I have already sowed my early spring seeds (http://kasialucia.blogspot.com/2013/04/a-garden-started.html) and now that the infamous mothers day weekend has arrived, it is time to plant potatoes.
It is best to plant potatoes 2-3 weeks before the last frost in your area.
This year we purchased seed potatoes from Phelan Gardens, a local nursery (http://www.phelangardens.com/). We thought burpee would not ship us the potatoes, but we were mistaken and ended up giving those ones away. In future years, we will stick with the local nursery, the cost and variety was much better.
In my rather small garden, I used 2 seed potatoes of both russet and red, cut the, in half for a total of 4 plants.
It is best to leave at least 2 good eyes or sprouts on each piece of potato that you are going to plant.
My wise mother reminded me to cut my seed potatoes a week or two in advance to allow the cut side to "scar over" and dry up a little to reduce the risk of the potato rotting after planting.
After cutting, I just put them in a bowl on top of my refrigerator to dry out until planting time.
I pre planned my garden before planting this year, so I already knew right where I was going to plant my potatoes.
I have1 row of each with 4 potatoes in each row, spacing them evenly, about 1 foot apart. They need lots of space underground for all the tubers to grow!
I like to set out my eyes (or any plant) in the rows to eyeball it before I start digging and planting.
Then I just use my trowel (since I am really not planting very many) and dig a hole about 3" deep .
Place the potato in the whole eye side up, then cover with 3-4" of dirt, packing firmly.
Repeat until finished.
And as always, don't forget to immediately water after planting, and to keep your garden moist.
On a side note, I am happy to report that I have sprouts of garlic, pak choy/bok choi, radish, and some spinich emerging after the great rain we had the last 3 days.
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| some of my favorite garden helpers |
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