity for gardeners of all ages to try. But in order to get a big harvest of these delicious root vegetables, you have to provide potatoes with the specific care needs they require. Luckily, that's easy to do.

If you’re interested in planting potatoes in your vegetable garden, our team of plant experts has you covered. Just follow the care guidelines below to grow huge harvest of tasty taters!

Quick Potato Facts

How to Plant Potatoes

Potatoes are a cool weather crop. They are also one of the most important staple crops in the world. But they rely on specific light, water, temperature, soil, and fertility requirements along with attention to pests and diseases to produce a healthy crop.

Soil Requirements

Potatoes need well-draining soil, preferably a bit sandy. Soil that doesn't drain well can cause tubers to rot and ruin your whole crop. If you have a heavy clay soil in your garden, you may be better off growing potatoes in containers, like potato grow bags, to prevent issues.

Potatoes prefer a slightly acidic soil with a pH of 6-6.5. Acidic soil helps prevent potato scab on tubers. But they can tolerate a soil pH as low as 5.

Potatoes also need rich, fertile soil because they are heavy feeders. Mix compost into your soil before planting to ensure your potatoes get the nutrients they need to produce tons of edible tubers.

Light Requirements

Potatoes are sun lovers and should be grown in full sun. That said, in hotter climates, the hot afternoon sun can cause leaf scald while in areas with poor sun exposure, the plants will likely be lanky and spindly.

Temperature & Humidity

Potatoes are a cool season crop and thrive in temperatures between 65-80°F (18-27°C) during the day and around 55-65°F (13-18°C) at night.

Although they can handle short spurts of overly humid weather, it is not a necessity for potatoes. That said, somewhere within the range of 60-80% relative humidity will keep your potatoes happy.

Planting

Soil temperature should be at least 55°F (13°C) during the day and 45°F (7°C) at night before planting seed potatoes. If the soil is too wet and cold, sprouting will be delayed and seed pieces may rot.

Potato seed bed preparation is important before planting potatoes as well. Space pieces 10-12 inches (25-30 cm) apart and 4 inches (10 cm) deep in rows that are 30-36 inches (76-91 cm) apart. Smaller fingerling potatoes can be spaced closer together, about 8 inches (20 cm) apart.

Care

After planting, potatoes will begin to produce new tubers underground and lots of leafy foliage above the surface of the soil. Here's how to care for potato plants to ensure they grow tons of tasty tubers for your to harvest.

Watering

Potatoes thrive in consistently moist soil, but there can be too much of a good thing. Overly wet soil can lead to rot, so there is a fine line between too much and not enough when it comes to watering potatoes.

In general, depending upon the weather, potato plants need 1 inch (2.5 cm) of water per week to produce healthy tubers. Mulch around plants to help retain moisture and cut down on the need for watering as well as prevent underwatering.

Fertilizing

Potatoes have a shallow root system which means they tend to like more fertilizer than other crop types. Start feeding your potatoes at the beginning by incorporating some well-aged compost into their planting hole. A soil test will help you figure out when and how much fertilizer to apply thereafter.

In lieu of a soil test, use a balanced 10-10-10 fertilizer at the rate of 1 lb (454 g) per 10 row feet before planting and mixed into the soil. Then sidedress at the rate of 5 lbs (2.7 kg) per 10 row feet a week after emergence and water into the soil. Finally, side dress another 5 lbs (2.7 kg) per 10 row feet 4-6 weeks after emergence and water in.

Mulching & Hilling

Hill potatoes by adding 2-4 inches (5-10 cm) of soil or compost around the top of the plant when the tubers begin to emerge from the soil. This is to ensure that light does not cause tuber greening.

Mulch around the plants with wood chips or straw to retain moisture, block light and slow down weeds. Keep an eye on the hills and add more soil, compost, or organic mulch as needed to keep the emerging potatoes covered.

Harvesting

Early potatoes are ready to harvest in about 10-12 weeks as early as mid-June while larger spuds are ready from late August to October.

Harvest potatoes when their vines die back and lose their color. Use a potato fork to gently lift the tubers from the ground or remove the entire plant and harvest the tubers.

You can eat them right away or cure them for prolonged storage. Use or dispose of any damaged spuds immediately. If you want to store your potatoes for later, lay the tubers out in a single layer in a warm, dark, aerated area for about 10 days.

Brush any dirt off the tubers, don’t wash them, before storing. Store your potatoes in a dark, cool, area of about 32-40°F (0-4°C) with a 95% relative humidity. This curing process allows the skins to set and any minor wounds to heal over. If you plan on frying your spuds, store them at a warmer 40-50°F (4-10°C).

Potato Varieties

There are many varieties of potatoes. The kind you grow should reflect your particular climate and garden as well as your personal taste. Different varieties are better suited to certain culinary purposes than others.

Here are a few of the most common potatoes that gardeners grow, though there are many more unique potato varieties and heirloom potatoes to try as well.

• Russet potatoes are the classic variety you probably think of when you hear the word potato. They are great for baking, frying, or mashing! You can get Russet seed potatoes from Walmart.
• 'Yukon Gold' is a delicious potato with creamy yellow flesh. They are my favorite type to cook with, especially for mashed potatoes. Get Yukon Gold seed potatoes from Burpee.
• 'Red Pontiac' is a very popular choice, if you want to grow red potatoes in your garden. They are flavorful and make great new potatoes. You can get Red Pontiac seed potatoes at the Home Depot.

Common Problems

There are many pests, diseases, and disorders that may afflict potatoes. Healthy spuds are less likely to be susceptible to common potato problems.

Pests like aphids, Colorado beetles, and flea beetles to name a few are known to inflict damage on potato crops.

Diseases, usually fungal like early or late blight also may be an issue with potato production. These can be treated with fungicides but are best avoided by using disease resistant or free seeds, maintaining good fertility and proper irrigation techniques.

Disorders such as tuber greening is the result of light exposure on spuds. Keep the tubers covered with soil in the garden and store the potatoes in a cool, dark area after harvest.

Irregularly shaped tubers or those with dry, cracked skins are the result of fluctuating irrigation. Mulch around the plants to retain moisture.

Growing Potatoes in Containers

Potatoes grow well in containers. A potato container can be a pot or a bucket or a grow bag, like these one from Amazon. Use 2-3 seed potatoes per 5-gallon bucket. Grow them as you would in the ground, paying careful attention to add soil as tubers emerge to keep them covered up.

Frequently Asked Questions

Potato Growing Essentials

Potatoes are a staple in many diets and a versatile ingredient in any kitchen. If you go through a lot of potatoes at home, consider growing them in your garden. They’re easier to grow than you think and reward you with an abundant harvest of potatoes you can store and use for months.

Growing potatoes isn’t particularly difficult. However, there are some key considerations to keep in mind, including how, when, and how much you water them. Watering potatoes correctly is just as important as getting the soil and feeding right.

Here’s what you need to know to make sure your spuds are happy, healthy, and well-hydrated to ensure you get a big harvest.

Why Watering Potatoes Right Is Key

Potatoes aren’t hard to grow, but things can definitely go wrong if you don’t get the conditions right. One of the most important factors for a good potato harvest is moisture. Knowing how often to water potatoes and how moist the soil should be will help you grow a healthy, abundant crop.

Inconsistent water and moisture can lead to poor development of the tubers, poor nutrient uptake, and uneven growth. You might see some specific issues with poor watering, like cracked or misshapen potatoes and tubers with holes in them. Ultimately, inconsistent water can limit your yield of edible potatoes.

How Much Water Do Potatoes Need?

To grow healthy and productive potato plants, aim for 1 to 2 inches (2.5-5 cm) of water per week. This includes both rainwater and any types of irrigation you use. The amount can vary depending on your soil type, the current weather, and the growth stage of the potato plants.

You’re looking for the soil around potato plants to remain consistently moist, but there is a balance to be struck. Consistent moisture is essential for good growth, but too much water can lead to soft rot in potatoes.

An easy way to test soil moisture is to feel the soil with your fingers to a depth of 2 to 3 inches (5-7.5 cm). Once this top layer of soil has dried, the potatoes could use a drink. If you’re still unsure whether your soil is either too dry or too wet, invest in a moisture meter, like this one from Amazon.

How Often to Water Potatoes

Figuring out how often to water potatoes as plants grow and develop through different stages is one of the keys to a successful harvest. Here’s what you need to know about how and when to water potatoes throughout the different parts of their growth cycle:

• Early Growth - Water the soil lightly just after planting seed potatoes and be very careful not to overwater. Keep the soil evenly moist with about 1 inch (2.5 cm) of water per week. Water gently to protect seedlings and keep soil in place.
• Peak Foliage Growth - Once the plants get bigger and are producing a lot of foliage, increase watering to a few times per week and up to 2 inches (5 cm) of water, depending on soil and weather conditions. Water potatoes more often in hot and dry weather. Adding mulch can also help retain moisture in the soil.
• Flowering - As your plants begin to flower, they are also developing tubers. This is a critical period during which the soil must stay consistently moist to avoid stressed, malformed, and small tubers. Water a few times a week, giving potatoes up to 3 inches (7.5 cm) of water per week, depending on the weather.
• Late Growth - During the latter part of the growing season, close to harvest time as the leaves begin to turn yellow, reduce watering gradually until you’re not watering at all unless the soil is totally dry. This gradual decrease helps toughen potato skins and prevents rot.

How to Water Potato Plants

Consistency is the name of the game when it comes to watering potatoes properly. You’ll get the best potatoes if you can keep the soil consistently moist without allowing it to become soggy.

Create hills of soil around your potato plants or along the row to protect the tubers and to help conserve moisture. Adding mulch on top of the soil will also prevent a lot of moisture loss from evaporation. Water more if weather conditions are especially hot and dry.

How you water potatoes also matters. Watering deeply once or twice a week is better than light daily watering. Setting up a simple drip irrigation kit, like this one from Home Depot that our editors love, or using a soaker hose at the base of plants is the most effective way of getting moisture into the soil. Avoid overhead watering and getting leaves wet, which encourages fungal infections and other common potato diseases.

Signs You’re Watering Potatoes Wrong

Watering potato plants requires balance, so it’s not hard to go too far in one direction or the other. Some signs you’re overwatering potatoes include yellowing leaves, fungal disease, wilting even with moist soil, and visible rot when you dig down to check on tubers.

Signs of underwatering include dry soil, stunted plant growth, and potatoes that are small, underdeveloped, or cracked. Tubers tend to crack if you water them after a period of dry conditions, which is one reason consistency is so important.

Growing your own potatoes can be rewarding, but to get the most out of your plants you have to be consistent with water. Time watering according to the different plant stages and weather, check on the soil, and make adjustments as needed for the best results and the biggest harvest.

Explore Watering Essentials

One potato, two potato, three potato, four. Yes, this a children’s game, but it might also be the chant of potato diseases and pests that are ready, willing, and able to chow down your crop of spuds.

Do pests eat potatoes? Yes, pests like Colorado potato beetles, slugs, and wireworms eat the tubers, while lots of other pests attack the foliage of potato plants. Then there are the potato diseases and blights that can decimate your harvest.

And they told you growing potatoes was easy? Actually, it can be. All of these threats to your potato patch can be handled with a little preventive action on your part. I’ll walk you through the most common potato diseases and pests that affect plants and teach you how to avoid problems so you still get a big, healthy harvest.

Common Potato Pests

You love baked potatoes. Your family loves homemade French fries. But we can add a long list of pests that love potatoes to that list, too. Let’s look at the most common potato pests, how to recognize them, and what to do if they show up in your garden.

1. Colorado Potato Beetles

With a name like “potato beetle,” you might think this pest is laser focussed on potato plants, but you would be wrong. Adult Colorado potato beetles overwinter in the soil, then in spring, they emerge and look for a host plant.

Potatoes are their favorites, but any plant in the potato family will do, including tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, tobacco, and some types of weeds. The adult is a small beetle with an oval, yellow body and black stripes on its wing covers. Larvae are bright pink with black heads.

Both adults and larvae feed on the potato leaves, but the worst damage is caused by third and fourth instar larvae. These large larvae can take all leaves off a potato plant within 48 hours. This is a lethal situation for flowering potatoes, since even a 6% defoliation can kill the plant.

Use an insecticidal spray, like this one from Bonide that's specifically formulated to beat Colorado potato beetles, to combat these common potato pests.

2. Potato Leafhoppers

Potato leafhoppers are not an issue while they are young. Adults are yellow-green and very tiny, while nymphs are even smaller and don't have any wings. Leafhoppers become a problem when reproduction begins and then is continuous. These pests produce three to four generations a season.

Potato leafhoppers have leaf-sucking mouth parts. They suck juices from the potato plant causing the veins to turn pale and the leaves to curl. After a while, the leaf tips turn yellow and suffer a condition known as “hopperburn,” stunting the plant and limiting the yield.

Insecticides work well for these pests, too. Treat the crop the first time you find a scattering of nymphs. Spray plants with a multipurpose insecticidal soap spray, like this one from Bonide. Keep a close eye out for leafhoppers from mid to late May.

3. Aphids

It’s a rare gardener who isn’t familiar with aphids. These common vegetable garden pests are small and green or black and found in groups on the underside of leaves. The adults turn into fiends in spring looking for an acceptable plant, like a potato plant, to eat.

When they find one, they move right in and make themselves at home, losing their wings, sucking juices out of the plant, and giving birth to another generation that quickly gives birth to another.

No plant does well when their plant juices are being extracted. Potato plants wilt and crops are destroyed. Look for light green spots on the upper leaves and curling of the leaf margins. At this point, tuber yields can be reduced as much as 60%.

The sustainable integrated pest management solution: bring in natural enemies of aphids. My favorite is the ladybug, but other less “cute” bugs work too, like lacewing larvae, hoverfly larvae, and parasitic wasps. Don’t use pesticides for other pests, however, because these predators are very sensitive to insecticides.

You can actually buy ladybugs to attack aphids on Amazon.

4. Wireworms

Wireworms are click beetle larvae and they look like little pieces of wire. They're slender, yellow-brown, and around 1 inch (2.5 cm) long. They are hungry around the time of potato seeding and will feel on the seed pieces soon after planting. Their population is larger if your garden was formerly sod or laid fallow the prior year.

Test for wireworms by burying a handful of untreated wheat, corn, or potatoes in the soil about a month before planting. Flag the location and then 10 days later, dig up the bait and take a look.

If more than one wireworm is found on the bait, take action. If you don’t act, the wireworms will feed on seed potatoes, seedlings, and even your tubers. One way to combat the wireworms is to trap them and kill them.

Take pieces of raw potato, then “plant” them in the soil. Check the traps every week and pick off and kill any wireworms on them.

Common Potato Diseases

That’s not all, folks! Even when you do what you need to keep insect pests at bay, your potato plants can fall victim to some common potato diseases. To spot these, you don’t have to dig up the tubers. They often show up on the foliage first. Here are the four most common potato diseases to watch for.

1. Late Blight

Late blight of potatoes is one of the most critical diseases to address. It is caused by a fungus that can infect foliage, stems, and tubers. It can also spread all over the garden in the wind. Look for irregular dark spots that get larger over time.

On the upper side of a leaf, the dark area is surrounded by a green halo and on the underside, you might see white mold. When the tuber is infected, you’ll see dark brown or purple spots.

The best way to control blight on potatoes is an integrated approach. Start off with a potato cultivar that has some blight resistance, like these 'German Butterball' tubers from Burpee. It's also vital to keep sources of the fungus, including other infected crops, far from your potato patch.

Disease is likely when you experience two consecutive days with a temperature of at least 50°F (10°C) and six or more hours of 90% relative humidity. This means your blight risk is high. Use a fungicide, like this one from Bonide, to prevent and treat problems if you experience weather that follows this pattern.

2. Early Blight

Early blight of potatoes, also called alternaria, is a soil-borne fungal pathogen that affects a variety of crops. Look for concentric rings of lesions on the leaves that appear a few weeks after foliage emerges. The disease starts as very small spots on lower leaves which then coalesce into larger marks.

Alternaria causes lesions on the leaves which often have a target spot appearance of concentric rings. Small dark dots appear a few weeks after emergence on the lower leaves, then grow and kill the leaf tissue.

You can help prevent this disease by removing debris and weeds from your garden. Crop rotation can also help. Don’t let your plants become stressed, since stress will increase the impact. If the problem spreads fast or impacts many of your plants, treat with a fungicide like the one above.

3. Common Scab

Three to six weeks after potato tubers start growing, the surrounding soil must be moist. If those tubers are growing in dry soil during this stage, they can get infected with common potato scab, which is an unsightly blemish disease. Lesions start small and coalesce into bigger irregular areas and turn colorless to dark brown.

Scab often results from lack of irrigation, a lack of light, poor-draining soils, or dry weather. If the cause is simple, so is the solution. Water potato plants one or two times a week for the first month after tuber initiation. It also helps to use fine-textured and well-draining soil, plant clean seed potatoes, and use crop rotation.

4. Blackleg & Soft Rot

Blackleg is a major potato disease that is caused by several of the same bacterias that cause soft rot in potato tubers.

The foliage is first attacked by blackleg and then you may see rolled upper leaves, blackened stems at ground level, and stunted pale-green or yellow foliage. It can also cause a slimy green-brown rot and the collapse of potato stems. Blackleg symptoms vary according to the prevailing weather conditions.

In potato tubers, the rot starts from infected wounds, lenticels, and stolon ends. Over time, you will also see soft, wet, cream-colored tissue with a sharp demarcation between diseased areas and healthy areas. Over time it develops a foul smell.

There is no proven chemical treatment for blackleg in potatoes. The best bet is to use good cultural practices, like using certified disease-free seed potatoes, not overwatering your plants, and disposing of any infected plants the minute you discover them.

Potatoes are heavy feeders that respond dramatically to the right fertilizer at the right time. Get the timing or the nutrient balance wrong and the harvest shows it—either poor tuber development underground or too much leafy growth above.

Most vegetables will produce something reasonable even with minimal feeding. Potatoes aren’t quite like that. They’re crop plants selected for heavy production, and heavy production needs actual nutritional support at specific points in the growing cycle

Soil prep, planting depth, hilling, harvest timing — all of it intersects with fertilizer in ways that matter. The full picture of growing potatoes covers all of that, but the fertilizer program itself breaks into three phases, each with a different goal and a different formula. Knowing what the plant needs at each stage, and why the timing is what it is, makes the whole thing easier to manage when conditions in the garden don’t go exactly to plan.

Best Fertilizer for Potatoes

Potatoes are nutritionally demanding in a pretty specific way. Nitrogen fuels the early leafy growth that drives photosynthesis, but if you give too much nitrogen too late and the plant just keeps making foliage when it should be switching focus to what’s happening underground. Phosphorus is what gets tuber development started — it’s the nutrient most tied to good tuber set early on. Potassium is the big one for yield and quality: it drives sugar movement into the developing tubers, affects final size, and improves both storage quality and disease resistance. A potato growing fertilizer that gets this balance right at each growth stage is what separates a good harvest from an average one.

Potatoes want slightly acidic soil, somewhere in the 5.0 to 6.0 range. Above that, common scab — the fungal problem that puts rough, corky patches on tuber skin — becomes a real issue. If the soil runs alkaline, working sulfur in before planting brings the pH down and takes most of the scab pressure with it. A soil test before planting is worth the time it takes — guessing at what adjustments are needed almost always costs more in the end.

Pre-Planting: Getting the Foundation Right

The single most important fertilizer application is the one that goes in before the seed potatoes do. First, you need to know what your soil is lacking. A comprehensive soil test, like this one from Amazon, will let you know exactly what is going on under the surface.

If your soil isn't severely lacking a specific nutrient, work a 10-10-10 or 12-12-12 granular fertilizer into the top 6 to 8 inches (15 to 20cm) of soil at 2 to 3 pounds per 100 square feet (0.9 to 1.4kg per 9 square meters). This covers nitrogen for early growth, phosphorus for tuber initiation, and potassium for the full season — all in one shot before planting. This 10-10-10 organic fertilizer from Espoma is available on Amazon.

If the soil is short on phosphorus, bone meal is worth adding at this stage — it releases slowly and is right there when the young tubers need it most. Working a handful directly into the planting trench is more efficient than broadcasting it. You can find bone meal applications at Amazon or your local garden center.

At Planting and Early Growth

When the seed potatoes go into the trench, a small amount of fertilizer placed just below or beside each piece — not touching the cut surface — gives the emerging roots something to find right away. A starter or low-nitrogen, higher-phosphorus formula like a 5-10-5 works well at about half a tablespoon (7ml) per hole. Keep it away from direct contact with the seed piece; concentrated fertilizer against a cut surface can burn the emerging sprout before it gets going.

Once plants are up and hitting 6 to 8 inches (15 to 20cm) — usually three to four weeks in — the first side-dress goes in. This is the last high-nitrogen feeding of the season. A 10-10-10 granular at 1 to 1.5 pounds per 100 square feet (0.45 to 0.7kg per 9 square meters) worked alongside the row, or a liquid balanced feed applied during watering, carries the plant through that rapid vegetative growth phase before things shift underground. Hill the stems up at this point to protect any shallow tubers from light exposure.

Transitioning to Tuber Development

Flowering is the signal that things are shifting underground, and the fertilizer program needs to shift with it. For non-flowering varieties, the canopy closing and vines beginning to sprawl is the same cue. This is when a low-nitrogen, high-potassium formula takes over. A fertilizer for potatoes at this stage should have something like a 5-10-10 or 0-10-20 analysis. Pulling back on nitrogen stops the plant from putting more energy into foliage, and the elevated potassium is what actually moves sugars into the tubers as they size up. Apply at the same rate as the side-dress and water it in well.

A dedicated potato or root vegetable fertilizer like this one from Amazon typically has this similar profile built in. Timing matters as much as the formula — applying a high-potassium feed before flowering wastes the application, and applying it after tubers have already sized up reduces its effectiveness. Flowering is the reliable visual cue to watch for.

Keep nitrogen in check once tubers start forming, focus on potassium to bulk up your spuds, and maintain consistent soil moisture—these three small adjustments make a big difference in both yield and quality.

Shop Potato Fertilizer Essentials

Prior to the potato blights of the early 19^th century, only heirloom potatoes were grown. Because of their susceptibility to disease, heirloom seed potatoes from this era are a rarity found only in gene banks and special collections. That said, some of the best heirloom potatoes can still be enjoyed, and you can even find seed spuds for heirloom fingerling potatoes. Read on to learn about some of the tastiest heirloom potato varieties you can grow in the home garden.

What are Heirloom Potatoes?

The term ‘heirloom’ has a few different meanings for potato growers. Some define heirloom as plants grown prior to 1951, the year hybrids became commonplace. Others say that any variety grown without genetic manipulation for at least 100 years is an heirloom. While they aren’t as easy to come by as store bought potatoes, they can still be found if you are willing to look.

In the case of heirloom potatoes, varieties cultivated before the blight of the 1840s are seldom available. Instead, heirloom potato varieties available now tend to be those developed in the 1850s and 1860s from Mexican or South American stock resistant to blight. If you are interested in growing potatoes with an heirloom basis, the best known stock potato is ‘Garnet Chile’ but it has produced many of the favored American heirloom varieties available, several of which are listed below.

Best Heirloom Potato Varieties to Try

Heirloom potatoes come in a variety of sizes, colors and flavors – though often you will see heritage taters described as either ‘starchy’ or ‘floury’ in taste. The seeds are saved from year to year as heirloom seed potatoes, so each year’s crops are true to the previous year. Growing heirloom potatoes is possible using ground-based, raised bed, grow bag or container options. Ideally suited to USDA zones 4-9, these taters should be planted in well-drained soil that is slightly acidic with a pH around 6.

1. ‘Early Rose’

Native to South America, ‘Early Rose’ is the genetic parent of the ‘Russet Burbank’ more commonly seen today. Come harvest time, you can expect medium-sized tubers with smooth reddish-pink skin and fluffy white flesh. ‘Early Rose’ has been cultivated since the 1860s and is still widely adored for mashing and roasting. However, it does best in cool-weather climates.

2. ‘Russet Burbank’

Referred to as ‘the potato that built Idaho’, ‘Russet Burbank’ is a descendent of ‘Early Rose’. The most popular spud in North America, ‘Russet Burbank’ began as an 1850s breeding experiment. As well as being a great addition to a vegetable garden, this heritage spud is a favorite of chefs for mashing and chips, thanks to its high starch levels and course consistency.

3. ‘Irish Cobbler’

Early maturing and medium-sized, the ‘Irish Cobbler’ is an heirloom spud dating back to 1876. It is generally oblong in shape with deep set eyes. This potato is high in starch content and has a dry, creamy, white flesh, perfect for baking or mashing. This tasty tater is an ideal plant for container gardening and ground-based gardening – but just bear in mind that it is susceptible to verticillium wilt.

4. ‘Bliss Triumph’

Released around 1878 as a cross between ‘Early Rose’ and ‘Peerless’, ‘Bliss Triumph’ (also known as ‘Red Bliss’) is a white fleshed potato that is available in red, pink and white skinned varieties. Early to sprout, ‘Bliss Triumph’ is susceptible to potato blight and other diseases, since the skin is delicate. Still, its versatility and rosy appearance makes it a delightful spud to grow in the home garden.

5. ‘Early Ohio’

‘Early Ohio’ introduced in 1875, was a seedling version of ‘Early Rose’. A market was born due to its rapid maturity and prolificacy. A great heirloom type for the north, ‘Early Ohio’ is a larger, roundish tuber with light tan skin and firm, white flesh. This first-early tater is ideal for a range of preparations but especially boiling, as it holds its shape well. Perfect for ground-based and raised bed growing, it is also a reliable heavy yielder if grown in a fertile, well-drained soil.

6. ‘German Butterball’

‘German Butterball’ is an oddball of an heirloom. It is classified as an heirloom only because its grower David Ronniger bred it from a 19^th century tuber. Otherwise, it is a fairly modern potato, debuting in 1988 but with heirloom roots. A large spud, ‘German Butterball’ can weigh as much as two pounds (just under a kilogram). While hardly the most unusual vegetable to grow, it has a memorable buttery taste. It works well in a range of cooking preparations, from frying to steaming.

7. ‘Russian Banana’ Fingerling

Fingerlings are especially desirable thanks to their shape and diminutive stature, making them ideal for container potato growing. ‘Russian Banana’ is a waxy tuber with a distinctly yellow flesh. This fingerling varies in shape and size from finger-sized to that of a small banana. If that wasn’t enough, it even has the curvature of a banana! It has a mild, slightly nutty quality and is good for boiling.

Frequently Asked Questions

Potatoes are one of the most popular vegetables, likely because of their versatility. Not only can you prepare potatoes in a myriad of ways, but there are so many unusual potato varieties to try. From russet to fingerling in hues of red, yellow, white and even purple, there’s a unique potato variety out there you will enjoy. Some unusual potatoes might be considered gourmet potato varieties, while still others are de rigueur, but all of them are delicious. Keep reading to learn about unusual potato varieties and which ones you should grow.

About Potatoes

Potatoes get rather a bad rap. Much is made about tomatoes, related in the family Solanaceae, but no one makes a big deal about tomatoes despite the fact that they can be fried, sauteed, broiled, boiled, baked, roasted and of course mashed.

Potatoes (Solanum tuberosum) are an annual, cool season crop. There are seven types of potatoes: red, russet, white, yellow, purple/blue, fingerling and petite. Each has that earthy aroma and flavor but some seem almost buttery, while others are extra starchy, nutty or even somewhat sweet.

The cool growing season of the northern United States is perfect for growing potatoes, but with so many varieties even those in the South can enjoy a spud fresh from the garden.

Unusual Potato Varieties

Everyone that’s ever eaten a baked potato knows what a russet potato is. Red potato salad? Roasted Yukon golds? You know them. So what constitutes an unusual potato? Unusual or rare or even gourmet potatoes are those you won’t usually find at your standard grocery store or supermarket. They are often not even heirlooms, but rather more likely to be new incarnations of potato, bred for specific qualities.

Rare potato varieties are more likely to be found at the Farmer’s Market or specialty grocery that caters to those looking for the unusual, and often more expensive. Another way to find varieties like gourmet potatoes is to scour seed catalogs. The best, newest and brightest will be featured prominently in annual seed magazines or online.

Gourmet Potato Varieties

Gourmet potatoes are so named for their varying colors, textures, and small size that have been developed with superior flavor in mind. They are similar to a new potato, so what’s the difference?

New potatoes are gleaned from varieties you've likely heard of such as Yukon Gold, Pontiac, and Kennebec. New potatoes are simply the youngest, smallest and tenderest of these varieties. These young potatoes are pulled from the hill early, labeled “new” and the rest of the spuds are left behind to mature into larger Kennebecs, Pontiacs, and Yukon Golds.

Examples of gourmet potatoes include Adirondack Red, FrenchFingerling, German Butterball, and All Blue. Like new potatoes, gourmet spuds are small with a thin skin, but not thick enough to store for any length of time.

Other Unusual Potato Varieties

• Red Bliss is a waxy potato not usually recommended for mashing but this particular variety is still sometimes mashed or smashed, with the thin red skins left on.
• Carola hails from Germany, tastes like a new potato, and can be cooked in every way imaginable.
• Cracked Butterball is a larger version of German butterball with unique cracked skin.
• Red Thumb spuds are fingerling potatoes with red skin and creamy pink marbled flesh perfect for roasting whole.
• Russian Banana is another fingerling potato with a buttery flavor and a shape rather like a banana.
• Purple Peruvian potatoes are also fingerlings but unlike the previous two, aren’t waxy but rather starchy making them perfect for mashing and deep frying.
• Desiree is an oblong red tuber with a pinkish/red interior that is resistant to many common diseases.
• Rose Finn Apple fingerling has deep yellow flesh, fine flavor and is a mid-season
  variety.

Purple and blue potatoes are by far the most unusual looking of the cultivars. Originating from South America, their color comes from anthocyanin pigments in the skin and flesh. Examples of these colorful spuds include Magic Molly, Blue Tomcat, Purple Majesty, Purple Pelisse and Adirondack Blue.

Other potato varieties to look into include Agria, Caribe, Cranberry Red, Goldrush, and Keuka Gold.

Are you planning on making potato latkes for Hanukkah? Steeped in tradition, the technique for making these crispy fried potato pancakes varies from family to family. Yet, one thing is for certain. Good latkes start with choosing the right potatoes.

What Type of Potatoes are Best for Latkes?

Most cooks agree, potatoes with a high starch content are a necessity when making latkes. Starch is the key ingredient to produce latkes which hold together when fried. Some cooks also add matzo meal to the shredded potatoes when making latkes. Others harvest the starch directly from the potatoes.

In addition to a higher starch content, these varieties of potatoes have a lower moisture and sugar level than waxy or all-purpose types of tubers. Less moisture means the latkes will become crisper when fried. Starchy potatoes also break down better when cooked, which makes for that ideal creamy texture inside the pancake.

Finding Potatoes for Latkes

If you know a little about potatoes, you could source them at your local grocery. The most common varieties of starchy potatoes sold there would be Russet, Idaho and Yukon Gold, with Russets being the most recommended for latkes.

Farmer's Markets are another option. The vendors there grow their own produce and can be quite knowledgeable about the potatoes they sell. If you'd like to experiment with the taste and texture of your latkes, you are more likely to find a bigger selection of starchy potato varieties here than at your local grocery.

Growing Potatoes for Latkes

You might also consider growing your own potatoes for latkes. Potato plants grow from the eyes which sprout on potato tubers in late winter. Referred to as seed potatoes, pieces of potatoes containing eyes are planted in early spring. Caring for potatoes is not difficult, but they do require watering, weeding, hilling and fertilizing.

Seed potatoes are generally sourced in one of two ways. You can reserve a few of those special potatoes you purchased for latkes and encourage them to produce eyes. Or you could simply order seed potatoes from an online vegetable gardening catalog.

If you're looking for an experimental type of potatoes for latkes, you may want to give these varieties a try:

• Agria
• Goldrush
• Kennebec
• King Edward
• Norchip
• Norkotah

How to Make Potato Latkes

Latkes are a blend of shredded potatoes, onion, eggs and seasoning. The amounts of each can vary, depending upon the recipe. Some recipes call for additional ingredients, such as matzo meal or bread crumbs. Here is a very simple one for you to try:

• 7-8 large potatoes
• 1 finely-chopped medium yellow onion
• 6 beaten eggs
• 4 minced scallions
• 3 tablespoons chopped parsley
• 3/4 cups matzo meal
• 2 teaspoons salt
• Black pepper to taste
• Vegetable oil (For frying)

There are also many thoughts on the process of making latkes. If you're wondering, “Should the potatoes be grated by hand or in a food processor?” or “Do you peel potatoes for latkes?” You're not likely to find a definitive answer. It simply a matter of personal preference.

Beyond the choice of starchy potatoes, there is one hard, fast rule on which all latke chefs seem to agree. The liquid must be squeezed out of the shredded potatoes before cooking the latkes. Some recommend pressing the potatoes against a fine sieve, while others wrap the shreds in a towel and twist.

If you're using the first method, you can catch the liquid and harvest the starch as it separates out and sinks to the bottom of the dish. This can be added back to the potatoes as a binder and thickening agent.

The steps for making latkes are pretty simple. Mix all the ingredients, except the oil, with the dried potato shreds. This mixture is spooned into a pan of hot oil and fried. The latkes can be turned once the underside is golden brown.

Once they are finished cooking, place the latkes on a paper towel to absorb the extra oil. Latkes are typically served with apple sauce or sour cream.

In the United States, potatoes top the charts as the most popular vegetable. Growing potatoes in the home garden is simple and these starchy tubers are easy to cure and store for use during the winter. Yet, one question often comes to the minds of potato gardeners. Can potatoes survive frost?

Potatoes and Late Spring Frosts

If you're asking, “Can potatoes handle frost in the spring?” The answer is yes. Let's say your newly planted seed potatoes have begun to send up stalks of green foliage when Mother Nature decides to play a trick on you. You wake up in the morning to an unexpected frost.

As you check your garden, you notice the above ground growth on the potato plants is damaged. A light frost may leave the edges of the leaves black, but a severe frost can kill the growth down to the ground. Should you replant? The good news is the seed potatoes in the ground are protected, provided you had a frost and not a freeze which penetrated the soil.

It may take a week or two for the seed potatoes to send up new growth. If you don't see new growth after three weeks, it's time to dig down and check on the seed potatoes. Soil which is too wet, too dry or too cold can delay sprouting and may cause the seed potatoes to rot.

Will Frost Kill Potatoes in the Fall?

As in the spring, a fall frost will damage potato foliage. This usually isn't a problem as the best time to harvest full-sized potatoes is after the foliage has completely died back. Since it takes approximately 120 days to grow full-sized potatoes, the timeline for harvesting full-sized potatoes is usually late August to early September. Even an early frost that kills the foliage is unlikely to have much effect on the potato harvest.

When gardeners ask, “Are potatoes frost tolerant?” they might be referring to the tuber, not the plant. In this case, the tuber is safe from frost damage as long as it is totally buried in the ground. If the ground should freeze, however, the potatoes can suffer damage.

Let's say you had a short growing season with late spring and early fall frosts, or maybe life was busy and you planted your seed potatoes a bit late. Now that frost has killed back the foliage in the fall, should you harvest the potato crop?

Once the plant dies, the potatoes stop growing. If the potatoes are small, they can be immediately harvested and used as new potatoes. Full-sized potatoes can be left in the ground for two more weeks to allow the skins to harden and begin the curing process. However, if excess rain saturates the soil or the danger of a freeze exists, it's best to harvest the potatoes as soon as possible.

Identifying Freeze-Damaged Potatoes

Freeze or frost damage to potatoes (the tubers) can be hard to detect. Frost damage can occur when potato tubers are sticking out of the ground. The sun turns exposed potatoes green. Thus, any green potatoes which have experienced a frost event should be suspect. Potatoes close to the surface or in low areas are the next likely candidates for frost and freeze damage. Check the side of the potato which was closest to the soil surface for signs of mushiness or wrinkling.

The flesh or interior of frost-damaged potatoes often turns gray or reddish brown. This can present itself as spots or streaking when the potato is cut open. Freeze or frost damaged potatoes not only have a shortened storage life, but they will most likely turn black when cooked.

Thus, severely damaged potatoes should be discarded. Potatoes with light localized damage might be saved by cutting off the damaged portion and immediately using the undamaged sections. However, freezing converts starch to sugars. Potatoes which have experienced frost or freeze damage might have an oddly sweet flavor.

Many cuisines feature potatoes, a starchy tuber that lends itself to a host of dishes. Growing your own potatoes ensures an organic supply of these long lasting spuds. Growing potatoes in fall is often preferable in areas with hot summers, as they are a cool season crop. Wondering how late can you plant potatoes? The answer depends on your growing zone.

Potato tubers develop best at temperatures of 60-70 Fahrenheit (15-21 C.).

They grow well in early spring and late fall when temperatures aren't too hot. There are early, midseason, and late varieties. Select a late variety for optimal production in fall cropping situations.

When to Plant Fall Potatoes

Late potatoes work well for winter storage. The best time to plant these varieties is about 110 days before the first expected freeze, which may be as early as July in some regions. Tuber formation will slow or stop when soil temperature reaches 80 degrees Fahrenheit (26.7 C.). Planting fall potatoes often results in a larger crop than early or midseason varieties and their starch content is higher.

Loose loamy to sandy soil is preferred for potato crops. Potatoes may also be grown in containers, and there are many available for purchase or you can make your own.

Growing Late Season Potatoes

Selecting the correct variety of tuber will ensure the maximum crop. Varieties that perform well in the fall are:

• Butte- Brown skinned, starchy
• Desiree- Rosy skin, yellow flesh
• Genesee- Classic white potato
• German Butterball- creamy yellow flesh
• Katahdin- Long storing white potato
• Snowden- Small white, perfect for potato chips
• Russet Burbank- Large classic russet with dry, mealy flesh
• Red Pontiac- Large tubers with red skin and white, waxy flesh
• Lehigh- Yellow potato with firm flesh
• Kennebec- Large brown skinned tuber
• Elba- Solid, white, round potatoes
• Bintje- Long storing yellow spud
• All Blue- Deeply purple red skin and flesh
• French Fingerling- Long, narrow tubers
• Irish Cobbler- Heirloom medium potatoes
• Pink Fir Apple- Rosy fingerling with yellow flesh
• Green Mountain- Classic baking potato
• Amarosa- Pink inside and out, fingerling

Tips on Growing Potatoes

Potatoes don't need much encouragement to grow. Select firm seedling potatoes. The bag should have a blue tag on it that signifies the potatoes passed inspection.

Cut each seeding potato into pieces. A medium sized potato should be cut in 4 pieces, while a large spud needs to be separated into 6 pieces. Ensure each piece has at least 1 eye or growing node. After cutting the potatoes, store the pieces in a warm, humid place to allow the cut edges to heal.

Plant each piece in prepared soil 12 inches (30.48 cm.) apart. Cover the pieces with 4 inches (10.16 cm) of soil. As you see plant leaves, hill the soil to encourage the formation of roots and more tubers. Keep the site evenly watered. Young tubers can be gently harvested at any point. When the plant dies back it is time to take the whole harvest. Let the spuds sit in a shady place for a day to toughen the skin and store at 40 degrees Fahrenheit (4.4 C.).

Grab the kiddos and celebrate National Potato Day on August 19 by growing a potato in a jar or glass. This fun experiment is not only a great way to introduce the little ones to gardening, but also a way to sneak in a botany lesson for older youth. This method can also be used to sprout Irish potato plants or produce sweet potato slips for the garden.

How to Grow a Potato in Water

Although potatoes grow underground, they are actually modified stems designed to store starch. This starch can be used as an energy source for reproduction. While potato plants can form seeds, they are usually propagated by vegetative means. In other words, new potato plants grow from the buds or eyes which form on the potato tuber. 

Follow these easy steps to grow potatoes in water:

Step one: Choose a potato which has sprouted a few eyes.

Step two: Locate the end of the potato which has the most eyes and insert a toothpick 2/3 of the way to the other end of the potato. 

Step three: Next, place another 2 to 3 toothpicks in an evenly spaced circle around the potato. 

Step four: Fill a glass or small jar with water. Using the toothpicks, suspend the potato in the water by setting the toothpicks on the rim of the glass. Be sure to place the end of the potato with the most eyes in the water.

Step five: Set the glass in a sunny, warm location. Keep the jar filled with water.

Step six: Check on the potato daily. In a few weeks, roots will begin to grow from the underwater buds. Soon after, the potato will send up shoots on which leaves will form.

Step seven: Once the new plant has several leaves, it can be transplanted into a pot or the garden.

The Sweet Potato in Water Experiment

A similar experiment can be performed using sweet potatoes. Like Irish potatoes, sweet potatoes also form buds on their tubers. These buds produce the slips which form new sweet potato plants. Follow these steps to sprout sweet potato slips:

Step one: Locate the proximal end of the sweet potato. (Hint - It's the narrow end which was attached to the mother plant.)

Step two: As with the Irish potato, encircle the sweet potato with 3 to 4 toothpicks about 2/3 of the way from the proximal end. 

Step three: To grow a sweet potato in water, suspend the root in a glass with the proximal end pointing up. Fill the glass so that the bottom third of the sweet potato root is underwater. Set the glass in a sunny window and maintain the water level by periodically adding water.

Step four: In a few weeks, roots will form at the bottom of the sweet potato. This will be followed by stem formation or “slips” at the proximal end. 

Step five: When the slips are 6 to 8 inches (15-20 cm.) tall, snip them from the sweet potato using sharp scissors or a knife. Place the slips in a glass of water to root. Once the slips have 2 to 3 inch roots (5-7.6 cm.), they can be planted in a pot. Transfer the plants to the garden once all danger of frost has passed.

Think potatoes are boring? You may have tried just about everything in the kitchen with the fantastic spuds but what are some unusual potato uses? Get playful and try some fun ways to use potatoes. These tubers aren't just for mashed potatoes anymore. 

What to Do with Potatoes 

The potato famine is past us and spuds are a common and inexpensive kitchen staple. Whether you fry them, mash them, or slather them with toppings as a baked extravaganza, using potatoes for projects is an exciting way to elevate the lowly tater. Rescue a soup, clean household items, and make art to name a few unusual potato uses.

If you have a bumper crop of spuds and they seem to be a plague, try having fun with potatoes. There is a number of ways to cook with them, but they are also useful in the home for weird chores. Save the left over water from cooking them and use it to remove tarnish from silverware. Rubbing a cut potato on rust will remove discoloration. It can also remove berry stains. Rub a stain in the carpet and rinse with warm water for a clean, like-new floor. You can even use a cut tater to clean glass or defog a diving mask or glasses. Break a light bulb in the socket? Turn off the power and use a piece of potato to safely remove the shards.

Ways to Use Potatoes for Beauty and Health

Mashed potato facial, anyone? It can help with blemishes and blackheads. Mix a little lemon juice in for better results. To reduce eye circles and puffiness, place thin slices of potato over the eyes for 15 minutes. Wash you face with potato water daily to reduce wrinkles. If you have a pesky wart, apply a slice of potato daily. 

Using potatoes can help improve your health inside and out. You can make a hot or cold compress with a cooked potato wrapped in a towel. Potato juice can help sooth a bruise, sprain, or even a headache. Waiting for a dentist appointment? Bite down on a piece of cold potato to alleviate tooth pain. 

Fun with Potatoes

Still looking for more ways to use potatoes? Get out the glue gun and ink. Have kids make a real life Mr. Potato Head, insect, or other character with googly eyes, felt, and pipe cleaners. Make mashed potatoes and add flour until the mixture is stiff enough to mold. An edible clay that you can dye different colors! Cut a spud in half and carve out stars, moons, and other shapes. Dip in ink or a stamp pad and use to make prints. A fun kid project is to hollow out a potato and fill it with soil and a couple of seeds. Watch them sprout and learn about how things grow.

Potatoes come in a medley of colors and sizes. With hundreds of varieties from which to choose, it seems everyone has a favorite. Red skinned potatoes are known for their creamy texture and appetizing color, while white potatoes have long been the standard for baking. Potatoes that are yellow inside have a sweet buttery flavor. Yellow potato varieties are a favorite for mashing, roasting, and potato salad.

Growing Yellow Potatoes

Like other varieties, golden potato plant types are easy to grow. It's best to start with certified potato seed so as not to introduce disease into the garden. Although potatoes do form true seeds from flowers, these seeds are too genetically diverse to produce true-to-type crops. The term “potato seed” generally refers to tubers containing eyes or buds. 

Before planting potatoes, cut the intact tuber into sections with each piece containing at least two eyes. Allow these pieces to dry overnight before planting. In most areas, potatoes are planted three to four inches (8-10 cm.) deep. In drier gardens, potatoes can be planted to a depth of five inches (13 cm.). Space the seed potatoes 9 to 12 inches (23-30 cm.) apart. Wider spacing allows for larger sized potatoes.

The rows of potatoes can be mulched with straw or grass clippings or left bare until the plants emerge. If the latter method is used, the plants can be hilled by mounding loose soil two to three inches (5-8 cm.) around the stem of the plant. Like mulching, hilling potatoes minimizes greening, controls weeds, and raises soil temperatures.

Season long care for gold potatoes is straightforward. Controlling weeds and providing supplemental water as needed are the major concerns. Once the potatoes begin blooming, small “new” potatoes can be harvested near the surface of the soil. Gently dig around the base of the plant to recover these tasty spuds. 

In late summer when the plant foliage begins to yellow, potatoes can be harvested as needed. The remainder can stay in the ground as long as soil conditions remain dry and the ambient temperature stays above freezing. It's advisable not to wait too long as it's harder to locate the tubers once the plants have died back completely. Harvest potatoes by carefully digging the area with a shovel or pitchfork.

To prolong the shelf life of yellow potato varieties, cure the freshly harvested spuds for two weeks. Choose a cool, humid location where sunlight or rain can't reach the potatoes. A wire shelf in the garage, basement or under a covered porch works well. Curing allows minor cuts and blemishes to heal and the potato's skin to thicken. After curing, potatoes can be stored in a dark, cool area.

Yellow Potato Varieties

Growing yellow potatoes is an easy task. To find the yellow potato varieties which are right for you, check out these popular choices:

• Agria
• Carola
• Delta Gold
• Inca Gold
• Keuka
• Michigold
• Saginaw Gold
• Yukon Gold

Would the business concept of fast food restaurants have developed without French fries? I doubt it. After all, not only is this crispy, crunchy delight a staple of every fast food chain, but the Irish potato was also a dominant factor in the changing economic climate of the post-Columbian era. 

If we look at potato plant history, we discover the tuber we've all known and loved is a barometer for the affluence of mankind. So, in celebration of this popular spud (National Potato Day is August 19 by the way), let's look at the origins of potatoes and discover how this simple tuber has altered the very existence of mankind. 

Where Do Potatoes Come From?

Think you know the origins of the potato? Surprisingly, the tuber we often refer to as the Irish potato did not originate in Ireland. The history of potato plants dates back thousands of years to the Andean part of South America. Its likely native tribes began harvesting the bitter tasting wild tubers in the area of modern day Chile. 

These early potatoes were dried and could be stored for long periods of time, making the potato a valuable safety net when harvests were poor. Today, wild potatoes still grow in parts of Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador.

Potatoes didn't reach Ireland until after the discovery of the New World, when Spanish explorers entered South America looking for gold and precious metals. Largely overlooked, the potato eventually made its way overseas where it was met with a less-than-enthusiastic greeting. 

It's not clear who introduced the potato to Ireland. Some accounts credit Sir John Hawkins, while others attribute Sir Walter Raleigh with planting the first spuds. We do know this occurred sometime in the mid to late 1500's. As more and more Europeans began accepting and cultivating potato plants, some highly unexpected outcomes occurred: 

• Rapid population growth: The nutrient packed potato put an end to population limits due to European's inability to grow enough food to sustain themselves. Potatoes, coupled with dairy, contain all the necessary vitamins and minerals to meet a human's dietary needs. In addition, potatoes are more productive per acre than other crops. The introduction and acceptance of the potato put an end to widespread starvation, particularly among the peasant classes.
• Reduction in European armed conflicts in the 18th and 19th centuries: The shift to potato cultivation allowed less productive acreage to provide sufficient food for hungry populations. The result was a devaluation of agricultural acreage, a commodity often acquired through battle in pre-Columbian times.
• The transition to the Industrial Age: More productive cropland meant fewer farmers were needed. The introduction of the potato paralleled the population movement into metropolitan areas and provided the workforce necessary to staff factories.
• Introduction to the modern age of agriculture: From the exportation of guano from Peru to fertilize potato fields to the discovery of arsenic as a means of controlling potato beetles, potato cultivation gave mankind a jump start on the green revolution.

It's hard to believe the simple spud revolutionized the world on such a large scale. Would we have sent a man to the moon or have computers, cell phones, or automobiles without potatoes? It's hard to tell, but the next time you're asked the simple question "Do you want fries with that," answer a definitive "Yes, please" and celebrate the spud that changed our lifestyle.

Do you know how to grow potatoes from potatoes purchased at the grocery store? Gardeners often buy seed potatoes to start their plants. These aren’t seeds but actually small tubers. You can purchase them in many varieties but perhaps there is a kind you just love at the supermarket and you simply want to try that kind.

But, can you grow potatoes from store bought? Growing potatoes from produce spuds can be done. I know, I’ve done it. Sometimes that is the easiest way to get a type of tater you prefer and they make a great addition to a vegetable container garden.

Can You Grow Potatoes From Potatoes You Bought At The Store?

Potatoes grow from the eyes. Those are the little things that look like tater belly buttons. The eyes are the growth points in a potato and each has the potential to produce a plant. However, if you really want to be sure a plant grows, make sure each spud has at least a couple of eyes. So can you grow potatoes from store bought? It is best to grow potatoes from seed potatoes as they have been carefully selected by growers for disease-resistance, but it is possible to grow from a grocery-bought spud. The best ones to choose are slightly dirty because the dirt actually helps keep the potato fresh and it will last longer.

Since you have no way of knowing when your spud was harvested, you can’t pick the freshest but make sure it isn’t wrinkly, damaged, or diseased. You also do not know if your potato was exposed to disease. When planting from store-bought tubers, plant potatoes in containers for the safest result. This will avoid introducing disease to the rest of your garden. This is especially important if you grow other nightshade crops like tomatoes. Any disease the potato introduces can be transferred to your other nightshade crops.

Preparing Your Potatoes

1. You do not need to wash the potato to remove dirt, but it is a good idea when using supermarket spuds. This can remove any surface contaminants.
2. Use a nice sharp, clean knife. Sharp cuts damage the tuber less. And a clean knife will avoid introducing pathogens. If the potato is very small it can be planted whole, but larger tubers need to be cut up.
3. Cut the potato up into pieces with at least 1 good eye.
4. Lay out newspaper and lay out the pieces. Allow them to dry for 3 days. This will callus over the cut site and help prevent rotting.

Planting Your Potatoes

1. Soil is one of the most important components in plant growth. In the case of potatoes, they like well-draining vegetable garden soil with a pH between 5.0 and 5.2. A good soil cut by half with compost is an ideal medium for container plants. If you opt to plant your grocery store spud in the ground, loosen the soil well and incorporate some compost to amend the soil.
2. If you are planting in the ground, dig a trench 6-8 inches (0.6-0.67 cm.) deep. If you are using a container, line the bottom with a few inches (.25 cm.) of soil.
3. Space the potato pieces at least 10 inches (.83 cm.) apart.
4. Fill around the spuds with a few inches (.25 cm.) of dirt.
5. Water lightly. The soil should just be moderately moist.
6. As shoots come up, fill with another layer of soil to just about cover the shoot.
7. Water sparingly. The most important watering period is when the plants are flowering. At this point they need at least 1 inch (2.54 cm.) of water per week.
8. As the tubers begin to mature, the foliage will yellow and die back. At this point you can slowly reduce watering. You can harvest when all the foliage is completely brown and dead.
9. One week before harvesting potatoes, stop watering completely.
10. Gently sift through your dirt to unearth your potatoes.
11. Do not wash the potatoes, simply brush off excess dirt. Then store them in a cool dark location.

Potatoes are a great crop to try if you have never grown vegetables before. They are easy to grow and can be a rewarding garden experiment for the children in your life. Your homegrown taters will be delicious and you can even use them for some fun potato crafts!

Frequently Asked Questions

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Growing your own potatoes is easy, but for those with bad backs, it’s literally a pain. Sure, you can grow potatoes in a raised bed which will facilitate harvest, but that still requires some digging and an initial investment. A quick trick to various potato plant box ideas that exist includes the thrifty cardboard potato planter.

Can You Grow Potatoes in a Cardboard Box?

Can you really grow potatoes in a cardboard box? Yes. In fact, growing potatoes in cardboard boxes couldn’t be simpler and with little to no cost to the grower. Cardboard for your potato plant box can often be obtained for free from a grocery store or the like, or even from someone who has recently moved and wants those moving boxes gone.

Potato seed for planting potatoes in cardboard boxes can be obtained at nearly any garden center or nursery for very little or, for an experiment with the kids, culled from some old spuds you’ve let go past their prime.

Planting Potatoes in Cardboard Boxes

Planting potatoes in cardboard boxes couldn’t be easier. The concept is similar to growing them in containers or even pallets.

First, round up some sturdy cardboard boxes and potato seeds. Try to find boxes that are unprinted and without staples. Open the box so that the top and bottom are open, and the sides are still attached.

Clear an area for the cardboard potato planter. No need to dig down, just remove any large debris and weeds. Choose a spot that is in full sun.

Next, dig a shallow hole an inch (2.5 cm.) or so deep for the potato seed to sit in. Position the sprouts skyward and cover the sides of the spud with soil.

Use bricks or stones to secure the box lapels so they won’t blow away and to seal in moisture, then fill the potato plant box in with mulch. The best mulch is dry grass clippings or straw, but other dry plant matter works as well. Cover the potato seed with about 6 inches (15 cm.) of mulch and water in well.

That’s really all that is needed when planting potatoes in cardboard boxes. Now, just keep an eye on the cardboard potato planter to monitor it for additional water or mulch needs.

Tips When Growing Potatoes in Cardboard Boxes

As the potato plant grows and shoots begin to peek through the mulch, add more mulch to cover the growth. Keep adding mulch until the layer is about 10 to 12 inches (25-31 cm.) thick. At this juncture, allow the plant to grow without adding mulch but do keep the mulch moist.

The real ease and beauty of planting potatoes in cardboard boxes come when it is harvesting time. First, it is a simple matter to check on the size and readiness of the spuds by removing the mulch. Replace the mulch and allow the plant to continue to grow if you want larger potatoes, but if you’re ready to harvest, just remove the box and sift through the mulch for the tubers.

By the time the potatoes are ready to harvest, the box will likely be degrading and can just be added to the compost, dug into the soil, or even just left where it is to break down. You will have gorgeous potatoes with no digging involved that are easy to brush clean.

Potato plants are heavy feeders, so it's only natural to wonder if growing potatoes in compost is feasible. Organic-rich compost supplies much of the nutrients potato plants need to grow and produce tubers, but is pure compost too rich? Will they grow too leggy with reduced yields? Let's find out.

Can You Plant Potatoes in Compost?

Timesaving techniques are relished by busy gardeners alike, so asking “Will potatoes grow in compost bins?” is understandable. Unfortunately, there's no easy answer. First and foremost, one has to consider the composition of the compost. No two compost piles are the same.

Compost made with high nitrogen ingredients, like poultry manure, will naturally have higher nitrogen to potassium and phosphorous ratios. Excess nitrogen is often associated with leggy growth and poor crop yields when growing potatoes in compost.

Additionally, incorrectly or incompletely composted manures can harbor harmful bacteria, such as E. Coli or fungal pathogens, like potato blight. When using compost bin medium to grow potatoes, the latter can be introduced when store-bought potatoes carrying blight spores were inadvertently tossed in the bin.

Thus, the answer to the question “Will potatoes grow in compost,” is yes, but the results can be varied and unexpected. There are, however, better ways to use compost in the cultivation of potatoes.

Tips for Growing Potatoes in Compost

• Soil Amendment – In lieu of directly cultivating potatoes in compost bin medium, add plenty of organic compost when working up the soil for potatoes. Root crops grow best in loose soil with good drainage, both of which can be improved with the addition of compost.
• Potato Compost Hilling – Use finished compost to hill potato plants. The technique of hilling potatoes increases yields, keeps weeds down, and encourages potato plants to grow higher rather than spread out in the garden. This makes it easier to find and harvest potato tubers in the field. Potato compost hilling provides a loose medium so tubers can easily expand without twisting or indenting from heavy soil or rocks.
• Container gardening – Cultivating container potatoes in compost bin soil is another commonly used garden technique. A small amount of compost is placed in the bottom of the container, then the seed potatoes are planted. As the potatoes grow, more compost is periodically layered with straw in the container. Slowly adding compost prevents those large bursts of nutrients which can cause green growth spikes and reduce tuber production.
• Bagged compost mixes – Some gardeners have found success by using bagged soil and compost mixes. Simply poke several holes in the bottom of the bag for drainage, then cut open the top. Remove all but the last 4 to 6 inches (10-15 cm.) of soil. Roll down the bag as you go. Next, plant the potato seeds. As they continue to grow, slowly add back the soil mix making certain to leave the growing tips on the potato plants exposed. Once the potatoes are harvested, the compost-soil mix can be added to the garden or flowerbeds provided the potatoes remained disease and pest-free.

Whichever method you choose, growing potatoes in compost helps feed these hungry plants. This leads to larger yields in the fall and more delicious homegrown potato dishes next winter.

Potatoes as houseplants? Although they won’t last as long as most of your favorite houseplants, indoor potato plants are fun to grow and will provide dark green leaves for several months. If you’re lucky, your potato plant houseplant will reward you with star-shaped blooms as the plant nears the end of its lifespan, and you may even harvest a handful of tiny, edible potatoes. Here’s how to grow potatoes as houseplants.

Growing an Indoor Potato Plant

Follow these tips on caring for a potato plant in a pot indoors and you'll be well on your way to enjoying this unique houseplant:

Although you can purchase seed potatoes, plain old Russets from your supermarket make fine indoor potato plants.

Cut the potato into chunks of no more than 2 inches (5 cm.). Be sure each piece has at least one or two “eyes” with sprouts. If the potatoes haven’t sprouted, or if the sprouts are tiny, just put the potatoes in a small container or egg carton and place them in a sunny window for a few days.

Spread the cut chunks in a dry area, on a newspaper or a layer of paper towels, for about 24 hours, which allows the cuts to heal. Otherwise, the potato pieces are more likely to rot before they grow into potato plant houseplants.

Fill a pot with commercial potting mix, then water until the soil is moist but not dripping wet. A 6 inch (15 cm.) container is good for planting one potato plant in a pot. Be sure the pot has a drainage hole in the bottom. Use a larger pot if you’re hoping to harvest a few small potatoes after the plant dies down.

Plant a potato chunk about 3 inches (8 cm.) deep into the potting soil, with the healthiest sprout facing upward.

Put the pot in a warm room where it is exposed to several hours of sunlight per day. Watch for growth to appear in a few days. Water the potato pot houseplant when the top inch (2.5 cm.) of potting soil feels dry to the touch.

Plant potatoes every few months if you want a continuous display of potato plant houseplants.

Potatoes are a classic cuisine staple and actually quite easy to grow. The potato trench and hill method is a time-tested way to increase yields and help plants grow their best. Seed potatoes are the fastest way to start your plants, but you can also use grocery store potatoes that have begun to sprout.

Potatoes in a trench are "hilled" as they grow to encourage root growth and more tubers.

About Potato Trenches and Hills

Anyone can grow potatoes. You can even grow them in a bucket or garbage can. The method where you trench and hill potatoes produces more tubers and is easy to do even in a new garden. Just make sure you have adequate drainage and a soil pH of 4.7-5.5.

Farmers have been using the trench and hill potato method for generations. The idea is to dig a trench for the seed potatoes and as they grow you fill in over them with soil from the adjacent hill. This leftover soil from digging the trenches is arranged along the trench and helps keep the plants moist initially and then encourages further root growth as the plants mature.

Potato trenches and hills aren't necessary for growing the tubers, but they will make the process easier and increase your crop.

How to Plant Potatoes in a Trench

Make sure you have loose soil with a good amount of organic matter incorporated. Select seed potatoes that have already begun to sprout or chit them. Chitting seed potatoes is the process where you place the tubers in a shallow container in a warm, dark location for a couple of weeks. The potatoes will begin to sprout from the eyes and shrivel a bit.

Once sprouting occurs, move them to moderate light to green up the sprouts. When sprouts are green, prepare the bed by digging trenches at least 6 inches (15 cm.) deep with the removed soil mounded on either side of the trench. Space rows 2-3 feet (61-91.5 cm.) apart for the potato trench and hill method.

Planting Chitted Potatoes

In order to maximize your crop and encourage further sprouting, cut the chitted potatoes into pieces with one or two eyes in each piece. Plant them in the trenches with the eye side up, 12 inches (30.5 cm.) apart. Cover the potatoes with 4 inches (10 cm.) of soil and water. Keep the area moderately moist.

When you see leaf emergence and plants are about 6 inches (15 cm.) tall, use some of the mounded soil to cover new growth. As they grow, continue to hill around the plants so just a few leaves show. Repeat this process in two weeks.

Mulch around the potatoes and protect them from pests like potato beetles. Harvest when the plant has turned yellow or whenever you want some new potatoes.

Wild potato information may not seem like something the average home gardener needs, but it’s more important than you realize. A wild potato, native to South America, has natural pest resistance. Now, crossed with domestic potatoes, you can order a new cultivar from suppliers that will allow you to grow tasty potatoes without using pesticides.

What is a Hairy Potato?

A potato with hairs is actually a potato plant with hairy leaves, not hairy tubers. The original hairy potato, Solanum berthaultii, is a wild species native to Bolivia, and probably the ancestor of the domesticated South American potato plant.

The hairy potato grows three feet (1 m.) and taller. It produces purple, blue, or white flowers and green, speckled berries. The tubers are too small to be valuable for eating and the plant naturally grows in dry regions of Bolivia at high elevations.

The most important of all hairy potato traits though is, in fact, the hairs. Known scientifically as trichomes, these sticky hairs cover the leaves and protect them from pests. When a small pest, such as a flea beetle, for example, lands on the leaves, it gets trapped in the sticky hairs. It cannot feed or escape.

Larger pests may not get stuck but still seem to be deterred by the stickiness. Researchers have also found that a potato with hair has some resistance to other diseases, including mildew. Why the hairy leaves would provide this resistance is still unknown.

Hairy Potato Hybrids for Home Gardeners

You can now get hairy potato pest resistance, at least in the U.S., by growing hybrid crosses of domesticated and wild potatoes. Just a couple of hybrids have been created, but they combine the tasty, large tubers of the domesticated potato with the natural pest resistance of the wild species.

For home gardeners, this means you can grow potatoes with little or no pesticides, completely organically. Two varieties that are available include ‘Prince Hairy’ and ‘King Harry.’ The latter is the preferred cultivar because it has a shorter time to maturity. ‘Prince Hairy’ can take up to 140 days to mature whereas ‘King Harry’ needs just 70 to 90 days.

Check with online seed suppliers to find ‘King Harry.’ It is not yet available widely but there are distributors in the U.S. offering this potato. Organic suppliers in particular are likely to have it for sale.

Have you ever considered building a pallet potato box? Growing potatoes in a vertical garden can save space and increase yields. Building a pallet potato planter doesn't take any special skills and the materials can usually be acquired for free.

Is Planting Potatoes in Pallets Safe?

The shipping industry uses pallets to ship materials and products all over the world. To prevent the spread of pests from one country to another, both the U.S. and Canada require pallet manufacturers to treat pallets in a manner that would kill harmful insects living in the wood.

Heat-treated pallets are safe for building a pallet potato planter. Luckily, it's easy to find out if your pallets were heat treated. Simply locate the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) logo on the pallet. Heat-treated pallets will be marked (HT).

Avoid planting potatoes in pallets marked with (MB), as these older pallets were treated with methyl bromide, a highly toxic chemical. Additionally, check pallets for indications of chemical spills, like dark staining on wood, before building your pallet potato box. Growing edible plants in contaminated wood could make your produce unsafe to eat.

How to Grow Potatoes with Pallets

• Step 1: To build a pallet potato planter, you will need four pallets. Tie these together with wire or strong cord to fashion an open-ended box. (It'll be easier to plant if you leave one corner untied until you've set in your potatoes.)
• Step 2: Place the box in a sunny location on well-draining soil. Line the box with fabric weed barrier, cardboard, or several layers of newspaper to prevent weed growth.
• Step 3: Spread about 8 inches (20.5 cm.) of an organic-rich soil mix in the bottom of the pallet potato planter. Native soil mixed with compost at a 1:3 ratio will provide plenty of nutrients while maintaining sufficient moisture.
• Step 4: Cut potatoes into pieces, making sure each piece has at least two eyes. You can purchase seed potatoes from suppliers for pallet potato box growing, but any sprouted potatoes will work. When planting potatoes in pallets, taller-growing (late season) varieties produce larger yields compared to earlier, shorter varieties.
• Step 5: Gently push the cut-up potatoes into the soil about two inches (5 cm.) deep and space the pieces about 8 inches (20.5 cm.) apart. Finish covering the potatoes with another 2 inches (5 cm.) of the soil mix. If you previously left one corner of the pallet potato planter untied, it's time to secure it tightly.
• Step 6: Cover the soil with about 2 inches (5 cm.) of straw. Water the soil until moist. Continue keeping the soil moist, but not saturated, throughout the growing season.
• Step 7: As the potatoes grow, continue adding layers of soil topped with straw. Be sure to leave the top 2 to 4 inches (5 to 10 cm.) of vegetation exposed so the plants receive adequate sunlight for growth.

Harvest the potatoes once the foliage turns brown and dies back. The easiest method is to open the corner of the box and gently pull out the contents. Sort the potatoes from the dirt and straw mixture. Be sure to cure the potatoes before storing them for the winter.

Potatoes go with just about everything, plus they are fairly easy to grow, so it’s no wonder that many gardeners plant them in the usual way, underground. What about growing potatoes above ground though? Raised potato plants may be an atypical potato growing method but one with many benefits. Read on to learn how to grow above ground potatoes.

Benefits of Raised Potato Plants

Potatoes actually don’t need to be buried under dirt to grow. The reason we do is simply to keep the potatoes from getting green, but there are other ways to accomplish that. The key is to block the light from hitting the actual spud.

The advantages of growing potatoes above ground are numerous. First of all, digging the spuds up at harvest often damages them. Growing potatoes above ground eliminates that problem.

With this potato growing method, you are replacing the dirt with mulch and that has all kinds of benefits. For one thing, it’s a great way to clear a weedy area in the landscape since the mulch blocks the light. At the end of the growing season, the mulch breaks down to add more organic matter in the soil.

Potatoes from raised potato plants will also likely be the nicest looking potatoes you’ve ever grown. They won’t be dirty and will be smooth.

Above Ground Potato Growing Methods

There are basically two above ground potato growing methods: raised potato plants grown in a raised bed or potatoes grown in a tower or cage. There are variations on either method, but here is the gist.

How to Grow Above Ground Potatoes in a Tower

A day or two prior to planting, cut certified disease-free seed potatoes into 2 inch (5 cm.) chunks with at least two eyes per chunk. Lay them out to cure for 12 to 48 hours to allow the cut side to scab over. If you are choosing the tower potato growing method, you will need 12 to 24 pieces per tower. Choose longer season varieties or indeterminate potatoes which will set more potatoes over a longer period.

To grow above ground potatoes in a tower, you will need metal field fencing. Fold the fencing into a cylinder that is about 2 to 3 inches (5-8 cm.) in diameter and secure the ends. Choose a spot for the tower and fill the bottom third with straw and then a layer of soil. Place the seed potatoes near the edges of the container and about 6 inches (15 cm.) apart.

Repeat the process until you have layered in all of your seed potatoes. Cover the top of the container with mulch, flowers, or even salad greens.

Growing Raised Potato Plants

To grow above ground potatoes in a bed, either create a raised bed or mound up dirt to create a long bed. Hoe or loosen the soil if need be and water the area. Lay the seed potatoes spaced just as you would if you were burying them – early varieties 14 to 16 inches (35-40 cm.) apart with at least a foot (31 cm.) between plants and for other varieties 18 inches (46 cm.) in a bed or 14 inches (35 cm.) between plants in rows that are 30 inches (75 cm.) apart.

Cover the seed potatoes with just straw or compost and then straw. You can either cover them with 6 inches (15 cm.) of straw right away or add to the straw layer as the potatoes grow. Water the straw well and cover it with mesh or grass clippings to keep it from being blown away.

No space? That’s okay too. Growing potatoes in containers or grow bags will also suffice. You can layer this with straw and compost just as you would in a tower.

In the United States, more than 200 varieties of potatoes are sold comprised of seven types of potato: russet, red, white, yellow, blue/purple, fingerling, and petite. Each has its own unique characteristics. Some potatoes are better for certain recipes than others, but if you are looking for an all-purpose potato, try growing some of the white potato varieties. The following article contains information on the numerous types of potatoes that are white.

Types of White Potatoes

There are really only two types of potatoes that are white: round white and long white.

Round white are probably the most common varieties of white potato in use. They are easily identified by their smooth, thin, light tan skin, white flesh, and round shape. They are extremely versatile and can be used for baking, boiling, frying, mashing, roasting, or steaming.

Long white potatoes are really more of an oval shape, again with thin, light tan skin. They have a medium level of starch and are used for boiling, frying, and microwaving.

Compared to Russets, white potatoes have a smoother, thinner, lighter-colored skin. The skins are so thin that they add a slightly pleasant texture to creamy mashed potatoes and yet hold their shape when boiled.

Some of the dozens of varieties of white potato cultivars include:

• Allegany
• Andover
• Elba
• Eva
• Genesee
• Katahdin
• Norwis
• Onaway
• Reba
• Salem
• Superior

Other options include the following:

• Atlantic
• Beacon Chipper
• CalWhite
• Cascade
• Chipeta
• Gemchip
• Irish Cobbler
• Itasca Ivory Crisp
• Kanona
• Kennebec
• Lamoka
• Monona
• Monticello
• Norchip
• Ontario
• Pike
• Sebago
• Shepody
• Snowden
• Waneta
• White Pearl
• White Rose

Growing White Potatoes

White potatoes can be grown in many locations but are a particular favorite in the warmer climates of the southern United States where the thick-skinned varieties do not grow well.

Purchase certified tubers and cut them so the least amount of cut surface is exposed but that each piece has two eyes. Allow the cut pieces to dry for a day prior to planting.

Potatoes thrive in sandy loam with a pH of between 4.8 and 5.4 amended with plenty of organic matter that is loose and well-draining. Many people plant them in raised beds, which is ideal as it improves drainage. Amend the soil with manure or compost in the early spring and till or spade it in well.

Space the seed potatoes in rows that are 15 inches (38 cm.) apart by 24 inches (61 cm.). Plant the seeds 4 inches (10 cm.) deep with the eyes facing up. Tamp the soil down lightly and cover with straw or other mulch.

Fertilize with a complete 10-10-10 food. When the sprouts have pushed out from the soil, begin hilling soil around them. Fluff up straw or other mulch over the potatoes to protect them from the sun.

Keep the crop regularly irrigated and weed-free. When the plants begin to yellow and the lower leaves die off, reduce the irrigation. This is an indication that the plants will soon be ready to harvest and you don’t want the tuber to rot from too much water late in the season.

When the plants turn yellow, carefully dig up the potatoes. Spread them out to dry off but don’t wash them until just prior to use. Store them in a cool, dark area out of direct sunlight which will cause them to turn green and become inedible.

Potatoes with red skin are not only pretty but their bright color makes them extra nutritious as well. However, those aren’t the only reasons for growing red potatoes. In fact, it’s just the tip of the iceberg. Read on to learn more about growing these potatoes.

Why Grow Potatoes That are Red?

Potatoes with red skin are healthier than, for example, bland Russets. The reason is in the skin color. The color in potatoes that are red is due to anthocyanains, a common pigment which is associated with being rich in antioxidants and anti-inflammatories. Antioxidants make the spuds more nutritious and a diet rich in antioxidants helps to lower your risk of cancer. Red potato varieties are also a good source of vitamin B6; are fat, sodium and cholesterol free; and (this was a shocker) are an excellent source of potassium - even more than a banana! If all this doesn’t encourage you to include more red potato varieties into your diet, consider this. Red potatoes have less of a starchy texture and more of a waxy one. This makes them excellent for use in salads, soups, roasted, or boiled. They keep their lovely color when cooked as well as their shape. They have thin skins which can, and should, be left on which means no more peeling. They even make awesome mashed potatoes; again, leave the skin on.

Types of Red Potatoes

There are so many choices when considering growing red potatoes. Red Bliss is probably the variety that most people are familiar with but by no means the only variety. Most have white to off-white flesh, which contrasts nicely with their different hues of red. Red Gold potatoes, however, have yellow flesh and red skin, a stunning combination. Adirondack red potatoes have mottled pink blushed flesh and red skins. This variety’s color does fade when cooked, but only to a mauve shade. Other types of red potatoes to try growing include:

• Chieftain
• La Rouge
• NorDonna
• Norland
• Red La Soda
• Red Pontiac
• Red Ruby
• Sangre
• Viking

Red potatoes are grown just like any other type of potato and will yield plenty for you and your family to enjoy.

For many home gardeners, the allure of growing unique varieties of fruits and vegetables is undeniable. Heirloom and hybrid plants offer growers a myriad of options when planning the garden each season. The addition of these crops is an exciting way to not only introduce new foods in the kitchen, but also reap the numerous health benefits of homegrown food. One such crop, purple potatoes, will brighten your plate as well as diversify your home garden.

What are Purple Potatoes?

Purple potatoes, sometimes referred to as blue potatoes, are a type of potato which are native to South America. While very similar to their white grocery store counterparts, these potatoes exhibit a beautiful purple colored skin and flesh. Heirloom and hybrid purple potato varieties range from solid purple to a mixture of purple and white. Though quite the interesting addition to the garden, perceived nutritional blue potato benefits are numerous. Regardless of the cultivar, purple and blue potato varieties contain the valuable antioxidant called anthocyanin. Anthocyanin, of course, being responsible for the plants’ vibrant purple color.

Growing Purple Potatoes

Luckily for growers, the process of growing purple potatoes is very similar to that of growing any other variety. First, growers should select a growing location and begin to prepare the soil. Planting sites should be well draining and slightly acidic. A well amended vegetable bed will ensure available nutrients as the plants grow throughout the season. Since potato plants do not grow true to seed, the most reliable method in which to grow potatoes is by planting tubers. Tubers will produce plants which are identical to the potato planted. In recent years, purple potato varieties have gained popularity. This means that it may be possible to find these tubers at local garden centers. However, if locating tubers is difficult, many online retailers offer these types of potatoes. When buying seed potatoes, always make certain to buy only from reputable sources to ensure disease free tubers. Gardeners implement many methods when growing potatoes. Due to their compact nature, many choose to grow potatoes in containers or fabric grow bags. Simply plant tubers in an equal mix of compost and potting soil. Other methods for planting potatoes include planting directly into furrows or the use of the Ruth Stout method. Regardless of the planting method, potato plants require frequent “hilling,” or mounding of dirt around the stems, as the season progresses. This can be accomplished with the use of soil or a straw mulch. This will assure that forming potatoes underground do not become green due to sun exposure. Aside from occasional hilling, the process of growing potatoes is generally carefree. Often, the combination of mulching and dense top growth will prevent weeds from invading the potato garden bed. With frequent and consistent watering, even novice gardeners can grow bountiful harvests of purple potatoes.

Blue/Purple Potato Varieties

Here are some popular varieties of blue or purple potato plants for the garden:

• ‘Adirondack Blue’
• ‘All Blue’
• ‘Magic Molly’
• ‘Purple Majesty’

Americans eat a whole lot of potato chips and French fries - 1.5 billion chips cumulatively and shockingly 29 pounds (13 kg.) of French fries per U.S. citizen. That means farmers must cultivate tons of potatoes to satisfy our almost insatiable craving for salty spuds. In order to satisfy that need, potato growers produce massive quantities of tubers during the growing season and then cold store them. Unfortunately, this results in potato cold sweetening. Cold sweetened potatoes may not sound like a big deal, but that’s probably because you don’t know what cold sweetening is. Read on to find out what causes cold sweetening and how to prevent cold sweetening in potatoes.

What is Cold Sweetening?

Cold sweetened potatoes are pretty much what they sound like. Potatoes have to be stored at low temperatures to prevent sprouting and minimize disease spread and losses. Unfortunately, cold storage causes the starch in the tuber to convert to glucose and fructose, or sugar. This process is called potato cold-induced sweetening. Why is cold-induced sweetening a problem? French fries and potato chips made from cold stored spuds with excessive sweetening become brown to black when processed, taste bitter, and may have elevated levels of acrylamide, a possible carcinogen.

What Causes Cold Sweetening?

Cold sweetening is when an enzyme, called invertase, causes changes in potato sugars during cold storage. The potato becomes more comprised of reducing sugars, primarily glucose and fructose. When the raw potatoes are sliced and then fried in oil, the sugars react with free amino acids in the potato cell. This results in potatoes that are brown to black, not exactly a selling point. Although studies have been done regarding the biochemical and molecular changes at play here, there is no true understanding of how this process is controlled. Scientists are starting to get some ideas though.

How to Prevent Cold Sweetening

Researchers at the Vegetable Crops Research Center Unit in Madison, Wisconsin have developed a technology that decreases the activity of invertase; they shut down the vacuolar invertase gene. They were able to make a direct correlation between the amount of vacuolar invertase and the color of the resulting potato chip. A potato that had the gene blocked ended up being a normal, light-colored potato chip. Our hearty thanks and unending gratitude to these valiant souls who would not rest until they fixed America’s potato chip situation! Preventing this in the garden is another thing altogether. The best solution is to store your potatoes in a cool (but not overly cold), dry area and not for an extended time period. Although cold sweetening in potatoes isn’t much sought after, many root crops, like carrots and parsnips, actually benefit from this type of storage, becoming sweeter and tastier.

Potato plants with southern blight can be quickly destroyed by this disease. The infection starts at the soil line and soon destroys the plant. Watch for early signs and create the right conditions for preventing southern blight and minimizing the damage it causes to your potato crop.

About Southern Blight of Potatoes

Southern blight is a fungal infection that can affect multiple types of vegetables but which is commonly seen in potatoes. The fungus that causes the infection is called Sclerotium rolfsii. This fungus lives in the soil in masses called sclerotia. If there is a host plant nearby and conditions are right, the fungus will germinate and spread.

Signs of Potato Southern Blight

Because the fungus survives as sclerotia in the soil, it begins to infest plants right at the soil line. You may not notice this right away, but if you are concerned about the infection, check the stems and the tops of roots of your potato plants regularly. The infection will begin with white growth at the soil line that turns brown later. You may also see the small, seed-like sclerotia. As the infection surrounds the stem, the plant will decline rapidly, as the leaves yellow and wilt.

Managing and Treating Southern Blight on Potatoes

The right conditions for southern blight to develop on potatoes are hot temperatures and after a rain. Be on the lookout for the fungus after the first rain that comes down following a hot period of weather. You can take steps to prevent the infection by keeping the area around the stems and soil line of your potato plants clear of debris and by planting them in a raised bed. To prevent an infection from coming back the next year, you can till the soil under, but be sure to do it deeply. The sclerotia will not survive without oxygen, but they need to be well buried under the soil to be destroyed. If you can grow something else in that part of the garden that is not susceptible to southern blight the following year, this will also help. Fungicides may also help reduce losses from an infection. In severe cases, especially in commercial farming, the fungus spreads so quickly that the soil has to be fumigated with fungicides.

Potatoes in your garden can fall victim to a bacterial infection called blackleg. The term blackleg is often used to describe both the true disease, which arises from infected seed potatoes, and a condition called stem rot. With the right potato blackleg information, you can prevent or control this disease for which there is no chemical treatment.

What is Potato Dickeya – Blackleg Potato Symptoms

Two groups of bacteria cause this infection: Dickeya, which is one alternate name for the disease, and Pectobacterium. Previously these groups were both classified under the name Erwinia. Blackleg caused by Dickeya is more likely in high-temperature conditions, and is, therefore, more common in warmer climates. The symptoms of this bacterial infection begin with lesions that appear water soaked. These turn up on the base of the plant’s stem. As the infection progresses, the lesions will come together, get larger, turn darker in color, and move up the stem. When conditions are wet, these spots will be slimy. When conditions are drier, the lesions are dry and the stems desiccated. As the lesions develop on the stem, secondary infections may begin higher up. These then progress downward, meeting the original lesions. Other symptoms may include yellowing, brown, or wilted leaves attached to the affected stems. Eventually, the entire plant may collapse and you may see rotting in the tubers.

Controlling Dickeya Blackleg of Potatoes

Potatoes with blackleg, once infected, cannot be treated with any chemical spray. This means that prevention and management through cultural practices are the best and really only ways to avoid losing a crop to the infection. One of the most important things you can do is buy and use seed potatoes that are certified to be disease-free. Even with clean seed potatoes, infection can get in, so use those that don’t have to be cut or clean equipment well if you do have to cut seed potatoes. If the infection is in your garden already, you can manage it with several cultural practices:

• crop rotation
• using well-drained soil
• avoid over-watering and over-fertilizing
• removing and destroying infected plants
• regularly cleaning up plant debris from the garden

Harvest your potatoes only when they are fully mature, as this ensures the skin is set and the tubers won’t bruise easily. A few weeks after the plant is dried and desiccated should ensure the potatoes are ready for harvest. Once harvested, make sure the potatoes stay dry and remain unbruised.

Potatoes with spindle tuber viroid were first reported as a disease of potatoes in North America, but the disease was first spotted on tomatoes in South Africa. In tomatoes, the disease is referred to as tomato bunchy top virus, while the common name with regards to spuds is spindle tuber of potato or potato spindle tuber. Today, spindle tuber viroid has been detected in potatoes throughout most of the world, with strains running from mild to severe.

Symptoms of Potatoes with Spindle Tuber Viroid

Spindle tuber of potato disease is a pathogen whose main host is potatoes, but which may also affect tomatoes and solanaceous ornamentals. No obvious symptoms are observed in potatoes with mild strains of the disease, but severe strains are another story. With severe infections, potato foliage will be spindly with overlapping leaflets, sometimes upward rolling, often twisted and wrinkled. Leaves at ground level are often in an upright position rather than those in healthy plants which rest on the ground. Overall, plants will be stunted. Tubers may have any one of the following abnormalities:

• elongation, cylindrical, spindle, or dumb-bell shape
• prominent eyes
• surface cracking
• small size

Some cultivars with potato spindle tuber develop swellings or knobs and are severely deformed. With each generation, the foliage and tuber symptoms become more pronounced. Symptoms of spindle tuber viroid in potatoes may be confused with those of nutrient imbalances, insect or spray damage, or other diseases. Symptoms of the disease are more obvious during warm weather combined with full sun exposure.

How to Control Spindle Tuber Viroid in Potatoes

In order to learn how to manage this disease, it helps to know how it is transmitted – usually by contact between healthy and diseased plants via mechanical equipment like tractors or garden tools, and animal or human interaction with the plant. The initial infection of the viroid into the potatoes is through infected seed tubers. The secondary infection occurs through contact mentioned above. Transmission can also occur through pollen but only to pollinated seeds, not to the parent plant. Aphids may also transmit the viroid, but only when potato leafroll virus is present as well. To control spindle tuber of potato, use only certified tuber seed. Practice good crop sanitation. Wear sanitary gloves of vinyl or latex when handling infected plants and then dispose of them before moving on to healthy plants. Remember, plants may be infected but not showing symptoms. They are still disease carriers, so practicing sanitary garden habits should be consistent. Garden tools should be sanitized in a 2% solution of sodium hypochlorite or a similar disinfectant. Clothing can pass the infection from plant to plant, so be sure to change your clothing and shoes if you have been working amongst diseased plants. There are no biological or chemical controls for spindle tuber of potatoes. Potatoes that are infected with the disease and plants nearby that may be infected should be removed and either burned or buried deeply.

Corky ringspot is a problem affecting potatoes that can lead to real trouble, especially if you’re growing them commercially. While it may not kill the plant, it gives the potatoes themselves an unpleasant look that’s hard to sell and less than ideal to eat. Keep reading to learn more about recognizing and managing corky ringspot in potatoes.

Symptoms of Corky Ringspot in Potatoes

What is potato ringspot? Corky ringspot of potatoes is caused by a disease called tobacco rattle virus. This virus is spread primarily by stubby root nematodes, microscopic worms that feed on plant roots. These nematodes will feed on infected roots, then move on to the roots of uninfected plants, spreading the virus underground without your knowledge. Even once a potato is infected with corky ringspot, you may not realize it, as the symptoms are almost always underground. Occasionally, the leaves of the plant will appear smaller, puckered, and mottled. Usually, however, symptoms are only inside the potato, manifesting as darkly colored, cork-like textured rings, curves, and spots inside the flesh of the tuber. In tubers with thin or light skin, these dark areas can be seen on the surface. In severe cases, the shape of the tuber can become deformed.

How to Manage Potatoes with Corky Ringspot Virus

Unfortunately, there is no way to treat corky ringspot of potatoes, not least of all because you often don’t know you have it until you harvest and cut into your tubers. Prevention is key with corky ringspot. Only buy seed potatoes that are certified to be free of the virus, and don’t plant in soil that has already shown to contain the virus. When cutting potatoes for seed, sterilize your knife frequently, even if you don’t see any symptoms. Cutting into infected tubers is a common way for the virus to spread.

Even if you don’t realize it, you have probably heard of late blight of potatoes. What’s potato late blight – only one of the most historically devastating diseases of the 1800’s. You may know it better from the Irish potato famine of the 1840’s that resulted in the starvation of over a million people along with a mass exodus of those who survived. Potatoes with late blight are still considered to be a serious disease so it’s important for growers to learn about treating potato late blight in the garden.

What is Potato Late Blight?

Late blight of potatoes is caused by the pathogen Phytophthora infestans. Primarily a disease of potatoes and tomatoes, late blight may affect other members of the Solanaceae family as well. This fungal disease is fostered by periods of cool, wet weather. Infected plants may be killed off within a couple of weeks from infection.

Symptoms of Late Blight in Potatoes

Initial symptoms of late blight include purplish-brown lesions on the surface of the potatoes. When inspected further by cutting into the tuber, reddish-brown dry rot can be observed. Often, when the tubers are infected with late blight, they are left open to secondary bacterial infections which may make diagnosis difficult. The foliage of the plant will have dark water soaked lesions surrounded by white spore and the stems of infected plants will be afflicted with brown, greasy looking lesions. These lesions are usually at the juncture of the leaf and stem where water collects or on leaf clusters at the top of the stem.

Treating Potato Late Blight

Infected tubers are the primary source of the pathogen P. infestans, including those in storage, volunteers, and seed potatoes. It is transmitted to newly emerging plants to produce airborne spores which then transmit the disease to nearby plants. Use only certified disease free seed and resistant cultivars where possible. Even when resistant cultivars are used, an application of fungicide may be warranted. Remove and destroy volunteers as well as any potatoes that have been culled.

If your potato plants start to exhibit small, irregular dark brown spots on the lowest or oldest leaves, they may be afflicted with early blight of potatoes. What is potato early blight? Read on to learn how to identify potatoes with early blight and about potato early blight treatment.

What is Potato Early Blight?

Early blight of potato is a common disease found in most potato growing regions. The disease is caused by the fungus Alternaria solani, which can also afflict tomatoes and other members of the potato family. Potatoes become infected with early blight when foliage has become excessively wet due to rain, fog, dew, or irrigation. Although not a terminal disease, severe infections can be fairly detrimental. In contrast to its name, early blight rarely develops early; it actually usually affects mature foliage rather than young, tender leaves.

Symptoms of Potatoes with Early Blight

Early blight rarely affects young plants. Symptoms first occur on the lower or oldest leaves of the plant. Dark, brown spots appear on this older foliage and, as the disease progresses, enlarge, taking on an angular shape. These lesions often look like a target, and, in fact, the disease is sometimes referred to as target spot. As the spots enlarge, they may cause the entire leaf to yellow and die but remain on the plant. Dark brown to black spots may also occur on the stems of the plant. Tubers are affected as well. The tubers will have dark gray to purple, circular to irregular lesions with raised edges. If sliced open, the potato flesh will be brown, dry, and corky or leathery. If the disease is in its advanced stages, the tuber flesh looks water soaked and yellow to greenish yellow in color.

Potato Early Blight Treatment

The spores and mycelia of the pathogen survive in infested plant debris and soil, in infected tubers and in overwintering host crops and weeds. Spores are produced when temperatures are between 41 and 86 degrees F. (5-30 C.) with alternating periods of wetness and dryness. These spores are then spread through wind, splashing rain, and irrigation water. They gain entry via wounds caused by mechanical injury or insect feeding. Lesions begin to appear two or three days after the initial infection. Treatment of early blight includes prevention by planting potato varieties that are resistant to the disease; late maturing ones are more resistant than early maturing varieties. Avoid overhead irrigation and allow for sufficient aeration between plants to allow the foliage to dry as quickly as possible. Practice a two year crop rotation. That is, do not replant potatoes or other crops in this family for two years after a potato crop has been harvested. Keep the potato plants healthy and stress free by providing adequate nutrition and sufficient irrigation, especially later in the growing season after flowering when plants are most susceptible to the disease. Only dig the tubers up when they are completely mature to prevent damaging them. Any damage done at harvest can additionally facilitate the disease. Remove plant debris and weed hosts at the end of the season to mitigate areas where the disease may overwinter.

Determinate and indeterminate potatoes are defined by growth patterns. Several different varieties of potato fall into each category, so there are plenty from which to choose. Select between determinate and indeterminate varieties depending on factors like yield, garden space, and amount of labor.

What are Determinate Potatoes?

Determinate potatoes are varieties with tubers that grow in just one layer. For this reason, the plants do not require mounding of the soil around them. They produce early, in about 70 to 90 days. Sow determinate potatoes in loose soil to a depth of about 4 inches (10 cm.). Use mulch to prevent weed growth and to prevent the tubers from being exposed to the sun, which will turn the potatoes green. Examples of determinate potatoes are Yukon Gold, Norland, Fingerling, and Superior.

What are Indeterminate Potatoes?

Indeterminate potatoes grow in multiple layers, so it is important to mound soil around the plants. This will give you a better yield. Indeterminate potatoes produce late crops, 110 to 135 days out. To grow these potatoes, start by covering them with 4 inches (10 cm.) of loose soil. 

When the plants have reached about 6 inches (15 cm.) in height, add several inches (8 cm.) of soil, straw, or dead leaves until there is just 2 inches (5 cm.) of plant sticking out of the mound. 

Continue adding layers as the plant grows. It is because of the multiple layers of tuber production with indeterminate potatoes that these varieties are well suited to potato boxes or towers, or even potato bags. 

These are good for small spaces because they allow you to grow up and still get a good yield of potatoes. Examples of indeterminate potatoes include Snowden, Russet Burbank, and Bancock Russet.

Determinate vs. Indeterminate Potatoes

Whether you choose one or the other may depend on the varieties you want to grow. On the other hand, the potato growth characteristics might help you decide on a variety depending on how much yield you want versus how much space you have. You need more garden space to get more potatoes out of determinate varieties. For indeterminate potatoes, you will get more potatoes, but only if you have vertical space.

Potato fusarium wilt is a nasty but common disease that enters potato plants through the roots, thus restricting water flow to the plant. Fusarium wilt on potatoes is difficult to manage because it can live in the soil for many years. However, there are steps you can take to minimize the damage and prevent spread of disease. Read on to learn more.

Symptoms of Potato Fusarium Wilt

The first sign of potatoes with fusarium wilt is yellowing of the leaves, following by wilting, rolling, or curling, sometimes affecting leaves on only one side of the plant. Symptoms of fusarium wilt typically begin on the lower part of the plant, eventually moving up the stem. The potatoes themselves may be blemished or decayed, often with sunken brown areas, especially at the stem end.

Treating Potato Fusarium Wilt

Potato fusarium wilt is more severe when temperatures above 80 degrees F. (27 C.) or when plants are water stressed. Potato fusarium wilt progresses faster during hot, damp weather. The disease spreads by water, garden equipment, human footsteps, or sometimes by pests. Plant fusarium-resistant varieties, which are marked by an “F” on the label. Look for disease-free tubers that have been pre-treated with fungicide to prevent development of disease. Never plant potatoes in soil where fusarium wilt is suspected. Rotate plants with other plants for four to six years. Avoid planting other solanaceous plants such as tomatoes, peppers, tomatillos, eggplants, tobacco, or petunias in the area. Control weeds, as many harbor disease pathogens. Also, remove infected plants and destroy them immediately. Feed potatoes using a slow-release fertilizer. Avoid high-nitrogen fertilizers, which may increase susceptibility. Avoid excessive watering. Water at the base of plants and avoid overhead irrigation whenever possible. Water potatoes early in the day, which allows plants to dry before temperatures drop in evening. Sterilize tools frequently, using a solution of one part bleach to four parts water when working with potatoes.

Potatoes may be infected with many different viruses that can reduce tuber quality and yield. Mosaic virus of potatoes is one such disease that actually has multiple strains. Potato mosaic virus is divided into three categories. Symptoms of the different mosaic virus of potatoes may be similar, so the actual type usually can’t be identified by symptoms alone and is often just referred to as mosaic virus in potatoes. Still, it is important to be able to recognize the signs of potato mosaic and learn how to treat potatoes with mosaic virus.

Types of Potato Mosaic Virus

As mentioned, there are different mosaic viruses that afflict potatoes, each with similar symptoms. Positive identification requires the use of indicator plant or laboratory examination. With that in mind, diagnosis can be made by mosaic patterns on foliage, stunting, leaf deformities, and tuber malformations. The three types of recognized mosaic virus in potatoes are Latent (Potato virus X), Mild (Potato virus A), Rugose or Common mosaic (Potato virus Y).

Signs of Potato Mosaic

Latent mosaic, or Potato virus X, may produce no visible symptoms depending upon the strain but yields of infected tubers may be reduced. Other strains of Latent mosaic show light leaf crinkling. When combined with Potato virus A or Y, crinkling or browning of leaves may also be present. In an infection of Potato virus, A (mild mosaic), the plants have light crinkling, as well as mild yellow mottling. Leaf margins may be wavy and appear rough with sunken veins. Severity of symptoms depends on the strain, cultivar and weather conditions. Potato virus Y (Rugose mosaic) is the most severe of the viruses. Signs include mottling or yellowing of leaflets and crinkling that is sometimes accompanied by leaf drop. Underside leaf veins often have necrotic areas showing as black streaking. Plants may be stunted. High temperatures exacerbate the severity of the symptoms. Again, symptoms vary hugely with both potato cultivar and virus strain.

Managing Potatoes with Mosaic Virus

Potato virus X can be found in all varieties of potato unless certified virus free tubers are used. This virus is spread mechanically by machinery, irrigation equipment, root to root or sprout to sprout contact, and via other gardening tools. Both viruses A and Y are carried in tubers but are also transmitted by several species of aphids. All of these viruses overwinter in potato tubers. There is no method for eradication of the disease once the plant is infected. It should be removed and destroyed. To prevent infection, use only seed certified free from viruses or that have low incidence of infected tubers. Always keep garden tools as clean as possible, practice crop rotation, keep the area around the plants weed free, and control aphids.

Have you noticed that potatoes have moved beyond baked, split, and buttered? For some time now, potatoes have taken on a kaleidoscope of colors, shapes, and sizes. Many have them have always been around but just fell out of favor. Take fingerling potatoes, for instance. What are fingerling potatoes? What are fingerling potato uses? Read on to find out how to grow fingerling potatoes and other fingerling potato info.

What are Fingerling Potatoes?

Fingerlings, like most potatoes, originated in South America and were brought to Europe. European immigrants brought them to North America. They are heirloom potatoes with long, knobby, finger-like shapes. Some say they look like adorable, chubby baby fingers, but some of them more resemble the gnarled fingers of a Disney witch. To each their own. Regardless of how you view them, the fact is that these spuds are delicious and are featured more often with restaurant cuisine, but they may be found at the local grocers too. They are naturally small when mature with a thin skin and smooth, moist texture.

Fingerling Potato Info

Fingerling potatoes often come in colors such as yellow, red, and even purple. Scientists have shown that these colors are more than just pleasing to the eye. Brightly colored crops have more nutrients than their drab counterparts, so eating fingerlings will provide you with an extra helping of phytonutrients, the natural compounds found in fruits and vegetables that promote good health. Yellow fingerlings produce carotenoids or pro-vitamin A, and the red and purple varieties produce anthocyanins, which act as antioxidants and fight free radicals that, in turn, may offer anti-inflammatory, anti-viral, and anti-cancer benefits.

Fingerling Potato Uses

Due to their thin skins, fingerlings do not need to be peeled. They work well in any way a potato can be used-- from roasted, baked, broiled, and grilled to steamed, sautéed, and boiled. They complement salads, purees, soups, and sauces.

How to Grow Fingerling Potatoes

If you’ve seen fingerlings at the grocers or the farmer’s market, then you know that they cost more than the basic baking potato. This is no doubt because the thin skins make them less storable than other types of potatoes. No worries, you can easily grow your own. It’s no different than growing any other potato. Some gardeners begin growing fingerling potatoes in summer for a fall harvest that can be kept throughout the winter months. This works well for folks that live in warmer regions, but for those in colder areas, plant them in early spring. They take 120 days from planting to harvest. Select disease free certified seed potatoes. There are many varieties to choose from including:

• Russian Banana
• Purple Peruvian
• Rose Finn Apple
• Swedish Peanut
• All Blue
• Princess La Ratte

Prepare a bed for your spuds that is deeply dug and free of large debris. It should be moderately fertile with a pH of 6.0 to 6.5. Plant the seed potatoes two weeks after the last frost-free date for your area. Plant them 2 to 4 inches (5-10 cm.) deep and a foot (31 cm.) apart in rows that are about 30 inches (76 cm.) apart. As the plants grow, hill up around them with soil to keep the spuds from getting green. Potatoes do best in cool, moist soil, so mulch the hills with hay or straw to keep them cool and retain moisture.

“Variety is the spice of life.” I’ve heard that phrase countless times in my life but never thought about it in the most literal sense until I learned about the history of Irish potatoes. A significant footnote in this history, the Irish Potato famine, conveys the vital importance of planting genetically diverse crops. This is key to preventing widespread crop destruction and, in the case of the Irish Potato Famine, the massive loss of human life. This is a harrowing time in history and some of you may not want to know more about Irish potato information, but it is important to learn about the history of Irish potatoes so it is not repeated. So, what is an Irish potato anyways? Read on to learn more.

What is an Irish Potato?

This is an interesting bit of Irish potato information, but the potato actually did not originate from Ireland as its name suggests, but rather South America. British explorer Sir Walter Raleigh introduced them to Irish soil at his estate in 1589 upon his return from an expedition. The Irish potato, however, was not embraced as a large-scale farm crop until the early 1800’s, when its value as an edible food crop was recognized. Potatoes were a crop that could grow with relative ease in poor soil and, in a period of time in which the best land was farmed by the Irish for the sole benefit of British landlords, this was an ideal way to ensure Irish families were fed. One potato variety, in particular, was grown exclusively – the “lumper” – which became infected in the 1840’s with ‘Phytophthora infestans,’ a deadly pathogen that capitalized on Ireland’s wet and cool weather conditions, turning these potatoes to slime. All the lumpers were genetically identical and, hence, equally susceptible to the pathogen. The Irish suddenly found themselves potato-less and were catapulted into a deadly famine that lasted 15 years. The population decreased by 30% due to a million deaths and the exodus of 1.5 million more to emigration.

Planting Irish Potatoes

I know the image of slime and death that I just conjured up probably is not encouraging your desire in planting Irish potatoes, but please do not let that discourage you. To this day, modern varieties of Irish potatoes are among the most widely grown worldwide. So -- let’s get down to the business of planting, shall we? Your planting target should be three weeks prior to the last spring frost in your region. It is recommended that you buy certified seed potatoes, as they are carefully screened for the presence of disease and are chemical free. The landscape of a seed potato is quite interesting, as it will have dimples, or “eyes,” on its surface. Buds will develop in these eyes and sprout. Five to six days prior to planting, use a sterilized knife to cut each seed potato into four to six pieces, being sure to capture at least one of the eyes in every piece. Store the cut pieces in a well-ventilated spot in a warm, humid location so that they can heal over and be protected from rotting. In your garden, use a hoe to open a trench about 3 inches (8 cm.) deep, plant the potatoes 10 to 12 inches (25-31 cm.) apart and cover with 3 inches (8 cm.) of soil. Throughout the growing season, hill or mound dirt around the stem of the potato plant as it grows to promote the growth of new potatoes. Water your potato plants regularly to maintain a consistent soil moisture and consider the use of fertilizer to boost development. Be vigilant for the presence of insects and disease and respond accordingly. Harvest the potatoes when you observe the tops of the potato plants beginning to die.

Urban gardening sites are all aflutter with a new way to grow potatoes: a DIY potato tower. What’s a potato tower? Homemade potato towers are simple structures easy to construct that are perfect for the home gardener with little gardening space or just wants to maximize existing space. Building a potato tower isn’t daunting, almost anyone can do it. Read on for step-by-step potato tower instructions.

What is a Potato Tower?

Potatoes are easy to grow, nutritious, and have the added benefit of a lengthy shelf life. Unfortunately, the traditional method for growing potatoes requires quite a bit of space, which may be a challenge for some folks. Homemade potato towers are the perfect solution. Usually, from 2 to 4 feet (61 cm. to 1 m.) in height, these simple constructions are cylinders of metal fencing that have been lined with straw and then filled with soil.

Potato Tower Instructions

Before you gather the materials needed for your DIY potato tower, pick a location for it in the garden. Pick an area that is in full sun and having easy access to water. Next, purchase your certified seed potatoes; choose a variety that is suited to your region. Mid to late season varieties work best in potato towers. Late season tubers are optimal, as they send out rhizomes and form tubers later which work best for the layered effect of a potato tower. One pound (453 g.) of large potato seed stock may yield up to 10 pounds (4.5 kg.) and one pound (453 g.) of fingerlings up to 20 pounds (9 kg.). Once you have your seed potatoes, amass the materials needed for building a potato tower. You will need:

• wire fencing or chicken wire, approx. 4 ½ feet (1 m.) long and 3 ½ feet (1 m.) high
• three 4 foot (1 m.) long rebar stakes
• one 3 ½ foot (1 m.) length of 4 inch (10 cm.) perforated PVC pipe with a cap
• zip ties
• two bales of straw (not hay!)
• one large bag of aged compost or chicken manure fertilizer
• needle nose pliers
• heavy mallet
• shovel

Pull the fencing into a circle and secure the ends with zip ties or twist the wires together to form a cylinder that is 18 inches (46 cm.) across. Put the cylinder in the area you want it and anchor it down by weaving the rebar stakes through the metal fencing. Pound the rebar down about 6 inches (15 cm.) into the ground to really secure the potato tower. Place the PVC pipe in the center of the tower. Now, begin filling in the tower. Line the bottom of the tower with a 4 to 6 inch (10-15 cm.) ring of straw that is built up 6 to 8 inches (15-20 cm.) high in the tower. Fill in the straw ring with a layer of garden soil mixed with the aged compost or chicken manure fertilizer. (Some people dispense with any soil and plant using only straw, and still others make their ring out of leaves or newspaper.) Now you’re ready to plant the potatoes. Cut the seed potato into pieces with each piece having two to three sprouting eyes (chits). Plant the potatoes around the edges of the tower, spacing them 4 to 6 inches (10-15 cm.) apart with the sprouting eyes pointing out towards the wire fencing. You can also plant a couple in the center of the tower if spacing allows. Create another straw ring on top of the seed potatoes just as before and fill it with soil and fertilizer. Plant another batch of seed potatoes and repeat the entire process – layering potatoes, straw, and soil until you get to about 4 inches (10 cm.) from the top of the tower. Be sure not to bury the PVC pipe, leave it sticking out at the top but cover it with straw. The pipe has a very important function. Potatoes love water and the pipe will be the method by which you keep them irrigated. Soak the tower with water. Fill the pipe to create a reservoir of sorts that will slowly leach out into the tower (some people even add a few holes down the length of the pipe prior to installation-- this is optional). Cap the pipe to keep mosquitoes and clogs at bay. Keep in mind that there are several variations on building a DIY potato tower, but this one is pretty comprehensive. Feel free to experiment and make it your own, or in general, whatever works best for you. For each potato placed in the tower, expect about 10 potatoes to grow. That should give you a pretty good idea based on your family size of how many potato towers you will need to construct. Lastly, if you think your potato towers aren’t decorative enough, you can pretty them up by covering them with bamboo screening, easy to find at the local home improvement store. Additionally, you can plant flowers or other low-growing companion plants in the top of your tower.

Our potato plants pop up all over the place, probably because I’m a lazy gardener. They don’t seem to care under what medium they are grown, which got me to wondering “can you grow potato plants in leaves.” You’re likely going to rake the leaves up anyway, so why not try growing potatoes in a leaf pile? Keep reading to find out how easy it is to grow potatoes in leaves.

Can You Grow Potato Plants in Leaves?

Growing potatoes is a rewarding experience since yields are generally fairly high, but traditional methods for planting potatoes do require some time and effort on your part. You start with a trench and then cover the growing potatoes with soil or mulch, continually mounding the medium as the spuds grow. If you don’t like to dig, however, you can also grow potato plants under leaves. Planting potatoes in leaves has got to be the easiest growing method, although you do have to rake the leaves, but there’s no bagging and no moving them.

How to Grow Potatoes in Leaves

First things first…find a sunny area to grow your potato plants under leaves. Try not to select a place where you have grown potatoes before to minimize the chance of pest and disease. Next, rake up the fallen leaves and gather them into a pile on the location of your soon to be potato patch. You are going to need quite a lot of leaves, as the pile should be around 3 feet (about 1 m.) high. Now you just need to be patient and let nature take its course. Over the fall and winter, the leaves will begin to break down and by spring planting time, voila! You will have a nice, rich mound of compost. Select the variety of seed potatoes you wish to plant and cut them into pieces, making sure to leave at least one eye in each piece. Let the pieces cure for a day or so in a warm area before planting the potatoes in the leaves. After the potatoes have dried for a day or so, plant them a foot (31 cm.) apart from each other down into the pile of leaves. An alternate method that yields the same results is to prepare a bed in the garden and then bury the pieces, cut side down, into the dirt and then cover them with a thick layer of the leaf humus. Keep the plants watered as they grow. A couple of weeks after the stems and leaves have died back, part the leaf humus and remove the potatoes. That’s it! That’s all there is to growing potatoes in leaf piles.

Companion planting is a practice that's been used in gardening since the dawn of agriculture. Simply put, companion planting is growing plants near other plants that benefit each other in various ways. Some companion plants help deter insects and other pests from their vulnerable companions. Other companion plants can reduce the risk of fungal, bacterial, and viral infections. Companion plants can also improve the flavor, taste, scent, beauty, and growth of other plants. Potato plants have many beneficial companions. Continue reading to learn what to plant with potatoes.

Companion Planting with Potatoes

While there are good beneficial companion plants for potatoes, there are also plants that can cause disease and growth problems. Before planting potatoes, keep the following in mind:

• Raspberry, tomato, cucumber, squash, and pumpkin are more susceptible to developing blight if planted with potatoes.
• Carrots, asparagus, fennel, turnip, onions, and sunflowers can stunt the growth and development of potato tubers.
• Potato plants also should not be planted in the same spot where eggplant, tomatoes, and anything in the nightshade family has previously been planted.

There are, however, many beneficial potato plant companions.

• Plant cabbage, corn, and beans around potato hills to improve their growth and taste.
• Growing horseradish as a companion plant for potatoes is said to make potatoes resistant to diseases.
• Lettuce and spinach are often planted between rows of potatoes to save room in the garden and because they do not compete for nutrients.
• Chamomile, basil, yarrow, parsley, and thyme are herbal companion plants for potatoes that improve their growth and flavor, while also attracting beneficial insects to the garden.
• Petunias and alyssum also attract beneficial insects to potato plants.

What to Plant with Potatoes to Keep Bugs Away

While I’ve already mentioned plants that attract good bugs near potatoes, there are also several potato plant companions that deter bad bugs.

• Lamium improves potato flavor, encourages its growth, and deters harmful insects.
• Sage keeps flea beetles away.
• Nasturtium, coriander, tansy, and catmint planted around potato plants deter potato beetles.
• Green beans also deter potato beetles and add nitrogen to the soil; in return, the potato plants deter the Mexican beetle from eating the green beans.
• The old farmer’s favorite, marigolds, deter harmful pests from potato plants and also protect them from viral and bacterial diseases.

Hilling is the part of growing potatoes that most people either skip or do once and forget about. Getting it right, the timing, the material, the number of rounds, is what separates a thin harvest from a genuinely good one.

Hilling potatoes is one of those tasks that looks optional until you skip it and wonder why half the crop came up green and bitter. It’s a bit of extra work spread out across the season, but it genuinely pays off in yield and flavor—more than most people expect going in.

Anyone new to planting potatoes usually figures hilling out the hard way—a missed window here, a greened-up tuber there.

Why You Should Hill Potatoes

Potatoes don’t form underground the way most people assume. They actually grow along the buried portion of the stem, not from the roots—so the more stem that gets covered, the more room the plant has to set tubers. That’s the core logic behind hilling.

Hilling also keeps developing tubers in the dark, which matters quite a bit. Exposed to sunlight, potato skins turn green and produce solanine, a compound that’s bitter and mildly toxic. You don’t want that making it to the table.

Beyond yield and the greening issue, hilling keeps weeds down around the base and can protect tender young shoots if a late frost rolls through unexpectedly. It ends up doing a few different jobs at once, which is part of why it’s worth preparing potato beds properly.

When to Hill Potatoes

Start when plants reach about 6 to 8 inches (15–20cm) above the soil—there’s enough stem to work with at that height without stressing anything. Hill again two to three weeks later, or whenever they’ve grown another 6 inches or so. Most growers do two to three rounds total. Stop once flowering begins, since that’s when tuber formation kicks in and additional hilling doesn’t add much at that point.

If the soil cracks and heaves near the base, that’s a sign tubers are forming close to the surface and another round is already overdue. Missing that window means some will end up green, so keep an eye on things as the season moves along.

How to Hill Potatoes

The basic technique is to pull loose soil up around the base of each plant, burying the lower stem and leaving only the top 3 to 4 inches (8–10cm) of foliage exposed. A hoe is the right tool here—draw soil in from both sides of the row and build up a low mound, working steadily down. Do it in the morning if possible; plants sit more upright early in the day and are easier to work around. This garden hoe from Lowe’s handles the pulling and mounding without much effort, which helps when there’s a full row to get through.

The mound doesn’t need to be huge on the first round—a few inches is plenty. It adds up over subsequent hillings, and by the final round most gardeners end up somewhere around 10 to 12 inches (25–30cm) high.

What to Use for Hilling

Soil pulled from the pathways between rows is the obvious choice, but straw, shredded leaves, and compost all work just as well. Straw is especially easy to manage in hot weather—it holds moisture and keeps the soil a bit cooler underneath, which potatoes tend to appreciate. The main requirement is that whatever goes around the stems is loose enough to drain. A bag of perlite-amended potting mix from Amazon is worth having on hand if the garden soil tends to compact.

Packed-down material traps moisture against the stems and creates rot problems. Avoid anything that mats tight, like thick whole-leaf layers that don’t breathe well, and check after heavy rain—hills wash out more than expected and may need building back up before the next round.

Hilling in Containers

Container-grown potatoes need the same treatment as in-ground ones. Start with a few inches of potting mix in the bottom, plant the seed potato, and cover loosely. As the plant grows, keep adding mix to bury the lower stem. A deep container or fabric grow bag works best since there’s more vertical room to keep adding material as the plant climbs. These potato grow bags from Amazon are a practical fit for this method.

Once the mix reaches the rim, just let the plant run. Containers dry out faster than garden beds, so moisture needs checking more often through the hilling season.

A Few Things That Trip People Up

Hilling too early is a common mistake. Covering stems before there’s enough foliage above ground stresses young plants without much payoff. Hilling too late is the other one. Once tubers show at the surface and start catching light, they green up fast. Soil packing matters too—pushing it tight around the base traps moisture and leaves stems more vulnerable to rot.

Don’t stop after just one round. Two or three sessions done consistently is really what sets up a solid potato harvest, and the size of the potato hill at the end of the season tends to reflect exactly how much attention went into it.

Shop Potato Care Essentials

If you’re new to the wonderful world of gardening, things that are obvious to seasoned gardeners may seem strange and complicated. For example, which way is up when planting potatoes? Should you be planting potatoes eyes up or down? Read on to find out which end is up!

How to Find the Seed End of Potatoes

Which end of the potato is up? Basically, the only thing to remember when planting potatoes is to plant with the eyes facing up. Here’s a little more detail:

• Small seed potatoes that measure 1 to 2 inches (2.5-5 cm.) in diameter (about the size of a chicken egg) can be planted whole with, as noted, the eye facing up. Preferably, the seed potato will have more than one eye. In this case, just ensure that at least one healthy eye will be facing up. The others will find their way.
• If your seed potatoes are larger, cut them into 1 to 2 inch chunks, each with at least one good eye. Set the chunks aside for three to five days so the cut surfaces have time to callus, which helps prevent the potatoes from rotting in the cool, moist soil.

Final Note about Planting Potato Eyes Up or Down

Don’t spend a lot of time worrying about how to find the seed end of potatoes. Although planting with the eyes facing the sky will likely smooth the way for the development of the little spuds, your potatoes will do just fine without a lot of fuss. Once you’ve planted potatoes once or twice, you’ll realize that planting potatoes is basically a worry-free process and that digging the new potatoes is like finding buried treasure. Now that you know the answer to which seed end to plant, all you have to do now is sit back and enjoy your crop once it comes in!

Potatoes are prone to a number of potato plant diseases not to mention susceptible to insect attack and Mother Nature’s whims. Amongst these potato plant diseases is the potato leafroll virus. What is potato leafroll and what are the symptoms of potato leafroll virus?

What is Potato Leafroll?

The pesky aphids strike again. Yep, aphids are responsible for plants with potato leafroll virus. The aphids transmit a Luteovirus into the vascular tissue of the potato plants. The worst culprit is the green peach aphid. The virus is introduced either by the aphids or previously infected seed tubers. The virus, unlike some other potato plant diseases, takes some time for the aphids to acquire (several minutes to hours) and process through its body before it is a vector of the disease. Time is relevant, I know, but in this case, since the disease takes longer to spread, insecticides can be beneficial. Once an aphid has the disease, it has it for its entire lifetime. Both winged and non-winged aphids are responsible for spreading the disease. As the aphids feed on the plant, the virus is introduced into the phloem tissue (vascular) and multiplies and spreads.

Symptoms of Potato Leafroll Virus

Plants with potato leafroll virus will, as the name indicates, have leaves that roll, showing chlorosis or reddening, a leather-like feel, and dead spots along the leaf veins. The plant will become overall stunted in height and the tubers will also show necrosis. Some types of potato are more susceptible than others, including Russet Burbank, the most commonly cultivated variety in the western United States. The amount of tuber necrosis and severity will depend upon when plants with leafroll virus were infected. The necrosis may also increase during the storage of the tubers.

Is There a Treatment for Potato Leafroll Virus?

To thwart potato leafroll virus, use only certified, disease-free, seed tubers. Control volunteer potatoes and pluck out any plants that appear to be infected. The most popular potato varieties do not have any resistance to potato leafroll virus, but there are other cultivars that do not develop the necrosis on the actual tubers. Treatment for potato leafroll virus involves using chemical controls to eradicate aphids and reduce the spread of the disease. Apply insecticide from early to midseason.

One of the simplest, yet most satisfying, dishes is mashed potatoes - the elementary combination of cooked spuds, butter, milk or cream, and salt and pepper mashed into a sublime creamy confection. Of the myriad of potato varieties, those from the Yellow Finn potato plant are superior for this purpose. But, before we get into that, let's absorb a little potato plant history.

Potato Plant History

When I think potato, I do not think Peru, but that is exactly where we begin discussing its genesis. Potatoes (Solanum tuberosum) are tough, and it takes a tough tuber to survive in the cold temps, poor soil and thin air of the 15,000 foot elevation of the Andes Mountains. Farmers of this region discovered and cultivated the spud 7,000 years ago. It wasn't until the Spanish Conquistadores arrived in Peru that the potato was encountered by anyone but these pre-Columbian people. The Conquistadores eventually brought potatoes back with them to Europe. Even then, they were slow to catch on and grown mostly as curios or, as food for the poor. Finally in 1780, the Irish began cultivating the potato. They realized its nutritional value, but more importantly, its ability to feed many people on little land, 10 people to one acre. I think we have all heard what happened here though. The Irish put all their eggs in one basket and when blight overtook the potato crops in the mid-1800s, there was a major famine that cut the population in half. Eventually, the potato gained wide spread acceptance in Europe and found its way to the American colonies. Today, we encounter the potato so frequently we no longer give it a second thought, but there are a number of unique heirloom cultivars worth checking out that can make you excited about the potato again.

Growing Yellow Finn Potatoes

The tubers of the Yellow Finn potato plant are golden yellow in color and especially suited for mashed spuds with a buttery, slightly sweet flavor. These European beauties hold their shape for use in soups, stews, salads and can be fried, baked or broiled. They out store red-skinned varieties and Yukon Golds. Yellow Finns need a bit more space in the garden then other tubers since they tend to spread though. Begin with certified organic, virus-free seed stock. If using 'one drops,' small egg-sized seed potatoes, you don't need to prep them other than pre-sprouting. If you use larger whole spuds, cut into pieces with 2 or more eyes per piece. Spread the pieces out in the shade for 4-6 hours until they get a "skin" which will help prevent seed rot. Plant just prior to the last frost in your neck of the woods or when soil temps are 54 degrees F. (12 C.) or higher. Dig a trench 6-8 inches deep and add in some compost. Place the seed potatoes 8-10 inches apart in the trench and cover with 4-6 inches of soil. Water in well and continue to irrigate, allowing the top 4-6 inches to dry out between watering. As the plants grow, mound up soil around the base every week or two until you create a 4-6 inch hill of soil. Your Yellow Finns will be ready to harvest and make into 'to die for' mashed potatoes about 90 days from planting.

Potato plants are grown for their edible tuber or some varieties are grown simply as ornamentals. Anyone who has grown either type can attest to the fact that healthy potato plant growth may get a bit out of hand at times. It makes one wonder, “Should I cut back the potato plants?” If so, how does one trim potato plants?

Can You Prune Potato Plants?

The answer to, “Can you prune potato plants?” is yes, but perhaps that is not the right question. After all, you can pretty much prune anything, although it’s not always the best idea. The correct question is, “Should I cut back the potato plants?” For the most part, potato plants use the nutrients from the foliage to grow healthy spuds. That said, there are some instances where it may be beneficial to prune the tubers to restrain the potato plant growth. Pruning potato vines can help the potatoes mature earlier, before they attain their full size. Pruning potato vines and then leaving them in the soil for at least two weeks, post pruning, will help them develop a thick, protective skin. A thick skin is important for storage, allowing the spuds to be kept for up to six months following harvest.

How to Trim Potato Plants

To trim your edible potato plants, pinch off the blossoms as soon as they appear on the plant, or snip them off with shears. Blossoms are an indicator that the plant is mature and small tubers are formed. Removing the flowers removes the competition and fosters larger, healthier potatoes. Prune the potatoes when the foliage has wilted. Prune the plant down to ground level, 1 inch (2.54 cm.) above the soil surface. Don’t cut them any lower than this, as you may expose the tips of shallow potatoes. Wait two weeks to dig the tubers out to allow the potato skin to thicken. Pruning of ornamental potatoes, such as Ipomoea, can occur any time the plant has outgrown its surroundings. Generally, at this point the tuber is mature. These ornamentals can be aggressively pruned with no ill effects. In fact, the plant will branch out and rapidly begin filling in the space. Unlike edible potatoes, ornamentals can be pruned right down to the ground, if needed. Cut back the ornamental potato vines from spring through fall, as needed, to contain the size or shape of the plant. Pruning will also increase the bushiness of the plant, as it encourages branching at the cut sites. Prune judiciously or not at all if you prefer longer, vine-like foliage. If you live in a mild climate, some potato vines will grow year round and need continuous pruning. Trim back any foliage that has been killed back or damaged after the first frost, down to the soil line or one inch (2.5 cm.) above it. When the weather warms up, you will likely have another chance at seeing the glory of your ornamental potato vine.

Incredibly nutritious, versatile in the kitchen, and with a long storage life, potatoes are one of the must haves for the home gardener. Properly preparing a potato bed is the key to a healthy, prolific potato crop. There are a number of potato bed preparation methods. What kind of potato seed bed preparation do you need to do to guarantee a bumper crop? Read on to learn more.

Prepping Beds for Potatoes

Properly preparing beds for potatoes is of primary importance. Neglecting potato bed preparation may result in inferior crops. Improperly prepared beds may be predisposed to soil compaction and poor aeration and drainage, three things that potatoes abhor. Consider what type of previous crop was in the bed. Be sure that any debris has been well composted and avoid planting in the area if it was recently planted with any other Solanaceae members (nightshade family) to reduce the risk of passing on bacteria or virus pathogens. Instead, plant the area with a legume crop and move to another area for potato bed planting. Potato bed planting should take place in rich, loose, well-draining but moist soil with a slight acidity of pH 5.8 to 6.5. One month to six weeks prior to planting, loosen the soil down to a depth of 8 to 12 inches (20-31 cm.) and add 3 to 4 inches (8-10 cm.) of compost or a complete organic fertilizer with a NPK of 1-2-2 (5-10-10 is acceptable) at a rate of 5 pounds (2 kg.) per 100 square feet (9.29 sq. m.). In lieu of the previous, you may also amend the soil with 3 to 4 inches (8-10 cm.) of composted steer manure or one inch (2.5 cm.) of composted chicken manure, 5 to 7 pounds (2-3 kg.) of bone meal per 100 square feet (9.29 sq. m.) and a smattering of kelp or seaweed meal. When in doubt of your soil's nutritional needs, contact your County Extension office for assistance. When prepping beds for potatoes, remember they are heavy feeders, so adequate nutrition at the outset is crucial. Till all the amendments into the soil and turn several times. When preparing a potato bed, rake the bed smooth, removing any large stones or debris. Water in well to test for soil drainage; if the bed doesn't drain well, you will need to add organic matter, clean sand, or even commercial soil. Drainage is of paramount importance. Potatoes will rapidly rot in sodden soils. Many people grow potatoes in a hill or mound which will also ensure that plants are above any standing water. Elevate beds 10 to 12 inches (25-31 cm.) in this case.

Additional Potato Bed Planting

If you don't want to take the time preparing a potato bed, you may also choose to grow your potatoes by using straw or mulch. Simply loosen the soil so the roots get good aeration, food, and irrigation. Place the seed potato atop the soil and cover with 4 to 6 inches (10-15 cm.) of straw or mulch. Continue to add 4 to 6 inches (10-15 cm.) to cover new leaves and shoots as the plant grows. This method makes for an easy and very clean harvest. Just pull the mulch back, and voila, nice clean spuds. Another easy potato bed preparation involves using the mulching method above, but in a container or bin instead of on the soil surface. Make sure the container has drainage holes; you don't want to drown the tubers. Be sure to water more frequently than if you planted the potatoes in the garden, as container grown plants dry out more rapidly. Now that your potato seed bed preparation is complete, you can plant the seed potatoes. The earliest you should plant is two weeks before the last frost date in your area. Soil temps should be between 50 and 70 degrees F. (10-21 C.). Taking time when prepping beds for potatoes will ensure healthy, disease-free tubers that will feed you and your family all winter long.