POTATOES

Solanum tuberosum

 

A new potato plant growing from a tuber is about to produce new tubers at the ends of the thick white stems.

These young plantings are ready for hilling by placing soil around the plants.

Potatoes after hilling. This process can be repeated several times.

Close up of the potato flower which is similar to a tomato flower.

A final layer of mulch has been applied around the potato crop.

Potato cuttings obtained from growing plant tips.

Potato cuttings being established in a pot.

These maturing potatoes are now ready to eat, but need to be left in the soil for several more weeks if the potatoes are to be stored after harvest.

The potato on the left has been correctly stored and is safe to eat. The potato on the right has green skin and should not be eaten. It can be used for planting.

Highly productive and generally easy to grow, the potato is a popular crop for the keen gardener.

Potatoes In My Hobby Farm

An endless array of colours, sizes and shapes are found throughout the world, and since its arrival from South America in the sixteenth century, the potato has become a very important food crop.

My first crop of potatoes was planted in a relatively warm part of the farm, the tubers were set in late September and apart from some frost damage during the first month's growth they responded well throughout summer to produce a heavy crop. I extended the growing season in this trial plot by removing the first lot of flower heads and hilled around the plants with soil at first, then using a thick layer of mulch.

Potato Varieties

There appears to be an endless range of potato varieties, with one or two favourites in most regions, and in my case I chose the all purpose variety Sebago. This white skinned variety has been very popular in Australia, but using other varieties would allow for differences in climate, soils and the diseases encountered.

Planting Potatoes

Good drainage for all potato varieties in required and a complete slow acting fertilizer should be incorporated in the soil before planting. Sprouted seed potatoes are usually covered with soil at the bottom of trenches. The trenches can then be filled as the plants grow and further hilled as required. Large seed potatoes can be cut into sections containing an eye or future sprout. These sections need to be left to dry before planting in order to avoid rotting of the planted tubers. Certified seed potatoes are recommended especially in new garden plots as diseases can be avoided. Saving some of the first year's crop for future planting should not cause a great deal of disease build-up, select only clean and well formed seed potatoes.

Growing Potatoes

Potatoes are also easy to grow from cuttings, but the crop produced from a cutting is lower than from a tuber. In areas where the summer is relatively long or if large numbers of plants are required (as in the case of potato breeding) cuttings can be used as a way to speed up the process.

Good spacing of seed potatoes, 30 to 40 cm apart within rows and 50 to 70 cm between rows will allow for good air flow around the plants and for ease of weeding, harvesting and pest control if needed. Plants can be harvested for immediate use several weeks after flowering, but the plant should die back before harvesting potatoes that are to be stored for later use.

Potato And Tomato Are Close Relatives

Being a close relative of the tomato it is possible to graft a tomato cutting onto a growing potato stem, producing a combined potato/tomato plant as a novelty. This is not recommended for gardening however, as tomatoes and potatoes also share many diseases in common and you are likely to have a poor crop of both potatoes and tomatoes.

Keeping Kids Entertained

Potatoes are also easy to grow in "no-dig" gardens where various materials such as newspapers, straw and loose compost make up the growing site. In this case clean and easy to harvest crops can be produced and the task of harvesting is certain to keep kids entertained. Be aware of green potatoes that have been exposed to sunlight -these should not be eaten due to the presence of poisons in the skin and flesh of the tuber.