Potatoes are the third mostly grown crop in the world, and a major staple of several ethnic diets. Growing potatoes is an easy and simple process with these steps.
Obtain seeds. Unlike some plants, potatoes can be seeded in two different ways.
Use seed potatoes. You can purchase a seed potato through the mail or at your local garden shop, or you can use leftover potatoes you purchased from the supermarket. (These however, will not be certified as disease free- which can create a perpetual problem if you plan to raise potatoes in the same place again, as many diseases can carry over year by year in the soil.)
With a sharp, non-serrated knife, slice the potatoes roughly into quarters, making sure each piece has no more than three "eyes" (the small pits or indents on the surface). Place in the sun and let it sit for a day or two, or until you begin to notice the eyes growing sprouts.
DO NOT SOAK, as some might suggest! Potatoes have no tough shell to need softened by soaking as some seeds do and they have all the moisture they need for sprouting in the flesh of the potato itself. Soaking creates more risk of rotting than anything it might accomplish! You want the cut sides to "heal"- form a dry "skin" over the area to discourage rotting.
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Use potato fruit. Some potato varieties will grow small, highly-toxic green fruits above the ground that each contain up to 300 "true" potato seeds. Chop the fruit finely and put the pieces in a dish of water; after about a day, the seeds will separate and sink to the bottom.
Prepare the soil. You can plant your potatoes in a patch of land, or you can put them in a planter on your patio - large pots, a stack of tires and old chimney pots all work well. The most important thing is making sure your soil is as weed-free as possible. Additionally, you might want to till some compost or manure into the soil to make it nutrient-rich.
Plant the potatoes. Time your planting so that it falls a week or two before the last frost of the season for your area, which you can figure out here. The colder nights will kill potential pests, and your potatoes will need more sunshine as the days get longer. For example, in coastal Virginia, potatoes planted on St. Patrick's day in March are harvested in July.
Put your seed potatoes or potato fruit seeds about an inch into the soil, then build a small mound of dirt over them. Potatoes should be far enough apart that, if they grew to a normal size, they wouldn't run into each other underground. As your stems grow, add to your mound of soil at the base-if your potatoes are exposed to sunlight while growing, they'll turn green and slightly toxic.
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4Care for the plant. Nurturing your potato as it grows will ensure a healthy, edible product come harvest.
Watering your potatoes on a regular schedule is vital to uniform growth. Once a week should be fine during summertime, as long as it is a thorough watering, but do it more often if necessary. If the leaves of the plant look like they're wilting, then your potatoes need more water. Be careful not to over water, though, or you'll end up with black potatoes.
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Pull any weeds around your potato plant.
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If you notice holes or yellowing in your potato plant's leaves, you might have pests. If you don't want to use a pesticide on your potatoes, ask the employees at your local garden shop for tips on how to get rid of pests naturally.
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5Harvest your potatoes. When it is near the first frost, harvest and eat. You can harvest potatoes in stages - "young" or "early" potatoes should be ready about 7-8 weeks after planting (when the flowers first appear). Take a few without pulling up the stems, and leave others to continue growing into full-sized potatoes. You will know when your potatoes are ready to harvest when the vine leaves turn yellow and wither.