How to Grow Potatoes
When one thinks of potatoes often what comes to mind is baked potatoes, mashed potatoes, along with a whole feast of foods. Growing potatoes is one crop that takes a good amount of time and effort so that you are able to grow them successfully. Even though most avoided potato crop will certain bear some type of vegetable, it’s best to care for your potato crop carefully so that you’ll be able to enjoy the full benefits of having nice, large and round potato plants. If you want to learn how to grow potatoes and haven’t done so before, the first thing you should do is to think about the purpose for which you want the potatoes grown. For example, if you just want them for potato soups or certain types of stew meals then you may only need to grow the smaller potatoes. However, if you want rich potato plants then you may need to systematically plan your way to a successful potato garden. Deciding on your purpose, though, is very crucial to deciding on which potato garden to have and how to go about planting and growing them.
Some common types of potato plants are Yukon Gold, Kennebec, Russet, Superior, and Norland. All of these potato plants have identifying characteristics. For example Yukon Gold potato plants will mature between the early and mid season time periods. However, potato plants like the Kennebec won’t start really maturing until late in the season. All of this is important so that you know when to expect your potato plants and when you should start watering on a daily basis. Another thing that you may want to keep in mind is how you will get your first seed potatoes. Most people choose to go to local greenhouses to pick out small seed potatoes. This is the best choice; however, some others decide that small potatoes from the local grocery store are good enough. Even though planting successful potato crops have been done from potatoes purchased from the grocery, it is often recommended to use the ones from greenhouses
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There are several ways that you can grow your potato crops. A couple examples of growing methods include the row potato plants and the mound potato plants. The row potato plants can be used if you want to continue growing potato plants successfully year after year; however, the mount potato plants can be used if you simply need a batch of potatoes immediately, but don’t have very much space to grow them in.
If you choose to grow your potatoes in the row method, you’ll want to dig a trench so that you’re potatoes can grow and then space the seed potatoes approximately fifteen inches apart. When you actually start planting is very important, too. Even though potato crops are known for being able to be grown early in the season, most people don’t plant until late April or early May. The ground will be warm enough by this time so you’ll be able to grow them. Planting them in rows will assure that you have healthy, big potatoes to work with. However, if you are planting potatoes in mounds then you’ll only need a small place to work with and each mound can comfortably grow five to eight potato crops well. The mound potato plants should be planted in a circle so that each potato will have sufficient room, as with the row method.
Whatever method you choose to grow your potatoes, though, you want to be sure that they have enough sunlight and water each day while they are growing. For water, it is also best to water potatoes very early in the morning so that they have time to soak it up and dry during the day. If you follow these steps when growing your own potato crops you should be able to have happy and healthy potatoes for any different reason that you’d like them!