The reason that seed potatoes are sold is because they are grown at high altitudes to cut down any chance of disease carrying spuds. There are less insects at high altitudes and so this means less disease. It is Ok to use shop bought potatoes in the first year but if you store them and use them for the second year the chance of them carrying disease is far greater than it would be if you used second year seed potatoes.
Potato Chitting:
No its not a swear word, chitting basically means getting green shoots coming from your potatoes ready for planting out, see image on the left, this is how they should look, not like the image on the right. (the long and spindly one)
The conditions were slightly different for the two, in short the bottom one did not get any light, the same can happen if the they are too warm. I placed mine on my kitchen window sill in an egg box for a few weeks, just slightly out of the direct sunlight and they chitted fine. Ideally you should let the green shoots grow to be about 1.5 - 3 cm tall.
Planting out:
Potatoes are the best crop to grow on newly broken grassland or wasteland, earthing up and the dense leaf canopy help clean up land. Potatoes should not really be grown on a plot that has had potatoes on it in the previous two years. They can be grown in most soil types, for example I have quite clay full land and mine have flourished, not only that I am told that they will help break up the clay.
Potatoes should be planted out after the danger of frost has gone, usually early Summer. They should be planted at about 10-12.5 cm down and 30-37 cm apart with 60-70c m between each row.
Ideally when planting the holes that you plant them in (also known as drills) should be lined then filled with sieved manure, compost or peat.
Cultivation:
Not much to do with potatoes really, they are half hardy so the young growths will need protection from frosts either draw up some soil around them or put some straw on them, removing the straw at a later date to ensure that they don’t go moldy.
Water in dry weather, especially when the tubers have started to grow.
The only other thing to do is to earth up, there are different schools of thought here, but I think that its fine to earth up in one go rather than gradually. Earthing up means to move soil around the base of the plants to protect them, this is done when the plants are about 22 cm tall. Break up the soil between the rows with a fork and remove all the weeds, then bring it up around the plant in a tent like shape up to about 15 cm.
Harvesting:
For new potatoes wait until the flowers have dropped off, I wait about a week after but it depends on the variety. You can sneak a peak by carefully forking back the soil with a small hand fork, but be very careful I have destroyed part of a plant by doing this, I think I disturbed the root. Once ready though stick your fork in and lift out the potatoes into the trench. Ensure that you do get all of the potatoes out when lifting them as you could end up leaving a nasty disease in your soil.
Anything you dig up after this will be known as second earlies, and until the leaves go brown and wither your potatoes will still be growing.
To harvest potatoes for growing next year, wait until they have stopped growing. Cut off the top plants and wait for about 2 weeks. Lift the roots out and let the potatoes dry for several hours. Place in a dry wooden box or a potato clamp (link to making a potato clamp), ensuring they stay frost free and you should be able to use them next spring.
|
Gerald Crawford was born in South Africa, studied electronics, telecommunication, eco-travel and african travel concepts. He taught responsible tourism in South Africa. If you have any questions or comments please e-mail me on. E-mail Address: southafricantravelarticles@12234455.co.za Website Address: http://www.12234455.co.za
|