Studs and Spuds
Potatoes are one of the first things we plant in the spring garden. In South Louisiana we plant between Valentine’s Day and the end of February.
For best success, use seed potatoes. They can be easily found at feed stores this time of year. The most common are Red LaSoda and Yukon Gold, but there are other varieties that you may find locally and if you look online, you’ll find varieties you may never have heard of!
Potatoes from the store are often sprayed with sprout inhibitors and can deter your plants from growing. You miiiight have some success with organic potatoes, but seed potatoes are your best bet. If a potato sprouts on my counter, you bet I’m going to put it in the ground and
see what happens!
The best way to sprout potatoes is to put them in a sunny windowsill until the eyes start to sprout. Some people put them on open egg cartons or crawfish trays, but I just set mine directly on my windowsill.
This process is called chitting.
Some people cut up their potatoes before planting. I have tried both and honestly didn’t notice a difference between the two in my own garden, but I encourage you to try both. Cut up some and plant some whole and see what works best for you. If you choose to cut up your potatoes, you want to be sure you have 1 or 2 “eyes” on each piece and the pieces should be at least 2 inches in size. They will also need to fully dry before you plant them in the ground to prevent them from rotting. Some people dip the cut sides in wood ash to help them heal and form a good callus.
There are multiple planting options for potatoes: in ground, raised bed, containers. Each one has different pros and cons. Keep in mind that potatoes take 75-100 days to harvest from the day you put them in the ground.
Planting potatoes in the ground does have a higher chance of rot IF you plant in heavy clay and we have a heavy rainfall spring. I planted in the ground last year with no problems, but it was my smallest harvest to date. You will also be digging up your in ground row to find the
potatoes and we cut through multiple potatoes looking for them. Planting in a raised is easier since the soil is often looser than in the ground, but the biggest con is that you are giving up raised bed space.
Raised beds often require more cost inputs and I personally would choose to grow something that costs more at the store since potatoes are relatively cheap compared to tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, herbs, etc. If you have ample raised bed space, go for it! You will still be digging them up when they are ready to harvest.
Grow bags or containers are the easiest way to harvest potatoes. Instead of digging them up when they are ready, you can just flip your container or grow bag into a wheel barrow when they are ready to harvest and the soil falls right off the potatoes. This method ensures
that you don’t miss any potatoes or cut them when harvesting. The biggest con is that the smaller containers will need to be watered more frequently and you’ll need to add soil as the potatoes grow vertically.
If you choose grow bags for planting you want to be sure that at MINIMUM it is 14 inches wide and tall. I would recommend 16 inches wide and 16-20” inches tall.
I fertilize the planting area when I plant the potatoes and if I remember to I will fertilize again in about 30 days.
This year I am going to be planting in grow bags and a raised bed as well as keeping some potatoes whole and cutting some up. I love a good experiment!
Your goal for this week is to pick up potatoes and get them “chitting” in a windowsill by the weekend and then to decide where you want to plant. If you choose to use grow bags I have some linked in my amazon storefront that will be perfect for you! I’ll be planting next week and will video the process so you can follow along when you are ready to plant! Stay tuned for part 2 coming right after Valentine’s day!
Happy Growing, Friends!