Planting Potatoes

 

Now you are really excited about this garden you’ve started and young potato plants come to mind.  You first need to start with potatoes that have eyes in them.  You need to cut up the potato plants and make sure each section has an eye in it.  If there is any bad spots in the potatoes throw it away, do not plant bad seed.

Dig your furrows with a hoe or shovel and plant your potato plants in the ground, plant about 3 inches deep and 12 inches apart.

Potatoes do well planted with cabbage, corn, beans and horseradish (which should be planted at the corners of a potato patch).  They also do well with marigold and eggplant (which is a lure for the Colorado potato beetle.

Potatoes do not do well planted near pumpkin, tomatoes (same bug attraction) raspberry squash and cucumber.  Sunflowers stunts potatoes growth and the presence of these plants lower the potatoes resistance to blight.

If you plant beans with potatoes they help protect against Colorado potato beetle and the potatoes protect the beans against the Mexican bean beetle.

Nightshade weed attracts potato bugs and they eat the weed and die.  Nightshade is a member of the same family as potatoes and it has poisonous leaves, white flowers and black berries.

Cabbages do well planted between potatoes after the first hilling.  If you see lamb’s quarters in the potato patch it is an indication that the crop should be moved to a new location.

The reason to plant eggplant with potatoes is the Colorado beetle is attracted to eggplant rather than the potatoes as they prefer eggplant (unlike my husband who dislikes eggplant and I love eggplant.)

Don’t grow potatoes near apple trees as it can cause the potatoes to be more susceptible to phytophthora light.

When you harvest your potatoes don’t store with apples as ripening apples give off small amounts of ethylene gas which can give the potatoes an off flavor and they may not keep as well.  The apples also can lose flavor.

Good luck with your potatoes!