Grow Spectacular Spuds
(Page 2 of 4)
January/February 2009
Janet Wallace
? Storing. Generally, the long-season varieties are the best keepers.
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Commercial seed potatoes are often used for seed stock; these are certified disease free. A few seed companies, such as Wood Prairie Farm, in Maine, sell double-certified seed potatoes – certified organic and certified seed.
Once you start growing potatoes, you can set some aside to plant the following year. However, over the years the quality of your seed stock may deteriorate due to the build-up of diseases, particularly scab.
Seed savers propagate many heirloom varieties. For example, members of the Seed Savers Exchange grow about 600 potato varieties, such as Black Russian, Blue Congo, Candy Cane, Inca Gold, Rambling Rose and White Mississippi.
Don’t use supermarket potatoes for planting. These are often treated with chemicals to suppress sprouting.
Cheating through chitting
Small potatoes (e.g. egg-sized) can be planted whole. Cut larger potatoes into chunks the size of a golf ball, each containing two or three eyes. Let these sit out, cut sides exposed, for a day to allow the surfaces to harden.
Greensprouting, or “chitting,” can be used to get an early start. Put the cut seed potatoes in a light, airy place with a temperature of 50 degrees for a week. Plant when the sprouts are 1 inch long.
You might find your seed potatoes sprout in the root cellar before planting time. Just break the sprouts off until you’re ready to plant. Some say that the sprouts can be broken off five times without affecting the plant.
Get growing
Potatoes can be planted early in the spring. They can handle light frosts and are often planted two to three weeks before the last spring frost is expected. If a hard frost is predicted, cover with a floating row cover or soil. (For more on floating row covers, see Early Season Secrets)
Some gardeners plant potatoes when flowers appear on the Shadbush (also known as Serviceberry and Juneberry), Saskatoon, Sugarplum or wild plum. Others plant when the first dandelions flower. An old saying advises that storage potatoes should be planted in the dark of the moon, and new potatoes in waxing moon. In Maritime Canada, many organic gardeners don’t plant the bulk of their potato crop until June, often not until after solstice; this way, the potatoes will avoid the peak numbers of Colorado potato beetles.
Storage potatoes can be planted much later; adjust the date according to the variety and the first killing fall frost in the area. Ideally, storage potatoes are harvested when air temperatures are cool.