spud time

SPUD TIME
back in the fall i prepared my potato bed
by adding 3 inches of compost
sprinkled it with organic fertilizer
i used ladybug brand 824
medina makes a good one also
i added a dusting of cottonseed meal
i added a good watering of humates
thats basically the brown liquid if you
put compost in water
i added a good watering of molasses
both of these stimulate bacteria and fungi growth
in the soil
then
i covered it with a thick layer of leaves
and
just let it sort of ferment for a few months
like a good beer or a good wine or good cheese

then i went to the nursery two weeks ago
and bought these red lasota seed potatoes
they do good at the country n
compared to the white potatoes
and the colored ones
and
they seem to store well

nurseries and feed stores usually have these
seed potatoes
now i dont cut mine and cover with sulfur
that just seems like a hastle
so i pick out the smaller ones at the nursery
and just plant the whole tater

i let them sit around and grow those eye things out
when they all had eye things growing
and
that also allowed my soil to dry well
i then planted them

i dug a trench that was about 8 inches or more deep
a furrow is the right word i guess

now the instruction sheet i had
read
plant them two inches deep then pull soil up
over the plant as it grows
the new potatoes grow along the stem
so the more soil the more taters you get

however
never known to follow directions well
i plant my 8 inches deep in the furrow
about 18 inches apart
cover it with about 4 inches or so of soil
nothing exact here

i wrote plant
but all i did was just chunk it in the hole
where it landed
was where it got planted

so you have the tater in the hole
covered with dirt
with about 4 inches or so of furrow left
the left side above is all planted and covered
the right side has only been chunked in the hole

as the tater plant grows up
i keep it covered
even as it gets above the furrow soil line
eventually the tater will outgrow your ability
to cover it up

planting the tater deep like that also helps to keep
it warmer under that soil
the furrow also acts as a funnel to catch water
which has been sparse around here lately

if we get a freeze i lay row cover over it
i also will eventually cover the soil with
a layer of mulch of leaves or pine straw

i know its time to harvest when the tops of the
plants start to die
plus
i harvest small new potatoes as soon as i can
so i usually know when its time to dig em up
usually late may or early june
the weather decides the date

but i know from experience not to leave them
in too long
especially if we have a real wet spring
did that once
lost them all

i might fertilize the plants again later in the
spring with the organic fertilizer
if i think of it
but
there is enough stuff in the soil at the start
to get a good crop

you can also grow taters in a 5 gallon bucket
or similar container
here is a link on how to do that

heck you can probably just dig a hole in your flower garden
in a sunny location
drop in some compost
then chunk your seed potato down the hole
cover it up
etc etc

we usually get about 2-3 5 gallon buckets full of taters
from our 15 ft x 4 ft bed

enjoy

the organicgreen doctor