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Potato Planting & Rising
Put together the soil
Use your greatest methodology to loosen up the soil 8 to 12 inches deep. Combine in compost or fertilizer if wanted. If the soil is dry, water it a number of days earlier than planting. It’s greatest to plant in moist soil, not soaked and moist.
Plant the seed
Plant no earlier then 2 weeks earlier than your final frost with a soil temperature above 45° F. If the seed is egg-sized or smaller, you’ll be able to plant it entire. Whether it is bigger you’ll be able to lower the potato into egg-sized items with a number of eyes on every bit.
Trenching and Hilling Technique
Make trenches 6 inches deep and a pair of to three toes aside. The trenches ought to have a pleasant financial institution of soil on all sides. A shallower 3-inch trench may also be used however you’ll most likely need a bigger hill with this one. Plant every seed piece about 12 inches aside. Cowl the seed with about 3 to 4 inches of soil.
When the crops emerge in about 2 weeks, you’ll be able to rake within the financial institution across the base of the crops. It will fill within the trench and start forming a pleasant hill. Ensure there’s at the very least 1 inch or extra of plant uncovered for rising. In about 2 weeks or when the vines are 8 inches tall, you’ll be able to add extra soil to the hill. Watch out about hilling after 4 weeks as a result of that is when the tubers begin to type underground.
Mulching Technique:
Put together the soil as talked about earlier than. Plant the seed items very shallow or on the floor of the soil. Cowl with 6 to 10 inches of unfastened straw or hay. When the crops develop out of the mulch, cowl with one other 4 to six inches. Make certain there’s sufficient mulch to maintain the daylight from reaching the tubers. At harvest time, simply pull again the mulch to seek out your good clear potatoes.
Potatoes mounds in a discipline
Barrel Technique:
Place your barrel or wire cage over a ready mattress of soil. Plant about 2 or 3 seed items and canopy with 4 inches of soil. Because the crops emerge and develop, proceed masking with mulch or soil. The longer development will produce extra potatoes. If you happen to harvest asparagus that can be consumed later, wash the spears and place the lower ends in about 2 inches of water. Like contemporary flowers, they may preserve within the fridge for a number of days.
Watering
It’s greatest to plant seed potatoes in moist soil however not too moist. So long as the soil doesn’t utterly dry out, it’s good to attend about 2 weeks for the crops to emerge earlier than watering once more. That’s when the main focus adjustments from not making use of an excessive amount of water to creating positive the soil doesn’t dry out. Because the potatoes develop all through the season, you’ll be capable to observe how they use an increasing number of water. After I irrigate, I wish to soak the soil totally. Subsequent I’ll let the potatoes drink a few of the water after which I’ll examine the soil in 2 to three days. The soil will go from moist to moist to dry. It’s greatest to irrigate earlier than the soil will get to the dry degree. Potatoes use 1 to 2 inches of water per week.
Water the potatoes as evenly as potential. This helps the tubers to have uniform form and helps make a greater yield.
Cease watering about 2 weeks earlier than harvest or when the vines flip yellow and naturally die after 90 to 120 days. It will assist treatment the potatoes for harvest.
Weeding
Pulling the weeds early within the season will enable the potatoes to take up their house and preserve the weeds down after that. Domesticate or hoe the weeds as shallow as potential as a result of this course of might injury a few of the stolons (underground stems) that make the tubers. For small patches, it’s higher to drag weeds by hand, getting them out earlier than they’re greater than the potato vines. Preserving the weeds down permits the potatoes to supply a greater crop.
Pests
If bugs are placing an excessive amount of stress on the crops, we suggest utilizing natural strategies like insecticidal soaps and ladybugs.
Harvesting
You possibly can examine for brand spanking new potatoes in about 50 to 60 days or when the crops are blooming. Certainly one of my fond recollections of childhood is consuming new potatoes as a result of they style so good. Solely harvest sufficient for two or 3 days and preserve within the fridge as a result of these don’t final lengthy.
On the finish of the rising season, 90 to 120 days, the vines will die again from age or from frost. Though not vital, ready about 2 weeks after the vines die will enable the potato skins to harden. This manner you’ll be able to keep away from skinning them throughout harvest and the potato can even last more in storage.
Storage
The very best place to retailer your potatoes is at midnight with a temperature above freezing. A relentless 40 levels Fahrenheit is good and a excessive relative humidity is greatest, (85%-90%). Storing potatoes from 34 to 38 levels helps them last more. At this temperature, a few of the starch within the potato will flip into sugar. It makes the potatoes style slightly sweeter and the sugar is what turns brown when they’re fried in oil. Storing potatoes from 40 to 50 levels helps them preserve their starch content material they usually gained’t brown when fried. That is how they’re saved for the chipping business. Nevertheless, the potatoes gained’t final as lengthy when they’re saved at 50 levels.
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