Make a Fresh ‘Starch’ in 2021, Plant Some Taters

If you’ve never grown a garden before and want to get started, plant some potatoes. They are one of the easiest crops to grow. Plus, they taste so good. Anyone who says gardening isn’t worth the time and effort has never tasted a home-grown potato, I promise.

I’ve always been told that in Fayette County, you should plant potatoes on Presidents Day, the third Monday in February. It has always worked for me.

This year, Presidents Day falls on Feb. 15. Some folks say you should plant potatoes on Valentine’s Day, Feb. 14, that way you spend the day with your sweetheart sticking taters in the ground instead of going to a fancy restaurant. I’m not sure about that advice.

I also spoke with one local gardener who said she plants potatoes on Feb. 10. For whichever date you decide, you should get your beds ready a few weeks before. Now is a good time to dig up the soil.

I know, I told you before that tilling is bad for the soil. It is, for the most part. But you need several inches of loose topsoil to grow potatoes. Incorporate some organic fertilizer like Medina Growin’ Green and some well-aged compost into the soil.

How many potatoes you plant depends on how much you like potatoes. I never seem to plant enough. Last year, I planted about 10 lbs. of seed potatoes and my family ran out of spuds by about the middle of summer. I’m going to plant 25 lbs. this year.

Potatoes do produce true seed, but gardeners typically plant “seed” potatoes. These are potatoes grown last year specifically for planting. Potatoes bought at grocery stores are often treated to prevent sprouting. The sprouts are what form new plants, so we need untreated spuds. Most farm and ranch stores sell seed potatoes this time of year.

You can plant seed potatoes whole or you can cut them into pieces. Make sure each piece you cut has a few “eyes.” Leave the cut potatoes on a counter top for a day or two until the cuts scab over. Some people like to roll the cut pieces in wood ashes. If you plant freshly-cut potatoes, they will likely rot in the ground before they start growing. Some folks also like to “chit” their seed potatoes. This involves leaving them in a warm, dark place for a few weeks until the eyes turn into small sprouts. This will give your potato plants a little bit of a head start. It is not necessary, though. If the sprouts get too big and break off, the plant will have to start growing all over again and your effort will have been lost.

Like all things gardeningrelated, there is no single correct way to plant potatoes. This is how I do it:

Plant the pieces in a trench about three or four inches deep and a foot or two apart with the eyes facing up. Some people with plenty of garden space plant as far apart as three feet. I don’t bother watering-in seed potatoes after I plant them. We usually get enough rain in the early spring to take care of their water needs. Too much water will cause the seed potatoes to rot in the ground.

In a few weeks the sprouts will emerge from the soil. I like to mound up a little soil around the sprouts as they start to grow. When plants are eight to ten inches tall, add a few inches of dirt, compost or mulch to the top of the soil. Make sure any spuds exposed at the surface are covered with soil or mulch to prevent the potatoes from turning green. Green potatoes are inedible.

Frost will kill potato plants. If we get a late frost, you can completely cover the plant with dirt or compost to protect it.

The best all-around variety for this area is “Yukon Gold,” in my experience. They taste great, are easy to grow and they are pretty easy to find. Most of the red seed potatoes you see around here are “Red Pontiac,” but I have heard “Red Norland” does even better in our area. If you find some Red Norland, I would give them a try. “Red Lasoda” is also supposed to be a good potato for southern growers. The white “Kennebec” potatoes often sold for planting are quite boring in my opinion, so I don’t bother planting any. Fingerling potatoes such as “Russian Banana” and “Austrian Crescent” are among the best-tasting varieties, but they can be hard to find.

You can start harvesting a few “new” potatoes whenever you notice the plants flowering. Full-size potatoes will be ready to harvest after the plants die back. Red potatoes and the fingerlings typically mature the earliest. Yukon Gold and Kennebec mature a few weeks later. Store your harvest in a cool, dark and dry place. Potatoes will rot if stored for very long in a refrigerator, so don’t put them there.

Once you harvest the potatoes, throw all of the remaining plant material in your compost pile. Do not let potato plants rot in the garden because they can introduce disease into your soil.