If you want to take advantage of some of the nice-weather days we’ve been having, it’s a great time of year to plant potatoes.
West Texas gardeners aren’t likely to be able to grow huge baking potatoes like we get at the grocery store from Idaho, but we can grow delicious small potatoes that are a great addition to the dinner table when roasted or mashed.
Potatoes are a cool weather crop, but not a winter crop – they are in between. They grow best when the days are warm and nights are cool, and they don’t like the heat of summer.
But the top of the plant can’t handle freezing temperatures. February is a good time to plant, as the seed piece starts out protected from cold temperatures in the soil and the plant top emerges after danger of frost has passed.
Potato plants are started from potato pieces, also called seed potatoes.
The best bet is to purchase seed potatoes from a nursery or feed store instead of the grocery store. Red potatoes, like the variety Red Lasoda, and yellow varieties like Yukon Gold do well in Texas.
Cut any large seed potatoes into pieces about the size of an egg, and make sure each piece has at least one eye. Set the potato pieces out to allow the cut side to dry out for about five days, to prevent rotting when planted.
Prepare the soil by tilling and working it well to loosen it up.
Remove rocks and sticks, and work the soil up into raised rows that are about a foot high, and 3-feet apart.
Raised rows are helpful because they increase drainage. Use a hoe or stick to open up a hole on top of the raised row, and drop the seed piece in.
As the plant grows, mound up extra soil around it – the plant only makes new potatoes above the seed piece. Make sure the potatoes that form are kept covered with soil, otherwise they will turn green.
Another option is to plant in a container; use a large well-drained planter and plant the seed piece in a shallow amount of potting mix in the bottom. As the plant sprouts, add more potting mix.
Keep adding more potting mix as the plant grows until the pot is full, leaving a few inches space at the top of the pot to aid in watering. At the end of the season, just dump out the container onto some newspapers or a tarp and collect the potatoes.
For more information on growing potatoes, check out the Extension publication at https://ift.tt/2UiV0uj.
Allison Watkins is the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Agent for horticulture in Tom Green County. Contact her at aewatkins@ag.tamu.edu.
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Potatoes make a perfect 'in-between' crop - Standard-Times
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