Eisley Nursery

GETTIN’ DIRTY with the Garden Goddesses…

March comes in like a lion and out like a lamb, or so the old saying goes. But when we think of March we think of St. Patrick’s Days and shamrocks and potatoes – Yes! March is potato planting time. If you haven’t ever eaten garden grown potatoes, you will be having a real treat the first time you taste yours straight from the garden – they are sweeter and moister and more flavorful that store-bought, just like every other vegetable or fruit you get straight from the garden.
It’s best to choose potatoes that are certified seed potatoes, or to save healthy potatoes from your garden for replanting. Grocery store potatoes have often been treated to retard sprouting and therefore will not be vigorous, as well as having no guarantee of being disease free. Potatoes from the farmer’s market or an organic supplier may not have been treated to retard sprouting, but they are also not certified as disease free, so you could inadvertently bring problems into your garden.
Potatoes are planted in this area in the early spring, when the soil temperature is between 55-70°F. If you plant too early, the tubers may rot in cold, wet soil, or the tops may get damaged by frost, reducing the vigor and production of the plant. They prefer an acid soil (pH of 5.5-6.5) that is good draining, rich and fertile, so in Auburn that means add well-aged organic matter. Don’t use fresh manures, and use gypsum instead of lime to provide calcium. Foliar feed during the growing season with fish emulsion or kelp works well, but quit feeding once the plants begin blooming. Occasional thorough watering may be necessary, but let the soil dry out between watering, and keep the weeds under control.
You can begin harvesting “new” potatoes when you see the plants beginning to bloom by carefully hand digging out the baby tubers. Harvest the big guys after the foliage dies down – if it refuses to die, cut the vine off, wait a couple weeks, and carefully dig out your bounty.
Be sure to get our handout with more specifics regarding planting, cutting and drying your seed pieces and “hilling up” your plants. Potatoes are a fun and easy crop to try. If you’re Irish, make it a tradition to plant on St. Paddy’s Day. And if you really love your potatoes, you can save some from your spring planting, and plant a fall crop in August, just when you’re pulling up those worn out zucchini plants!