Growing Potatoes — ediblegardens52

Feb 28

Feb 28 Growing Potatoes

When my children were young we grew a crop of potatoes. The harvest was like a treasure hunt for my sons. Then about fifteen years ago I purchased some small Klamath Pearl potatoes at a local organic food coop and planted them (against the best advice). They grew well and we enjoyed the modest take.

With a seasonal gap between cool season and warm season crops it was time to plant the Yukon Gem seed potatoes I ordered last fall from San Diego Seed Company. They’ve been “chitting” in an egg carton in a bright window for many weeks. Chitting is pre-sprouting your potatoes before planting for stronger, quicker stands and higher yields.

Finally, there were enough sprouts to prepare them for planting. I would have preferred more sprouts but it took six weeks to get this many and I wanted to get them planted. I decided to plant them in containers after reading several sources. My soil mixture was roughly one third each of organic potting soil, my compost and garden soil with a mix-in of some organic vegetable fertilizer.

Yukon Gem potatoes are a determinate variety and produce their tubers in a single layer below the soil surface. Here are the instructions I followed: “Fill your container to about a third of the way up. Pop two seed potatoes on top, then add another third of your mix. Add another two potatoes, staggering the position relative to the first layer so that the foliage isn’t all growing in the same position. Then fill the container to the top with your potting mix.” (GrowVeg.com)

Since the tubers form near the surface, I covered the soil with leaf mulch after watering and set them in a sunny location.

I found this blog post very useful. Only one caveat—the potato varieties listed are those suitable for the United Kingdom where the blog originates.

Potato Growing Masterclass: My Tips for a Bigger, Better Harvest

Check online, local nurseries, Extension Master Gardeners or Sunset Western Garden Book of Edibles for potato varieties suitable for your area. In USDA Zones 9 and 10 plant potatoes February through May. Many online sources appear to have sold out of seed potatoes, but check local nurseries. There’s always next year.

Here’s the description of Yukon Gem potatoes from High Mowing Seeds. Many sources recommend Yukon Gem over Yukon Gold for yields and disease resistance.

Bright gold skin, pink-hued eyes, yellow flesh and the same delicious flavor as its parent Yukon Gold.

Our first late blight resistant potato! Round to oval tubers mature about 10 days later than Yukon Gold and are significantly higher yielding, especially in wet conditions. Smooth tan skin and dense, buttery yellow flesh for baking, boiling and frying. Originally developed in 1994 by a team at North Dakota State University.