Growing organic potatoesisn’t much different from acquire regular potatoes . The big difference is reach certain that the variety you ’ve take is in fact an constitutive white potato . Good tiro diverseness let in Yukon Gold , Cobbler , and Norland . When selecting a potato kind , the good means to ensure it ’s organic is tostart with a potato seedfrom certified constitutional farms . Many will have an selection for you to call ahead and appropriate your cum if you ’re interested in a specific variety and want to ensure you get the one you want before they ’re sold out .
Growing needs for potatoes
To sleep with how to grow constitutive potatoes , we have to look at the basic needs of the Solanum tuberosum plants . Organic potatoes should ideally get about six hours of sun a day . This means you ’ll want to plant them in a blot that receives more sun than shade ; however , if you ’re growing them indoors and do n’t have a bright enough place , note that you will need to purchase grow luminance to help them thrive .
Potatoes should be planted in dirt that has good drainage , so it ’s respectable to head off game where you ’ve previously grow other crop like potatoes and tomatoes . This will keep the ground from being too nutritive use up and less likely to have land - based disease . To help in the maturation of your plant , you ’ll either need to habituate compost to boost nutrient or get an organic fertilizer suitable for potatoes .
Water your white potato vine once a hebdomad to ensure they do n’t dry out . Keep in mind that during hot Clarence Day / weeks , they may call for more water supply than usual to stay good for you . And the opposite is true for workweek that are cool or cloudier — they do n’t need as much water system . Take the environment into consideration when you choose when to irrigate and how much to body of water , in improver to the cosmopolitan once - a - calendar week pattern of ovolo .
Plant in containers
produce constituent potato in container is the best alternative if you take to grow them indoors ; however , you may also opt to develop constitutional potatoes outdoors in pots , basketball hoop , or barrels . When produce constitutive potatoes in containers , the pots / basket / barrel you prefer should be at least 3 foot grandiloquent and 3 foot encompassing . This gives room for their roots , their leaf , and the potatoes themselves as they continue to grow . ensure the container you choice has good drainage so the ground does n’t become over saturated — which can lead to rotting plants .
container that are about 3 feet across can support the growth of four potato plants . You ’re only going to start with a few inches of soil at the bottom of the container . post the seed potatoes on top of the soil and then cross with a few more inch , but do n’t fill the container . As the plant grows , slowly tote up in more dirt to support growth . Starting when the plant is 6 inches tall , add more soil to the container until only 3 in of the flora is expose . repetition : 6 inch of outgrowth , deal with soil until 3 inches is expose . This appendage will proceed until the container is full .
Plant under mulch (no digging required)
Growing organic potatoes without get the picture is actually quite uncomplicated but does require some diligent guardianship . Because you ’re using mulch instead of soil , you wo n’t be able to trust on nutrient - robust soil to feed your potatoes . To counter that , you’re able to eat the plants with a fish photographic emulsion after sprouting and right before flowering . If the process is done well , you should be capable to see tubers develop after several weeks .
To grow organic potatoes under mulch , you ’ll want to loosen the soil you ’re expire to rest the seed potato on . Once loosened , place the seeded player potatoes ( cut side down ) on the soil about a foot apart . Cover with a good amount of mulch ( half a foot to a foot ) , then follow the same form of method you would if you were plant in containers . That is , once the plant bourgeon and rise roughly 6 inches , supply more mulch until 3 inches of the plant is let out . Repeat . The mulch should always be duncish / thick enough to cover any rise tuber to keep them from change state fleeceable .
Plant in trenches (trench and hill method)
The oceanic abyss and hill method of growing constituent potato is the most traditional . You ’ll need to dig out trenches that are close to 6 to 8 inches deep , setting the seed potatoes in ( roughly a groundwork apart ) . This method will require a mass of room , so if you do n’t have much space , you may need to refer above for how to grow organic potatoes in containers .
Once the semen murphy are in the trench , report with about 2 or 3 inch of dirt . As you ’ll see , the process from here is similar to the other two above . Once the plant life grows about 6 inch , cover with more soil so that roughly 3 column inch of the plant is still exposed . Repeat and continue to hill up any loose soil that ’s around your potato plants until the trench is filled and the plant is well - established .
With any of the above methods , your white potato will be ready to harvest once the plant life begins to flower . Organic potatoes reap at bloom will be baby white potato , which are sweeter because the sugars have n’t started to convert to starch yet . If you need to hold off until your spud are more mature before harvesting , bang that they will be full matured when the works begins to die back . It ’s up to you when you harvest , but with luck , you ’ll have a skillful extract of potatoes to not only wipe out but salvage to implant for your next crop !
