The potato is the most popular crop you can grow in your garden. The taste of potatoes grown at home is superior to store-bought ones. They’re also easy to grow and are enjoyable to harvest — much like searching for treasure!
Organic potatoes in various dimensions and colors, close-ups focused on the harvest of potatoes.
Shutterstock/Olga Bondas
If you plant your potatoes at home, you’ll be able to explore a variety of sizes, colors, and varieties not readily accessible at supermarkets.
Another reason you can cultivate your potatoes? Variety. The potato is grown and consumed globally, with over five thousand varieties. The most upscale gourmet store can only offer a few options. However, it is possible to cultivate anything you find. The potato comes in a variety of colors. They can be white, blue, yellow, pink, purple, or red.
The Origin of the Potato
Though potatoes (Solanum tuberosum) are frequently referred to as “Irish” potatoes to differentiate the sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) or yams (Dioscorea spp. ) and are different plants, these tasty tubers originate from the Andean highlands of South America, not in Ireland (or in Idaho or Idaho, in fact). Potatoes belong to the Solanaceae or Nightshade plant family, which includes tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants.
Spanish conquistadors introduced them into Europe around the beginning of the 1500s. They then introduced them in Britain and Ireland. Within a short time, they crossed the Atlantic again to reach North America in the early 1800s. Even though potatoes are highly sought-after in the present — estimates suggest that Americans have one serving a day; however, potatoes were not a popular choice to many people at first when they were transported into Europe.
Harvesting potatoes
Once the flowers begin to appear and produce new potatoes, they can be taken in. The harvest can begin up to 7 to 8 weeks after the plant’s seeds have been planted when the weather is pleasant and sunny. It could be as early as sixty days (or later) in cooler springs.
Explore a little bit of your soil, raised bed, or a potato grow bag and see how it’s developing. After 60 days, the first potatoes are usually present. They’ll be small and fragile. Try a couple to see how they work! There are a handful of fresh potatoes at the bottom of every plant, and allow the remainder to mature into large-sized potatoes.
How Long Does It Take for Potatoes to Sprout?
Prior to the potatoes’ growth, the plants must sprout first. The exact time for sprouting is contingent upon several variables, such as the temperature of your soil, the moisture level, and the soil’s overall quality.
Typically, potatoes require around three to four weeks to grow, regardless of which location you choose to plant the seeds. So long as the soil temperatures are between 60 and 65 degrees F, you will sprout rapidly.
How Long Do Potatoes Take to Grow?
The time it takes for potatoes to grow is between 90-120 days to develop, which depends on the variety of potatoes you have and the growing climate. It also depends on the time you harvest them and your plans for your potato crop.
The new potatoes are perfect for dinner, and gardeners can pick new potatoes in about 10 weeks following the planting. Take a handful of small potatoes and make a saute with green beans and bacon Yum! Some refer to them as baby potatoes. You are likely to find them at the grocery store.
If you’re looking for large-sized potatoes to store, it could take between 90 and 120 days. However, other gardeners suggest it could be 75-130 days.
When you harvest, your potatoes depend on many variables, including temperatures. Plants that grow potatoes thrive between 70 and 66 degrees Fahrenheit. If the mature potatoes are exposed to temperatures that exceed 80°F, they turn discolored, or the plant becomes woody. It is best to pick prior to the heat sets, either before or when the hot temperatures have gone away for the harvest of fall.
We’ll look at different kinds of potatoes you could plant in your yard and their times to reach maturity.
How Fast Do Potatoes Grow?
They grow from 75 to 130 days, which is quite an expansive interval. There is a way to allow potato growth to accelerate by allowing the seeds to sprout shoots before planting. This procedure is referred to as chat which helps the potatoes develop faster.
If you want to make chits of the potatoes you seed, place them in a bright, well-lit area for a few weeks. The seeds will start to grow shoots in time. Then, look out for two shoots to grow. Please remove any other shoots before planting, and ensure that the shoots point toward the sky when planted!
How Many Potatoes Do You Get Per Plant?
I had a desire to cultivate many potatoes this year. I needed to determine the number of potatoes a plant grows.
The amount of potatoes that a plant produces is dependent on a variety of factors, including the variety of potatoes that you cultivate and the environment in which you cultivate them if the conditions are favorable that you will get between 5-10 potatoes from each plant.
Hilling potatoes can increase the amount of potatoes in a plant. It is done by putting dirt at the base of your plants to provide them with more support and expand their plants. Potatoes grow under the soil near the ground, meaning that providing space for them to develop will increase the harvest you can expect to collect.
Do Potatoes Need Full Sunlight?
The potatoes I planted were at the wrong spot this time because I didn’t consider the shade cast by my mulberry trees. They still did well but took longer than I had anticipated to develop.
However, they can grow in various environments, including shady ones. However, if you’d like the best conditions, sunlight in full is the best choice. They love sunlight and thrive in places with at least 6 hours of sun each day.
Therefore, when planning for your garden and choosing which area to plant your potatoes, choose a location that gets up to six hours of sunshine every day. There is a possibility to plant them elsewhere. However, these are the areas where your potatoes can thrive the most.
What is the Best Month to Plant Potatoes?
As with all species of plants, potatoes also can benefit from a perfect planting time that allows them to expand and grow. So, you need to know the ideal time for planting potatoes.
When to plant your potatoes depends on what kind you’d like to grow. The early-season potatoes are best when they are planted early in the spring. You’ll be able to harvest them in a short time. Mid-season potatoes are best planted in the middle of spring, While late varieties do better when planted in spring and picked in autumn before winter.
The general rule is that potatoes are considered a cool-weather vegetable and thrive best during the springtime.
Can You Eat Potatoes Right After Harvest?
Yes! There is a way to get outside, pick potatoes, and have them to eat for dinner later that night.
But, they are usually stored in the winter season. If you wish to preserve the potatoes you harvest for storage, you must dry them before putting them into storage containers.
Sometimes I run outside to collect some potatoes for dinner the next night. Make sure to scrub off all dirt!