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Soil prep for potatoes: Loose, well-drained sandy-loam, loam, silt loan preferably 2 to 3 feet deep. Slightly acidic with plenty of potash; soil pH 5.0-6.5. Tubers can become deformed in heavy (clay) or poorly drained soil.
You can plant potatoes in shallow trenches. Dig trench 6 inches wide, 4 to 8 inches deep, space trenches 30 inches apart. Place seed potates 9 to 12 inches part at the bottom of the trench and place 2 inches of soil atop the trench. When the plants are 12 inches tall , draw up soil around them so that just a few inches of the plant remain visible. Continue this process until the trench is filled--the tubers will be well protected from sunlight or "greening." When plants begin to bloom and fade you can begin digging for tubers.
Red potatoes:
We've done the recommended trenches, etc. Growth has been HUGE! We've added soil on top of soil on top of soil and the tops keep rising. Do we stop adding soil now or keep going?
In the photo, the soil is about even. But when we started the potatoes, the trenches were significantly lower than that to the left of the potatoes. Now it's had several applications of soil and is a few inches higher than that to the left. We have several inches left in the container to add soil, but wondering if it's a fruitless effort.
Gina this is my first year growing potatoes but I had a neighbor that grew them years ago. He did his in long rows but he mounded the dirt till Sept. or later. This is how I decided to try and grow mine,I had these plastic barrels that we used to store plumbing fittings so we had holes drilled in the bottom.The first one I used the whole barrel then decided I could cut the lower third off and use it like a big pot.Thus I have carrots growing in the short white barrel pieces and potatoes growing in the others ( they actually are basically the sides with both ends removed) I have 8-12 inches of straw and soil over them now with maybe room for another 12 to 18 inches to add. Best I can understand the potatoes will grow as long as you continue to mound dirt over them.
Thank you, fremar!
I have about 4 inches left to fill and the plants themselves are so tall already. So that's about 2 to 2.5 foot of soil in the container and maybe 8-10 red potatoes we planted. My hubs and I keep going rounds on how potatoes grow. And I have to keep myself from digging one up just to see how it's going down there :)
I like your barrels. I did read sometimes containers will get to a cooking temp and potatoes don't do well then. White seems like a great choice for a barrel/container color.
I grow potatoes in a double row - kind of zigzag fashion. Our soil is rich in clay, so I plant the potato practically right on top of the worked ground, and just toss enough soil over it to keep it in place - usually part of the potato bit with the eye in it is still visible. I lay grass clippings between the rows until they dry, then I rake them right under the top leaves of the potatoes, tossing just a bit of soil on that to keep it in place. I do this several times during the summer, building a mound about 8" deep. Harvest is then fairly easy, as you are just getting the potatoes out of the grass straw.
