These are some helpful tips on how to grow potatoes. You can try growing potatoes with the steps provided and end up with a bountiful harvest. Step 1: Purchase potato seeds from a nursery. Started potato plants are hardly ever sold in nurseries, if there are any available. Step 2: Select the appropriate location for your garden. It has to be abundant in sunlight, with light and well-drained soil that is high in phosphorus and potassium. It must be low in nitrogen in order to prevent verdant foliage from growing. If the soil is too heavy, you can grow your potatoes in some raised beds. Step 3: Cultivate and burrow the soil to a depth of at least 12 inches. Step 4: Take away rocks and other fragments from the ground. They could impede the tubers as they grow. Step 5: Apply plenty of compost to guarantee the right quality of the soil, but do not add manure. Manures could cause some kind of disease called scab. Step 6: If you are in USDA zone 6 or colder, plant potatoes 2 – 4 weeks before the last expected frost. Also consider the soil temperature at least 40 degrees Fahrenheit. In some areas like zone 7 and 8, anytime from early February to March is the best planting season for potatoes that can mature before the hot summer days. Step 7: Plant the whole seed potatoes of about 2-inch diameter and of “B” size. For larger ones, you need to cut them into pieces with 2 – 3 eyes each. Step 8: For the lowly preserve potato spot, use the deep-planting method. You can do this by simply planting the seed pieces, cut side down and with a distance of 12 inches and depth of 7-8 inches. The stems will work their way to the outside, eventually forming spuds on underground stems (called stolons). Step 9: For easiest harvesting, utilize the mulching method. Burrow a shallow channel and arrange the pieces, cut side down, a 12 inches distance and cover them with 4 inches of soil. Mound a thick blanket or mulch around the stems when the plants are 6- 8 inches tall, leaving the foliage uncovered. Continue mulching as they grow. The potatoes will develop in the interior layer of mulch. Step 10: After 7 – 8 weeks, harvest the small, early potatoes. After 2 weeks, harvest the main crop.
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