The Results of My Potato Experiment

If you recall, I planted some fall potatoes in early September. The freeze on Dec. 11 burned the tops to the ground. But they still managed to produce a pretty good crop.

The two varieties I planted were “Yukon Gold” and “Red Pontiac.” They were in the ground for a little over 90 days. I started digging them up last week. Almost every plant produced two to three tubers that were baseball-sized or larger, along with a bunch of smaller potatoes about marble- to golf ball-size. I think another two weeks of growth would have increased the harvest. But I’m still pleased.

Interestingly, the freeze did not totally kill them. Most of the plants still had a green crown and a few green leaves at the base. If I didn’t need the garden space, I would cover them up with compost and see if they continue to grow.

I supposed I could have saved them with some row cover. If I plant potatoes again next fall, I’ll probably set up some kind of frost protection. I should have probably planted them a month earlier – in early August. But that would have required some irrigation to get them started.

Some gardeners never bother growing potatoes because they’re so cheap to buy in grocery stores. But those folks are missing out. The best part about growing potatoes is eating them, whether you plant them in the spring or fall. Homegrown potatoes possess a sweetness you’ll never taste in store-bought potatoes. Tuesday night I sliced up a few and cooked them in a pan with butter and garlic simply seasoned with salt and pepper. Delicious!

So now I need to finish digging up the potatoes and clean up the row. I started transplanting some asparagus in the spot. I have asparagus growing in a bunch of raised beds and all over my backyard from seeds that volunteered. I’ve noticed that the volunteer asparagus in the ground grows much better than the ones I have planted in raised beds. So I’m trying to move all of it into the ground before next spring.

And spring will be here before you know it. According to local wisdom, spring potatoes should be planted around the middle of February. Some folks plant them as early as late January. If you’re thinking about starting a garden in the spring, you should plant some potatoes. They’re an easy crop to grow.

For those new to gardening, starting a bed can be an overwhelming process. But I have found that the first step is the easiest. Pick a spot on your property that gets plenty of sunlight during the day. It should be located near a faucet so that you can water the garden. Now simply cover it with black plastic or a dark tarp until the spring time. Use bricks or wooden posts to keep the covering in place. The plastic blocks out the sun and kills all the grass and weeds. Every few weeks, uncover the spot and water it, then cover it back up. Any weed seeds remaining will germinate and quickly die from the lack of light. In the spring, you should have a relatively weed-free garden spot.

I’ll write some more about bed preparation over the next few months as spring gets closer, so be sure to keep up with the column.