Potatoe Planting

[DLJ in NC]

Ok, I know I am a bit late with planting potatoes. However, I usually plant them around Apr/may with everything else in the garden. I always make sure the sprouts are activly growing prior to planting then. Does that need to be the same for now, or can you just put the potatoe in the ground and let nature take its course. Also, can you cut the potatoe in half and plant it at this time of the year? I plant red and white potatoes.

Thanks,
DLJ

 

[Allan in NE]

Quarter the spud and plant BEFORE they sprout.

Allan

 

[Anonymous-0]

most potatoes have several "eyes" so you can cut them in several pieces. Works best to have a deep 6in or so v-shaped furrow cover a couple inches deep then as they sprout and grow keep covering up just letting the leaf stick out. The better the soil is worked up before planting helps them form as how can they grow in hard ground. I keep hilling the plant up till i have a ridge around 19in tall. Thats the way i do it

 

[Jim in NC]

What Allen said. Cut the taters so there will be some "eyes", where the sprouts come from, on each piece. It is okay to plant 'em now in NC if you are not in the mountains, but here in central NC, I prefer th wait until the middle of March in case we have that cold blast that we usually have during the first half of March.

 

[DLJ in NC]

Sounds good, Thanks everyone

 

[El Toro]

If the frost is out of your soil you're probably ok. Here in MD I don't plant them until the end of March or April. I know it gets a lot warmer
in NC since I spent 2 years at Ft Bragg. I usually plant Red Bliss & Kennebec potatoes. You can set out onion plants too. Hal

 

[Kestrel in CT]

And don't plant them next to your onions. They'll cry their eyes out.

 

[old]

I plant my taters on March 17th every year, the luck of the Irish you know. The way I do it is I lay them on the ground and then cover them with straw or hay. Doing it that way makes them grow well and easy to dig up in the fall. 2, 20 foot rows last year filled up 3 or 4, 5 gal. buckets
Hobby farm

 

[IaGary]

I always wrap mine in newspaper before planting.

Don't want dirt in there eyes do ya?

Gary

 

[farmer101IL]

god its been a long cold winter. I went out to plant my taters and couldn't get through the ice and snow!!! Good one gary

 

[Fergienewbee]

I tried planting in straw and the turkeys scratched all the straw off looking for crickets and other bugs.

Larry

 

[Anonymous-0]

I knew I spelled it right!

 

[Anonymous-0]

Cutting potatoes opens them up to rot.I save golf ball size potatoes to plant,no skips.

 

[RayP(MI)]

We always cut our potatoes, and we planted them by the field full. We tried to allow the cut potatoes a chance to dry where they were cut, thus reducing the chance of disease & rot, before planting. Today, I see the big producers cutting and planting so fast, you can hardly see the individual potatoes flying off'n the truck and into the ground!

 

[Anonymous-0]

An old fellow told me he used some of his old potatoes for planting.He rubbed off all the sprouts before planting and the damn things didnt grow.Did my best not to laugh.Small whole potatoes never skip,cut ones do.Also find my saved seed comes up faster than certified seed.I mark plants that come up before others in a row and save all potatoes from the marked plants for seed.