February 14th marks a celebrated day for Texas gardeners. It’s time to start planting seed potatoes! Loaded with Potassium, Vitamin C, and fiber, the humble spud can be full of health benefits. Grow a few or grow a field to share!
Volunteer with us at TAFB Garden Workdays to get heart healthy exercise and hands-on experience planting and harvesting potatoes and other crops! Seed potatoes can be purchased from local garden centers and come in several delicious varieties suited for this area. Other varieties can be fun to try, but these are great for success.
- Red LaSoda
- White Kennebec
- Yukon Gold
It’s reasonable to expect 2-4 pounds of potatoes per plant. One seed potato may produce one plant or many plants if divided into pieces. This will help in deciding how many to buy.[/vc_column_text][tek_sectiontitle st_title=”Prepare the Potatoes and the Space” st_title_tag=”” st_subtitle_decoration=”” st_separator_enable=”separator_off” st_text_align=”text-left” st_width=”st_fullwidth”][vc_column_text]The week before planting, cut the potatoes into pieces that have at least two eyes. Allow to air cure for 2-3 days.
Potatoes grow well in loose garden soil, raised beds or even large containers. One way to grow potatoes is in towers – a simple, affordable and easily moveable growing container. To build a tower, simply make a ring of wire mesh, line with a nest of straw and fill with about 8”-12″ of mixed compost and soil. Another option is to plant directly into a bag of garden soil that has holes for drainage. The planting space should have at least 8” of soil depth to grow potatoes.
“Plant the Potatoes!” Dig down 6” and add a well-balanced fertilizer for vegetables to provide nutrients for the growing potatoes. Always follow the directions on the fertilizer container when using in the garden. Cover the fertilizer with 3” of soil, then drop in the potato piece and cover with another 3” of soil and mulch like compost or straw.
“Water, Feed, and Watch Them Grow!” Now that your potatoes are planted, keep them growing by watering the soil at least 1” per week and adding additional fertilizer at around 6 weeks. As the plants grow, mound up soil and/or mulch around the base to keep potatoes covered. This keeps them away from sunlight which can turn them green and make them inedible. Plants will typically grow for 100-120 days and be ready to harvest in June.
“Harvest Time!” Dig up the potatoes, wipe, and store or rinse and eat right away!
When the potatoes are harvested try some of these fantastic recipes:
Enjoy eating and sharing these delicious potatoes!
