How to grow potatoes in your home garden

It takes quite a bit of garden space — and no small effort — to grow potatoes. Here are some tips on how to get started.

Potatoes are grown from those pieces of the tuber that contain the "eyes," the tiny depressions from which sprouts grow. These "seed" pieces, when planted, will produce leafy vines above ground and clusters of potatoes below.

• Do not use store-bought potatoes for seed, since they are often treated with a chemical that inhibits sprouting.
• Use the seed potatoes as they are, or cut them into pieces about the size of a large walnut.
• Make sure that each piece contains at least one eye.
• You will get best results if sprouts from the eyes are about two centimetres (one inch) long.
• Cure the seed pieces by spreading them out in a bright, airy place until they dry slightly and their cut surfaces harden.

Check with a garden centre for the best varieties to grow in your area.

• Of the early potatoes, 'Caribe', 'Norgold Russet', and 'Norland' do well in most areas.
• 'Yukon Gold', an early to mid variety, stores well.
• Of the late potatoes, 'Desiree', 'Kennebec', and 'Russet Burbank' are popular.
• Try some of the varieties you do not find in the stores: 'Russian Banana', with slender tubers; and 'All Blue', with a pale lilac flesh.

• Potatoes require acidic soil, tolerating soil with a pH as low as 4.8.
• Do not plant them in areas that have recently been limed.
• An excellent way to prepare the soil for potatoes is to spread an eight- to 12-centimetre (three- to five-inch) layer of well-rotted manure or rich compost over the area to be planted; this will serve to enrich the soil and to improve drainage.
• As soon as the ground can be worked, plant the seed pieces in furrows 10 centimetres (four inches) deep, eight centimetres (three inches) wide, and 90 centimetres (35 inches) apart. Set the pieces 30 centimetres (12 inches) apart, with eyes facing upward, and cover with about eight centimetres (three inches) of soil.

About three weeks after the seeds are planted, sprouts will push up through the ground.

• As the vines grow, mound up over them with earth, leaves, straw, or compost to keep the developing tubers covered. Potatoes that are exposed to sunlight turn green and develop a toxic substance called solanine.
• If there is any risk of night frost, cover with a layer of straw or newspapers.
• It is not necessary to fertilize the plants again during the growing period, but be sure that the soil around them remains loose and free of weeds. To do this, cultivate with a hoe — shallowly because the tubers grow close to the surface.

You can start harvesting tubers at about the time the potato flowers bloom, seven to eight weeks after planting.

• Push aside the earth at the base of the plant until you see the new growth, and carefully pick off some of the small potatoes. These are the highly valued "new" potatoes, which you can boil and eat in their skins.
• Leave some potatoes to grow to full size.
• When the plant foliage begins to wither and die down, dig the tubers from the soil with a spading fork. You should dig them up before the first heavy frost.
•  If you want to store potatoes, gently brush off any soil and put them loosely in a ventilated, covered container to dry for a few hours. (Never expose potatoes directly to sunlight.) Store them in a dark, cool (4°C or 39°F) place.