SEED POTATOES

SEED POTATOES

Buy your seed potatoes a month before planting to enable them to sprout. Choose a sunny spot in the garden with well-drained soil.

Planting:

• Dig holes or a trench 10-15cm deep & plant with eyes or shoots facing up, backfill with soil & water well.

• As shoots appear, cover them with soil from either side of the hole or trench, and water well. This prevents light from reaching the tubers, which stops them from turning green.

• Feed monthly with Blood & Bone seaweed or potato food with high levels of phosphorus & potassium to promote healthy tuber production & growth.

• Continue to mound soil or add pea or lucerne straw to the plant as it grows, watering well each time. Repeat until the mound teacher approx. 60cm tall.

• Harvest once the plants have flowers & died down.

Care:

• Mounding will help protect your potatoes from the elements; carefully hoe around sprouts to keep your crop weed free.

• When watering, water the soil, not the foliage to avoid blight.

• Be vigilant & stop unwanted insects & diseases from mining your plants.

Tip!

Don’t plant potatoes in the same place each year, and avoid planting them where tomatoes have been planted in the previous season to reduce the risk of spreading disease.