GROWING & STORING YOUR SEED POTATOES

GROWING & STORING YOUR SEED POTATOES

Please open all bags upon arrival and inspect the tubers. If you are unable to plant them immediately, please store the seed potatoes in a cool, dark place. Humidity is okay. Avoid drying conditions.

Your potatoes may be sprouted when they arrive. Please handle them carefully when cutting and planting, leaving the sprouts on.

All tubers the size of a hen's egg (1-3 oz.) may be planted whole.

For larger tubers, cut the potato using a clean, sharp knife so that each piece will contain 2 or more eyes and weighs between 1 and 4 ounces. Pieces should be cut with plenty of flesh around the eyes, since the plant will utilize this stored food during the first 2 or 3 weeks of growth.

Seeds may be planted immediately after cutting.

One pound of seed potatoes will plant about a 10 foot row in your garden.

The practice of greening and pre-sprouting seed potatoes before planting encourages early growth.

The method is simple: Spread the tubers in open-top crates, boxes or flats. Bring the flats into a warm living space (70 degrees Fahrenheit) and to a location where the light levels are medium in intensity. The warmth tends to stimulate the development of strong sprouts from the bud eye clusters, which, in the presence of light, remain short and stubby and are not easily broken off.

Usually seed potatoes are exposed to light and warmth a week or two before planting.

The benefits derived from greening and germinating the seed before planting are not limited to merely gaining a better stand and quicker maturity of the tubers, but it is claimed that a heavier yield is also likely.



SOIL PREPARATION: A good potato soil must be well drained and, at the same time, able to retain moisture. Sandy loam is ideal. Potatoes prefer a well balanced soil of pH 6.0 - 6.8. Go easy on additional fertilizers. Seed potatoes can rot in too cool, water-logged soil. Early plantings are more susceptible. Raised beds can improve conditions. Optimum oil temperature for growth rates from 55 degrees to 70 degrees Fahrenheit. PLANTING: Your planting date for an early crop maybe 6 to 8 weeks before the last frost date in your area. Your main crop may go in 1-4 weeks before the last frost. Check with locals. Checks soil temperature. When dandelions bloom out the open, it is said that it is time to plant potatoes. The width between rows is determined by the size of your garden and method of cultivation. You might adjust your spacing to suit adverse conditions. Wider spacing can help alleviate stress due to drought or poor soil. Tighter spacing may give you a uniform canopy of foliage to cool the soil in summer. Dig a shallow trench about 6' -8" deep (3" wide at the bottom). A round - pointed shovel is good for this job. Plant your seed potatoes 10" -14" apart. Using a rake, cover the seed pieces immediately after planting. Do not cover too deep - 4" maximum. HILLING: In approximately two weeks, depending on soil temperature, green leaves will emerge. When the stems are 8" high, gently hill with soil brought up from both sides of the plant using a dull hoe. Leave about 4" of the plant exposed. Hilling cools the soil and creates space for tuber development. All tubers will form between seed piece and surface of the soil. Give them plenty of room between rows and build your hills wide and ample to produce your bumper crop.

STORAGE

Potatoes keep best at 36 degrees - 40 degrees Fahrenheit, (or 3 degrees - 5 degrees Celsius). Under good storage conditions, which are not hard to provide, potatoes will keep four to six months. Keep them dark. Light, as well as warmth, promotes sprouting and will also turn the potatoes green. Cold potatoes bruise easily, so they should be handled gently when put into storage. We recommend slotted crates or baskets, produce lugs or wooden bins for storage potatoes over winter.

Large amounts tend to heat when ventilation can't reach the center of the pile, lowering quality and shortening storage life. Or set up shelving where containers can be "stacked" and still allow for good air circulation.

Humidity should be high (80 - 90%). Although potatoes lose moisture through respiration, low humidity is the main cause of shriveling in storage

Keep the area as cool as you can, but protect from freezing

We are always asked about refrigerator storage. It works well if you use the vegetable crisper and avoid dehydration. Please note that potatoes stored at or near 32 degrees Fahrenheit will likely convert their starch to sugars, which will change the flavor and cooking qualities. Fortunately, keeping them in the warmth for a day or two reverses the process, and you will have your potato starch back again.

Most experts recommend keeping stored apples and potatoes separate, because apples give off ethylene gas, which promotes ripening, maturation, and, in the case of potatoes, sprouting. It's not always possible or practical to segregate potatoes from apples. We find ventilation is the answer. In a well-ventilated root cellar, the ethylene gas fumes are carried off by air currents instead of settling down around the potatoes.

Old Homestead Honey, 6714 W 72nd Street, Fremont, MI 49412
(231) 924-8597
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