Growing Potatoes

Growing potatoes is an important part of most home vegetable gardens, because they produce high yields from relatively small areas and have so many uses in the kitchen.

In general, they are easy to grow, but a few things can make the difference between an ordinary result and a really good one. This is especially true if you are interested in quality as much as quantity of produce.

Many people worry about growing potatoes without chemicals, because of all the potential pest and disease problems, but a few preventative steps can do more than all the chemicals in the World. The main things to pay attention to are:

1. Soil preparation
2. Crop rotation and
3. Planting seed

Proper soil preparation ensures both a strong, bio-active growing medium and the healthiest plants. Most of the problems associated with growing potatoes can be overcome right here.

Crop rotation prevents the accumulation of pathogens from one crop to the next and good quality planting seed will both prevent the introduction of pest and disease organisms from outside the garden and also the potential for early infection after planting. A good deal of research has shown that whole, round seed-tubers (rather than cut and cured seed pieces) are the best. The should also be sourced from reputable growers.

Another advantage with growing potatoes from round seed is that you get more stems per plant and this relates directly to the yield potential of the crop.

Soil & fertilizer

Too many people make the mistake of believing that all you need for good soil preparation is lots of digging, lots of fertilizer and lots of organic matter. Nothing could be further from the truth. This is the reason, we have devoted a whole section of this site to soils.

Where growing potatoes is concerned there is one particular point to keep in mind. While it is important to ensure rapid growth, many people make the mistake of over-feeding with Nitrogen. Potatoes are certainly gross feeders and definitely a crop for the first stage of a crop rotation, but Nitrogen should be used carefully.

The best strategy is to apply most of the Nitrogen pre-planting and use only one or two small applications later, with none at all once the tubers have begun to grow (usually just as the plants start flowering or slightly before).

Pests & diseases

First, remember that (contrary to the popular media view) there is no "War on Pests", just other species we share the Planet with. A few weeds, the odd snail or the occasional leaf with some sort of 'mildew', is nothing to sweat over. What we need to do is keep the incidence of these 'problem' species below a level where they cause significant loss of productivity.

Maintaining a range of measures like traps of various sorts, will certainly help. As will companion planting and simple things like checking your plants and physically removing any grubs 'n slugs you find. Remember that "persistence pays".

For more information on managing these problems when growing potatoes, please read through the Garden Ecology section.

Varieties to grow

Altogether, there are probably more varieties of Potato in the World, that for any other crop. There are various classifications around - High vs Low Nitrogen; High vs Low specific Gravity; Boilers vs Bakers. Don't worry too much about these distinctions, they don't mean much in a garden context.

There are also New vs Old potatoes. However, these are not varieties, but harvesting stages that I will talk about in a moment.

Perhaps the best 'group' of varieties to go with are the so-called 'Heirloom potatoes'. Firstly, they were developed at a time when things were less specialized. these days there are varieties for crisps, varieties for fries, fresh market varieties and so on. But the heirloom varieties were developed to be good for a range of uses.

However, the reason I like growing heirloom potatoes most is simply variety. The range of colors, shapes, sizes, flavors and textures available turns the boring old 'spud' into something interesting and useful. A list of (in my opinion) absolute must-grow varieties includes:

• Kipfler
• King Edward
• Brownell (a selection from Adirondack)
• Bison
• Royal Blue
• Saphire (great for purple fries)

But of course there are many more to try.

Planting potatoes

One of the big problems in growing potatoes is that tubers can develop close to the surface and turn green. At the same time, an important factor in getting the best yield is to minimize the time between planting and emergence. For these reason, potatoes are normally planted only 3 to 5 cm below the surface "on the flat" - that is, not in raised beds. In fact, some growers even like to plant into a shallow trench.

The advantage in doing this is that by emerging quickly, each tuber can support a greater number of shoots that if more energy is required pushing them up from greater depth. Put simply - more shoots means more potatoes.

So how do you prevent greening? Once the shoots are well up, but before tubers begin to form, you hill soil up around the plants - now the new tubers will be nice and deep!

Harvesting potatoes

There is no great trick to this - you just dig them up (starting a bit away from the plant of course, so you don't damage any). The only thing to consider is 'when'.

There are two types of potato - Old and New. New potatoes are dug before the plant dies and Old are dug after. In fact this reveals another important reason for growing potatoes - you don't need to harvest them all at once. I find one plant is good for one meal (or perhaps a bit more) for a family of five, so I dig mine one plant at a time. and there is no need to worry once the plant dies as (so long as they are nice and deep) tubers can be 'stored' in the ground for some time (depending on the local climate).

Extra Tips and Trick

Potatoes are among the most intensively researched crops in the World, so there will always be way more information than could possibly fit on one web page. To cope with all this and help you in growing potatoes as well as you can, we will be adding useful links below, as they come to hand. You can also get lots of tips and tricks from our Free email newsletter - The Food Gardener.

Further reading & useful links

Supporting soil biology is very helpful in growing potatoes
There is good research now available to show what effects on soil biology things like fish emulsion and kelp extracts have. You can use this information to improve crop health and produce quality.

More information about Soil Ecology
By themselves, potatoes are not very good at getting nutrients from the soil, so active soil biology is essential to success.

Choosing the most appropriate method of cultivating soil
Having soil of good, fine tilth is important in growing potatoes, but there are many different methods and it is important to match the appropriate method with each individual situation.