Harvesting potatoes (Solanum tuberosum) feels just like digging up treasure, and also you’ll be able to increase your haul by supplying moist, weed-free dirt and by expanding high-yielding varieties. Yearly, cool-season vegetables, potatoes grow best in full sunlight sites and acidic, fertile, well-draining sandy dirt. Potatoes don’t grow well in deep dirt, and are vulnerable to fungal, bacterial and viral diseases. One plant produces 2 to 4 pounds of potatoes. In some regions of the U.S., potatoes have been dangerous. Tubers exposed to sunlight turn green and become somewhat poisonous.
Providing Moist Soil
Potatoes are shallow-rooted plants that benefit from light watering a couple of times every week, and soil moisture has a major effect on potato yields. Too little or too much water decreases yields and also encourages diseases. The quantity of water potato plants require depends on the soil texture and humidity levels. To assess if your potatoes require watering, have a handful of soil and squeeze it into a ball, then try to form a ribbon of dirt with your hands and thumb. Potatoes growing in coarse dirt need 1/2 inch of water when the ball only holds together when formed. In medium-textured soils potatoes require 1 inch of water when the soil forms a weak ball. Plants in fine-textured soil need 1 1/2 inch of water when the ball is firm and also the soil forms a decoration.
Weeding Potatoes
Weeds compete with potatoes to get water, nutrients and light, and reduce potato yields whenever they are not controlled. Eliminate all weeds and weed roots before planting potatoes and weed again as potato sprouts seem. As soon as you find the initial potato sprout, pull up all the weeds around the potato bed. When the potatoes have been growing strongly, the vines form a canopy that shades out most weeds. “White Rose,” “Ute” russets, “Chieftain,” “Red LaSoda” and other competitive varieties are effective at shading out weeds. Grow potatoes on a new site annually to help lessen competition from weeds.
Growing High-Yielding Varieties
Potatoes vary widely in their texture, flavor, form and yield per plant. You will find more than 4,000 varieties of creamy potatoes and many are commercially available to home gardeners. High-yielding potatoes include “White Rose,” “Kennebec,” “LaChipper,” “Red LaSoda” and “Russet Norkotah.” “Chieftain” creates well in heavy, clay soils. Buy only certified seed potatoes, which are disease-free. Grocery store potatoes are often infected with potato viruses, and they are treated with a chemical to help block the tubers from sprouting. Potato viruses reduce yields.
Protecting Potatoes In Pests and Diseases
For the healthiest plants and highest yields, protect your potatoes from insects and diseases. Growing potatoes in a new site annually helps prevent pest infestations and diseases. Space potato rows 2 1/2 to 3 feet apart to give decent air circulation and reduce the spread of diseases, and also spread drifting material row cover to protect the plants from insects. Place the cover over potato rows in spring prior to the bananas look, and weigh down the edges with stones so the cloth is in close contact with the dirt. Water potatoes at the base of the crops and avoid wetting the leaves, that promotes leaf diseases.