Planting Potatoes

I once read, the more hunger a group has experienced, the more potatoes they grow.  Another book once stated that spuds should be one quarter of one’s vegetable garden.  Just before the Soviet Union collapsed, the government had instructed the army to help pick the potatoes, by hand (not much mechanization) but at that time they were even struggling to pay the army.  I remember the photo – a couple of forlorn soldiers standing in a large frost covered field.

During these current unsettled times I have increased my potato production.  Not so much out of need but more as insurance.  Plus, I get lots of excellent tasting organic potatoes to eat and give away.

For me April is the month for planting spuds.  Our average last frost here is April 15^th so that fits well.  Last year I rediscovered mid-late season Red Pontiacs after about five years of Red Chieftains.  There is quite a difference, in my opinion, and it was good to get back to the Pontiacs.  Last year my son TOG introduced me to an early white variety called Alta Blush and it was great – firm, clean skinned and kept very well – it just didn’t produce as well per square foot as the later season Reds.

This year I was on my own for finding seed since TOG had missed his supplier.  So, at the local nurseries I picked up Pontiacs, and some earlier Red Norlands.  Finally, I figured I could use the last of my own Alta Blush as well.  They’d been very disease free so should stand one more generation.

I got the earlys planted April 14^th and now I attacked my next two beds for some of the Pontiacs.  My spud rotation usually follows the carrots, root crops and onions.  I know spuds are roots too but that’s the best I can do currently with only four rotations and trying to keep the tomatoes away from the spuds -- alternating years.  The other three beds to get the potatoes had the chickens’ run in them previously and so they didn’t need any additional nitrogen, but these two ex-carrot beds hadn’t had my two hens in them because I’d stored my carrots in these beds all winter until now under a one-foot layer of fall leaves.

I lifted the last of the sweet juicy carrots, beets, parsnips and rutabagas and my Lovely Wife filled her fridge with them.  The leaves went into bins to later go into the two beds of the chickens’ summer run.  Then I edged the bed next to the lawn and marked the bed perimeters with temporary pegs measured from my benchmark fence line.  I don’t usually use a string line but just keep an eye on the pegs for the path boundaries.

On these two beds I got to experiment with different nitrogen sources.  In one bed I used one five gallon pail of one year old composted chicken manure from my brother-in-law’s organic free run layers.  The other bed I added 3.75 lbs of Soya Meal and 3 lbs of Alfalfa Meal.  This is a bit more than I usually add but my potato plants haven’t been quite as tall as they used to be. (with chickens staged in the beds over the seasons this should all change).  Both beds also got 2 lbs each of Rock Phosphate.  I never add lime to the spud beds.  I have enough trouble with scab on my Pontiacs and the Rock Phosphate helps relieve that too.

This was all nicely tilled in with my little electric Mantis Tiller.  The machine isn’t for sod busting or attacking hard ground but it is perfect for mixing in soil amendments and loosening the soil down to 8 inches.  Remember, I Never Walk On The Beds so they’re always very loose and friable.  The tiller works best with a rocking motion: two feet forward and then pulled 1.5 feet back.  It spins away and digs itself down to the fender whenever held in one place.  All tilling is done while standing in the paths.

After tilling, the beds are raked flat and with the row marker I mark two lines 24 inches apart down the length of the beds.  For main season potatoes I mark cross lines 18 inches apart (14 inches for the Alta Blush) which gives me 16 plants per 12.5 foot long, 50 square foot bed.  I find the double row within the four-foot-wide bed works well for optimum use of space.  The full leaf canopy nicely shades out most weeds in the bed.

I had slightly over purchased Pontiacs and so didn’t need to cut all the spuds in half.  I cut the biggest ones first, always making sure lots of eyes on each piece, until I had the exact number of seeds I needed and left the rest whole.  The spuds are gently dropped onto the marked line intersections and then with my bare hands and on my knees beside the bed, I scoop a hole and place them about 2 inches under the surface.

That just leaves laying down wire fencing pieces, 4 feet by 6 feet pieces with a 2 by 4 inch wire grid, to deter the neighbours' cats.  The potatoes are free to grow up to about 8 inches high through the fencing before I lift the wire.  Any taller and it tends to tear the leaves when removing.  The first hilling can be done at about 18 inches tall.

Happy Gardening.