Growing Potatoes

Growing Potatoes

Potatoes are wonderful. They are inexpensive and very much worth the space they will occupy in your garden. They are a solanums, like tomatoes, but they demand far less in the way of nutrients than other solanums and they prefer cool weather. A Solanum is any large genus (Solanum) of trees, vines, shrubs, and plants of the nightshade family: most are poisonous, but a few are cultivated for food like the potato and eggplant.
 

Potatoes are grown as annual plants. So if you live in the inland northwest like I do, they are great for our area and are easy to grow. Home garden potato varieties are, in fact, a health food that doesn’t need to be deep-fried or slathered in butter, sour cream, vinegar, salt, pepper or ketchup because unlike potatoes that are commercial they won’t leave a bitter taste in your mouth.

When to plant:

Even though potatoes like cooler weather they are not frost hardy. So avoid planting early when frost is still a danger. I would plant them between May 15th to June 1st or whenever your area is frost free. If you want to plant sooner try putting clear plastic over them about five or six weeks before the last usual frost date.

Seeds:



Before you plant your potatoes you will need to prepare them by chitting them. Chitting means encouraging the seed potatoes to begin to sprout before they are planted. To accomplish this, get the seeds at least three to four weeks before you’re going to plant them and spread them out one layer thick in bright light but not sunlight. Your temperature should be around 55 to 60 degrees. They’ll begin to turn green and the shoots will begin growing. At this stage, gently carry the seeds to the garden and plant them. Set the rows about 2 ½ feet apart. Cut big potatoes just before planting but do not break off the sprouts. To maximize yield, you want to encourage every possible bit of vine growth to occur before flowering commences. Depending on variety and season, a 100-foot long row may yield about 200 to 300 pounds. 100 row-feet with little to no irrigation on deep soil still yields about 100 pounds.

Harvest and storage:

Begin digging earliest potatoes after blossoming is over. When the vines first begin to deteriorate, withhold all water to dry the soil and toughen the skins which will enhance storage potential. Keep stored potatoes dark, damp and cold but protected from freezing. I store my potatoes in a cardboard box in my basement.

Varieties:

Here are a just a few varieties of potatoes that are the most popular.

Russets – Russets potatoes are characterized by their even oval shape and russet brown in color. Russets are good for baking, mashing and frying because of their low sugars and high solids.

Reds – Reds are often referred to as “new potatoes” and have a moist texture that is suited well for salads, soups and strews because their slices and chunks maintain their shape during cooking and mixing. They are also excellent for baking as well.

Yellows – Yukon Gold is an American favorite with golden flesh and creamy texture means you can use less or no butter for lighter dishes.

Growing potatoes at home gives you a dependable crop that you can store over winter. Growing potatoes is highly rewarding, productive and has become an exemplar of healthy eating and self sufficiency.

If you need more information on growing potatoes, here is a good potato book that will come in very handy.
The Potato Book

Tips for Garden Weed Control

Tips for Garden Weed Control

There are many types of weeds. It is not necessary to get rid of every single weed in your garden – only most of them. You should have a priority system to weed control. The ones you won’t allow to exist at all to the ones that are okay to have in small amounts.

Grasses is one that should not be allowed to exist at all. Grasses have highly invasive and dense root systems. Although low-growing grasses may not compete for light, their aggressive roots rob the soil of most of the available nutrients and water and thereby stunting nearby vegetables.



Pernicious weeds are very hard to eradicate because they grow quickly and spread through underground runners and they make huge quantities of seeds that spread widely. Some examples of pernicious weeds are thistles, morning glory, and nightshade.

Other weeds that need to be pulled are the ones that come up even after your fast-growing vegetables form a leaf canopy that hinders hoeing. The shade of this canopy will strongly suppress any new weeds that sprout. But a few will sprout and grow anyway. Any weed in the garden that begins to peek through the crop leaf canopy should be pulled.

Here are a few tips for garden weed control that are non-chemical:

- Using vinegar to kill the weeds. Make sure you apply only to the weeds.
- Newspaper method – laying large amounts of newspaper under a thin layer of dirt to prevent weeds.
- Using landscape fabrics.
- Aerating your soil regularly. Some weeds, such as crabgrass, chickweed, and plantain flourish in areas of compacted soil, so aerating your lawn or garden regularly will prevent weed growth.
- Fertilizing – Fertilizing during the peak growth will encourage them to grow thereby leaving less room for invading weeds.
- Pull weeds by hand

If you are going to pull the weeds by hand here is a product that I recommend that will save your back from aching. The Hound Dog Products HDP1-6 Weed Hound is a stand-up weeder that pulls weeds by their roots quickly and easily! It requires no bending and no chemicals, making weeding easier both on you and on your garden. The weeder can also be used to aerate soil for a healthier lawn. Like all Hound Dog Products tools, the Weed Hound features durable steel construction and rust-proof finishes for long-lasting wear; its comfortable grips and upright design make gardening easier on your hands, knees, and back. It comes with a limited lifetime warranty.

The 5 Reasons for Garden Planting

The 5 Reasons for Garden Planting
There are 5 important reasons for garden planting. Garden planting is especially important given the current state of the economy. You can save a lot of money growing your own vegetables. If you invest $70 dollars in a home garden you can yield about $600 dollars worth of produce in a year. That is a huge savings.

The 5 reasons for garden planting are:

1. You Know Exactly What You Are Eating.
By growing your own fresh vegetables, you know exactly what took place while producing them. You were the one to fertilize, water, and nurture the plants from a small seed into a beautiful, productive plant. When buying vegetables from a supermarket or produce stand, there is really no way of knowing how, or where, they were grown. There could have been harmful pesticides and fungicides used during the raising of those vegetables.

2. Growing Your Own Vegetables Is Cost Effective.
A trip to the grocery store today to buy produce can cause shock to your pocket book. Produce prices are steadily increasing, and that is even when crop supplies are at normal levels. Let a certain vegetable have a bad farming year, and prices can quickly double, or even triple. By growing your own vegetables, then preserving (by canning, freezing, or drying) them, you could potentially save a truckload on your food bill. Who doesn’t like the idea of saving money?

3. Gardening Improves Your Health
Growing a garden offers many emotional, physical, and mental benefits. Spending time after work in the garden can help to relieve stress, and increase your overall activity level. Recent research has revealed that sunlight can improve sleep, deter depression, and promote a better immune system.

4. Reconnect With Family Through Gardening
Growing a vegetable garden does not have to be a solo act. Get your whole family involved by growing vegetables that your kids will like. Give them a few plants to grow for themselves, and mentor them during the process. You will have a great time watching their excitement when their plant produces its first bloom, and then the first fruit.

5. Growing Your Own Vegetables Is Very Rewarding
Nothing can give you a better sense of accomplishment than growing your own vegetables. To know that you have placed a seed in the soil, and cared for it throughout its growth, can be a very gratifying experience. Also, you are using your hard work to produce better meals for your family. Enjoying a fresh salad with the lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, and radishes that came from your garden will make it all worthwhile.

If you are still unsure about planting a garden, then I hope that you seriously think about these five reasons. Vegetable gardening is a win-win situation that can change your life for the better.