Crop Rotation Group
Solanaceae (Potato and tomato family)
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Soil
Fertile, well drained soil that has not been amended with manure for at least 6 months.
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Position
Full sun.
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Frost tolerant
No.
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Feeding
Not usually required if plants are deeply mulched with straw, grass clippings, rotted leaves, or another organic mulch.
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Companions
-
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Spacing
Single Plants: 1' 5" (45cm) each way (minimum)
Rows: 1' 1" (35cm) with 2' 5" (75cm) row gap (minimum)
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Sow and Plant
Grow from sprouting potatoes or seed potatoes, cut into chunks so that each piece has 2 growing "eyes," or sprouts. Let the cut pieces dry for a day before planting 3 inches deep.
Our Garden Planning Tool can produce a personalized calendar of when to sow, plant and harvest for your area.
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Notes
Try different types with red, tan or purple skins, but avoid big baking potatoes, which require a long, cool season. Keep potatoes mulched to protect shallow tubers from sun, which turns them green and bitter.
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Harvesting
When the plants begin to bloom, feel under the mulch for little new potatoes. Harvest often as the plants begin to die back. Gather potatoes on a cloudy day, and cover them to protect them from exposure to light.
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Troubleshooting
Yellow-and-black Colorado potato beetles lay eggs on leaf undersides, which hatch into fat red leaf- and flower-eating larvae. Use row covers to exclude them or hand pick off.
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