Potato Planting Time

This is not the generally accepted time of the year to plant potatoes.  Here, mid May is generally accepted as appropriate potato planting time.  Anyone that has grown potatoes has experienced last year's missed spuds growing as weeds in the following year's crop.  It just seemed obvious to me that fall planting was possible.  Others have tried this without success.  My reasoning was that those selected for seed should remain in the soil.  I usually have the dishpan filled with soil ready for the seed as soon as it is found.  That is not being done here as I was confused when these were dug.  They have been out of the ground little more than two hours but there is nothing that can be done about that now.  So, I plant, record and hope.

Summer squash grew in this bed earlier this year.  Leaf mulch was used to control weed growth and the ground remained mostly free of unwanted plants.  Two rows containing twelve seed potatoes each were planted in the 12 ft. X 5 ft. planting area.  Red Pontiac's finished off this planting.  As a mid season red potato, they are impressive.  A search was required to find the size preferred for planting.  Most were too large to plant without cutting.

The coarse leaf mulch that spent the summer under the squash was forced through a wire screen sieve with a 1 in. X 1 in. hole size.  This smaller size will help keep the mulch in place over the winter with no plant growth above it.  Also, the leaves will largely rot away by spring.

We have planted six each of the four varieties Red Pontiac, Rio Grande, Genessee and Purple Viking. That will give us a red skinned white flesh potato, a russet of impressive size, a tan skinned white potato and a psychedelic patterned red and purple skinned white potato.  Only the Purple Viking is in its third year here.  It tends to throw lunkers so finding suitably sized seed is difficult.  This variety may well be in its last year with us.  We are reluctant to keep planting our own seed thereby risking blight that caused the Irish Potato Famine.

Chitted Potatoes

My dictionary does not list the word chitting as anything let alone a process for pre-sprouting seed potatoes.  The old Ronninger catalog used the word and so will I.  These potatoes were delivered here in mid May as ordered.  Their condition was excellent upon arrival here with no growth showing at the eyes.  Old inverted plastic nursery trays were placed about the living room and the hallway where indirect sunlight could find the potatoes.  Potatoes were carefully placed on the trays with potential growth spots pointed upward.  A combination of warm air and generous light begins the growing cycle for potatoes.

Purple Viking has long been a favored variety here.  Their skins are colored pink and purple in a swirling spotted pattern that brings back images from the 1970's.  Each potato is uniquely marked and digging them is like a treasure hunt.  Clear white colored flesh is tasty so this spud is an all around winner.

My history with cutting seed potatoes has been dismal.  Placed in soil that remains cold encourages rot.  My carefully cut potatoes frequently never grow.  Allowing the cut pieces a week to skin over before planting did not improve my record.  My solution was to order single drops, potatoes sized so that they can be planted whole.  The Potato Garden delivery exceeded expectations.  Egg sized potatoes were delivered and nearly all have produced sprouts.

Canela is your basic white potato.  Yields are good, storage is long and they taste like potatoes.

Local wisdom says that when the dandelions bloom it is time to plant your potatoes.  Frost and dandelion flowers occur at the same time so we have been trying for a later planting time.  When I lived in town and commuted here, I drove past the trailer tenanted by a farm's hired hand.  Outside of his trailer, he grew chickens and potatoes in separate locations.   In my opinion he always planted potatoes late but his plants were always excellent looking.  Finally his method has registered here and we are now planting potatoes in June.  Soil temperatures are warm and the danger of frost has passed.

Red Gold is another favored variety.  Yellow flesh under a pink skin combine to produce an interesting appearance at harvest.  Their overall color is orange and it is anything but subtle.

Our other unusual practice is the use of molasses as a soil amendment.  Three quarters of a cup of molasses is mixed with four gallons of water.  Allowed to brew overnight, the mixture is sprinkled on the surface of the soil after planting.  A second application will follow first hilling.   In theory, beneficial soil organisms multiply in response to the presence of molasses.

At this moment, seventy-two hills of potatoes are in the ground.  We have enough open garden space for twenty-four more and they will be planted tomorrow.  If this summer features regular rainfall, we could have an abundant harvest.  We got rain today after a dry spell so we are off to a great start!