Cathy’s intro: How to grow your own potatoes. That’s coming up on This Land of Ours.
If you want a consistent supply of potatoes, it’s a good idea to choose two different varieties. Pick an early type that’ll be ready by early summer, and a main crop choice that’ll be ready to eat in late summer/early fall.
Early season potatoes reach maturity within 75 to 90 days. Some of the most well-known varieties in this category are Yukon Gold or Norland. Late Season, or “main crop” potatoes mature in 120-135 days. Try Carola or Purple Peruvian.
Perhaps it is more important for you to choose potato varieties based on what you can do with them. Potatoes can be grown nearly everywhere and in most gardening zones. All potato plant varieties may be planted as soon as the ground can be worked in the early spring. Just keep soil temperatures and final frost dates in mind.
Plant seed potatoes with the cut side down, in rows that are 3 inches deep and 10 inches apart. Subsequent rows should be spaced 2 feet apart. Potato plants will begin to grow when the soil temperature has reached 45 degrees F. You’ll begin to see sprouts in 2 to 4 weeks’ time.
I’m Cathy Isom…