Planting Potatoes

Master Gardener Tom Mashour shows how to prepare and plant seed potatoes. There is a difference between store bought potatoes to eat and seed potatoes. Store bought potatoes have been cleaned and treated to keep them from growing. Seed potatoes look dirty and are probably growing eyes. Tom shows how to cut up a seed potato. Cutting the potato into pieces with one eye per piece will increase your harvest per whole seed potato. The cuts in the seed potatoes should be left to dry for several days before planting. Plant the potato pieces eyes up two to four inches below the ground. They should come up in about a week. When they are about a foot tall, hill them – push dirt up against the plants – so only about 4 inches of the plant remains above the soil. This layer of dirt will keep the newly growing potatoes in the dark. If some of a potato grows in the light, the potato will turn green and should be thrown out at harvest. When the tops die back, wait about a week and then dig up the potatoes. Spread them out in a cool place and let them dry out and cure for about a week. This will increase how long they will last in storage.

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Related Resources:
Growing Potatoes in Home Gardens
Home and Garden Potatoes