Another easy method is to mulch up leaves in the fall and place potatoes on the partially decomposed leaves in the spring. Cover the pile with 1 to 1 1/2 feet of straw, mulching as needed to keep tubers covered.
I remember an article about planting potatoes in an upright position which allowed you to remove the bands and harvest without digging, but cannot find the article. Can someone help me?
By Marie Behra
I remember reading that you plant the seed potato at "ground level", then, once the foliage is around a foot high, you add a ring (wood, old tire, etc.) and dirt to fill the ring, leaving half the plant exposed. Each time the foliage gets fairly high, you add another ring and more soil, leaving healthy foliage exposed.
My mom plants the seed potato about 4" in the ground, and then as the plant grows she keeps adding straw. The potatoes form in the straw.
I have little space and want to plant potatoes. I have heard they do not go good near other vegetable plants. Which plants are good to plant next to potatoes?
Hardiness Zone: 8a
By Mike from Hampton, VA
Potatoes shouldn't be grown near tomatoes, I think because of risk of blight. They're supposed to do well near beans and corn though. Potatoes do well in tubs (especially early varieties) so you might consider growing them in containers where you could keep them away from other vegetables in the patch if need be.
This is a page about planting sprouting potatoes. If those potatoes that you forgot about have begun to sprout, try planting them.
My neighbor planted some Red Russets late February. That's the appropriate time for planting potatoes in our region. None have broken through the ground yet.
This is a page about harvesting potatoes. Growing your own potatoes can be a fun and rewarding part of your vegetable garden. Once the potatoes are full grown it's time to harvest them.
Instead of throwing away any potatoes that have stared sprouting, try putting 2-4 toothpicks in the side and put the half which is starting to sprout into a small bowl or glass of water.
Save gardening space and grow tons of potatoes by building this stackable potato planter. This page gives you step by step instructions to make a stackable potato planter.
I always have wrinkly old potatoes left over from my winter "load-up" in the fall. I plant them in the garden, cutting them in pieces and making sure that each piece has one or two "eyes".
To dress up my front porch inexpensively, I take a potato and cut out the sections where "eyes" start growing. I place these in just enough water to keep the bottom of the section wet.
When potato planting time came around, we always saved old newspapers to soak in water the night before to bed the drills before popping the seed potato in and covering with soil.
I might have planted earlier than I should, we've just gotten 2 weeks of rain and cold temps. My plant's leaves have just come up, but are turning purple colored. It's not mold, is this a stress reaction to the cold and wet weather and what can I do to make them stronger? Also will putting manure down raise the pH too much? How can you tell if the pH is too high and what can I do to balance this out?
By Alex
There ARE purple potato plants and there are chartreuse ones. You might have the purple one. Was it chartreuse to begin with?