Potatoes

Potatoes

If you want to grow potatoes, one of the easiest ways to do it is in a container. Two pounds of seed potatoes can yield 50 pounds of harvest. It's also a great way to grow a lot of potatoes in a very limited space. Container growing works best with Yellow Finn, Indian Pit, Red Pontiac, or the fingerling types. I have grown Yukon Gold successfully as well. Choose either a 50-gallon trash barrel or an old half barrel (like a wine or whiskey barrel). Just make sure your barrel is at least 2 to 3-feet tall with drainage holes in both the bottom and the side of the container. Clean your container using a mixture of 12 cups water, 1/4 cup lemon juice and 1 cup hydrogen peroxide.

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Growing Potatoes in Barrels
Fill the bottom of the barrel with about 6 inches of loose planting soil and compost. Soil needs to be loose and moist so using a planting soil with peat moss or other soil amendment like coconut husks will keep the soil from becoming too compacted. Between mid-May and mid-June add seed potatoes to the layer of soil. You can either plant the potatoes whole or cut them up into pieces. (Each piece should have a couple of eyes.) Leave about 12-inches of space between each potato. Cover the potatoes with another 6 inches of your soil and compost mix. Do not compact the soil. Water just enough to dampen the dampen. The soil must be kept damp at all times but do not overwater. When plants have about 6 to 8 inches of foliage, add another layer of your soil/compost mix. Cover about one-half to three-quarters of the visible stems and foliage. Repeat this process of plants sprouting, covering the sprouts and moistening the soil until the plants grow to the top of the barrel.

Harvesting Potatoes
Harvest potatoes a week or two after plants flower or when plants start to yellow. This will be about 10 weeks after planting. Carefully dig down with your hands to inspect the top-most layer, potatoes should be well shaped and firm. Discard any green potatoes. Waiting to harvest until tops have died down is good if storing potatoes. Just make sure you harvest them all before they freeze. 

Potato Pests and Diseases

• Aphids may present if potato foliage curls, puckers and turns yellow. They can be found on the underside of of young leaves. Spray vigorously with water to remove aphids.
• Cutworms may be a problem if seedlings or transplants are severed below the soil. Make a trap around each plant by sprinkling cornmeal or bran meal.
• Early Blight causes irregular dark spots on older leaves. As the spots grow they begin to look like a target. To combat blight apply a copper based fungicide every 7-10 days until it's time to harvest.
• Ring Rot causes leaflets, stems and stalks to wilt and turn yellow and die. A yellow mass can be squeezed out of a cut tuber. Ring Rot cannot be cured, so plants need to be destroyed.

Cooking Potatoes

• Potatoes are very versatile. For a variety of recipes click here.
  

Nutrients in Potatoes

• Vitamin c and B6
• Potassium
• Manganese
• Fiber