Growing Potatoes Grow PotatoesinYour in Your Home Garden

HomeGarden!

KellyA.ZarkaandDavidS.DouchesPh.D. PotatoBreedingandGeneticsProgramMichiganStateUniversity

Whygrowpotatoesinyourhomegarden?
*Growingpotatoesproducesabountifulharvest.dependingonwhichvarietyyourchoose,60lbsinjust10 sqftofgardenspace! *Potatoescomeinalldifferentshapes,sizesandcolorsincludingpurple,redandyellowpotatoes! *Theyevenmakeagreatgardenprojectforyourchildrenorgrandchildren.

Arepotatoesnutritious?
*Yespotatoesarenutritious!TheyareagreatsourceofvitaminC,potassium,fiberandprotein,allwithno fat!Awholepotatohasonly100calories. *Itsallinhowyoupreparethem.Potatoesareversatileandcanbemadeinavarietyofhealthyways. Whetherbaked,boiled,roastedorfriedtheyareadeliciousadditiontoanymeal.

Shouldyoueattheskin?
*Yes!Theskinofthepotatocontainsthemajorityofthepotato'sfiber,andmanyofthenutrientsare locatedclosetotheskin.Washthepotatothoroughly,cutawaygreendiscolorationand/orsprouts,and enjoyyourpotatowiththeskinon!

WhydontIseepotatoseedpacketsinthestore?
ThepotatoisamemberoftheSolanaceae(nightshade)family,whichincludestomato,pepper,eggplant, petuniaandtobacco.Theenlarged,edible,undergroundstorageportionofthepotatoplantiscalleda tuber.Dormantbuds(eyes)developonthetuber.Manyvarietiesdevelopfruitsandflowers,butthese partsarenotedible.Thefruitslooklikesmallgreentomatoes andcontainthetrueseedofthepotatoes;howevertheseeds aregeneticallydifferentfromtheparent.Plantsgrownfromthis seedwillnotnecessarilyresembletheoriginalvariety. Commercialpotatoproductionandhomegardenersusetuber piecescontainingatleastonedormantbud(eye)thatwillsprout andformapotatoplant.Thesetuberpiecesaresometimes referredtoaspotatoseed orseedpieces.

Letsstartplanting!
Aneasystepbystepguidetoplantingpotatoescanbefound onthebacksideofthispamphlet.However,amoredetailed guidecanbefoundatthiswebsite: http://migarden.msu.edu/uploads/files/8/growingPotatoes.pdf

Childrenlovehelpinginthegardenand gettingdirtyisanaddedbonus.

PlantingandHarvestingofPotatoesinYourGarden
Whatyouneed:
*SeedPotatoesthatarecertifieddiseasefree.Youcanorderthemfromanonlinenurseryorbuythem atalocalnursery.Dontusepotatoesfromthegrocerystore,theyarenotcertifiedandmayhavebeen treatedtopreventsprouting. *Potatoesgrowonawiderangeofsoils,butarebestsuitedtoa sandyloamorasoilthatiswelldrained. *Toavoidacommonscabdiseaseinpotatoes,itisnotrecommendedtoaddmanuretothesoil. Fertilizerandcompostareadvised.

Howtoplantpotatoes:
Seedpotatoescanbeplantedwholeiftheyaresmall.Largeseed tuberscanbecutintoblockshaped,2to2 1/2ounceseedpieces.Theseedpiecesshouldhaveatleastoneeye.Letcutseed airoutforadayortwo sothecutareasdryslightlybeforeplanting. 1.Plantpotatoesinfullsun. 2.Plantpotatoesinrowsthatare3036 apart. 3.Theseedpotatoesareplanted4 underthesoil. 4.Plantthepotatoes9 12 apartfromeachother. 5.Whentheplantsare812 talltheyshouldbehilled toprotect thetubersfrombeingexposedtothesun.Moundthesoilabout6 to coverthebaseoftheplant.Whenthetubersareexposedtosun, the potatoesturngreenandshouldnotbeeaten. 6.Ingeneral,1inchofwaterperweek,fromrainfallorirrigation,is neededonwelldrainedsoil.

Whentoplantpotatoes:
*Plantseedpiecesinspringwhenthesoiltemp.is45Forabove.

Whentoharvestpotatoes:

Plantseedpieces4inchesdeepandspace 9to12inchesapart.

*Timeofmaturityvariesforeachvariety.Indicatorsoftubermaturityincludecompletevinedeath,skin set (tuberskindoesnotpeelfromthefleshwhenpressureisapplied)anddesiredtubersize. *Harvestpotatoesbeforeaseverefrost.Useaspadeorfork toloosenthesoilandgentlyliftthetubers outofthesoil.(Childrenlovesearchingforthepotatoes!) *Topreventgreeningandsunburndamage,donotallowtuberstobeexposedtolightafterharvesting.

Storageofpotatoes:
*Storeonlythehealthypotatoesthatarereasonablyfreefromsoil. *Storeinapaperormeshbaginadark,coolplace(notlowerthan40F).
MichiganStateUniversityandtheMSUPotatoBreedingandGeneticsProgram Visitusathttps://www.msu.edu/~douchesd/