Reposting from OHG Files
Growing Potatoes
Growing potatoes is so easy using my no dig, organic way. Potatoes
are one of the top three in vegetable growing popularity due to their
versatility. Boil 'em, mash 'em, fry 'em, bake 'em. It's hard to go
wrong with this staple in your diet.
Potatoes are also a great source of vitamins, minerals and iron. Most
of the goodness lies just beneath the surface of the skin. Be very
careful and keep some of the skin intact when preparing for cooking.
If you peel the potato, most of its nutrients are lost, giving you
only starch.
How to grow potatoes
Purchase some seed potatoes from your local Farm Store. The closer to
your home they grew, the more adapted to your growing weather and
methods they'll be. Seed potatoes will bring better yields than using
taters from the grocery shelf.
You can 'chit' them first (allowing them to start to grow) before
planting, simply by placing them in a sunny spot.
Place your seed potatoes directly on the ground about 12-14 inches
apart. Cover them with a 50/50 blend of straw with old manure, blood
and bone and compost. Water generously. Keep them well watered
throughout their growing season.
In a couple of weeks, the tops will emerge through the straw. As they
grow, keep topping them up with the enriched straw blend, making sure
the tubers don't get exposed to sunlight. This can turn them green
and make them toxic.
Potatoes take 14-16 weeks to mature. When they flower, they are
getting close to maturity. When the plants begin to die back and
yellow, the crop is ready for harvest.
The beauty with growing them under a straw mat is that you take the
guess work out of the growing. You can actually lift the corner of
the straw and see your potatoes developing.
When you are close to harvest, you simply pull out some of the bigger
ones for early eating, without killing off the plant.
On the ground, in your no til garden bed or inside an old tire (for
containment) these things will grow anywhere given the right
conditions.
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