Grow your own Potatoes
Potatoes are one of my favourite vegetables. Mash ‘em, bake ‘em, fry them, Potatoes are versatile in the kitchen, and relatively easy to grow. I am very fond of their flavours and textures, and they are my preferred delivery of complex carbohydrates. I only mention this because my Potato Draw has been talking to me, and maybe yours has too. The stragglers want to get out, they want you to grow your own Potatoes.
Soil Temp
Plant them now and your Potatoes will sit in the earth until the temperatures are correct for them to sprout. Soil temp of around 10C is the start for most Potatoes. This is a good garden indicator if you don’t have a soil thermometer. Volunteers from past crops lay waiting in the garden, popping their leaves through the mulch when the conditions are right.
Varieties
Potatoes, like tomatoes, come in two types;
Determinate (Kipfler, Pink Fir) provide early to mid season crops of smaller potatoes. They do this by producing a single layer of potatoes around the original seed Potato. Good for small spaces and can do well in pots.
Indeterminate (Dutch Cream, Sebago, Nicola etc). grow for longer and can produce Potatoes up the length of the main stem. To take advantage of this, indeterminate Potatoes benefit from mounding with earth or mulch as they grow. Late season crops of large Potatoes.
Companions
Potatoes are reputed to grow well next to Bush Beans, Celery, Coriander, Corn, Marigold, Nasturtiums, Garlic and Onions. They don’t like to be planted next to Asparagus, Carrots, Cucumbers, Melons or Sunflowers. I generally plant potatoes in their own space because harvesting is so disruptive. Also, I find a Potato bed is rarely cleared of all the little spuds, so volunteers pop up everywhere.
Seed Potatoes
Potatoes for planting are easier to come by than you might think. I started growing from what I had in the kitchen. It is around this time of year that my Potato Draw gets it’s grow on, pleading to be planted out. All the energy stored last summer, is now fuelling the growth of roots and more tubers, because the temperature is ready for growth.
Every year I ‘save’ some small-medium sized Potatoes for seed, not the big ones. The medium ones get consumed most readily and store the best. The big ones are something to be proud of and can provide a full meal when baked and filled with accoutrements. Eat the big ones first and plant what didn’t get eaten.
In Ground
I love planting potatoes in my regular garden beds because the endless volunteers are welcome. I always seem to have potatoes somewhere. What I don’t like is harvesting inground potatoes. Inground requires digging, and digging can create damage to the precious haul and the soil. Because of this I tend to ‘store’ my potatoes in the ground and harvest only when I need them.
Planting into the earth takes digging effort and the layer of growing potatoes will also be in the earth, requiring more digging to remove the bounty, so I plant on top. The harder it is to dig to plant, the harder it will be to harvest. So, from now on I plant directly on top of the earth.
On Ground
I plant one whole seed potato on top of the ground, in a 30cm grid. I cover each seed with a shovel of compost, a sprinkle of worm castings and a thick layer of sugar cane mulch. Wait for it to grow out, then cover with a sprinkle of compost and a layer of sugarcane mulch leaving two sets of leaves out top. Repeat three times. Harvest is simple with a hand through loose mulch. I’ve had mixed success with tuber layers above the soil base, so I kept at it.
Above Ground
I have had success in my regular garden beds, but I have been experimenting with alternative no dig harvesting methods. I started stacking old draws. Planting 3 Potatoes and filling each draw with mulch. As they grew, I added more draws and mulch. Unfortunately, I didn’t get much production past the top of the 2nd or 3rddraw, no matter the variation.
On the hunt for more stable resources, I have now put decking offcuts to good use. Building a simple box frame of 90cm x 40cm x 50cm high. The decking is left with gaps between for aeration, and the plant will grow out these gaps making more solar panels (leaves) and more potatoes.
The best part is harvesting time. Rather than digging over the garden and damaging some of the tubers, this system allows me to lift off the frame or knock it over. The potatoes are left floating in the mulch for easy collection.
Each year I alternate between these techniques, dependant on space, time and materials. How do you grow your own Potatoes?
This week
I dropped tools this week to follow the sound of the Striated Pardalote. His song is unmistakable. He visits the same tree every year and starts his relentless breeding calls. To my surprise he had a lady friend to dance for this year. It was special, and then they showed me why they love that big old Brittle Gum. It has many potential nest sites, little holes created by decaying branches long since broken by the wind.
All the Manchurian Pears in the garden have added their blossoms to the subtle arrival of Spring. No wind yet, maybe, maybe it’ll come. Last year the August winds came early and lasted for months. This is why we need to plant early, mid and late season fruit trees.
Because just maybe you’ll get fruit this year, because the blossoms may stay on the tree long enough to get pollinated and set fruit. In our Unpredictable Highland Climate, we need to give it a go and plan for the possibilities to get the best success in every season.
Stay Awesome
The Gordon Gnohm