Planting potatoes is one of the simplest vegetable garden activities. It’s fairly easy to do it once you get the hang of it, and there are really only a few basic steps when it comes to preparing to harvest your crop. The one most important step is to ensure that your plant potatoes are properly prepared before you plant them. In this article we’ll discuss the proper care instructions for planting potatoes in advance.
When you plant potatoes, you want to be sure that you spread the seed evenly on the soil surface before you start harvesting. That means if you have two row widths, then you should plant two rows of potatoes and then fill in the third with dirt or some topsoil. After the third planting, just press down on the earth firmly and compact the soil between each growing row. This will help keep your potatoes nice and compact and prevents moisture from getting between the rows. You want to be sure that your first row of potatoes get planted right under the tree above where you’re planning to plant the second row.
When you plant potatoes, make sure that they are at least six to eight inches deep. You can then easily pluck them as necessary to harvest the sweet, delicious, succulent potatoes at the end of the day. You also want to be sure that your planting area has plenty of drainage, since this can help keep your potatoes healthy and disease free. If you don’t have good drainage, it can make watering difficult, so plan on frequent visits to the garden to water your plants.
Once you have your potatoes planted, you’ll need to care for them properly. Since potatoes are very water dependent, you’ll want to try to grow your potatoes in areas that receive a lot of sunlight, but not too much. Sunlight exposure can dry out your soil, which is the first stage of potato diseases. So try to avoid growing potatoes in areas that receive less than 70 percent sun exposure during the day.
While your first batch of potatoes are growing, you’ll need to do pruning to remove any dead branches or damaged areas. Then you’ll need to fertilize your new potatoes regularly to give them the best possible start in life. Keep in mind that you should never over-fertilize your potatoes. This can actually do more harm than good, resulting in higher costs for replacing the fertilized soil when the potatoes are fully grown.
Finally, after your potatoes begin to sprout and then produce, you’ll need to pick them often to help remove the excess moisture and weeds that can build up around the soil. And you’ll need to check your potatoes regularly to make sure that they are growing properly. Remember – potatoes are extremely fragile little plants. While they are relatively easy plants to care for, you’ll definitely need to give them extra care during their initial growing period.