A new crop of potatoes can sprout from a piece of the old one if you know how to help them along. Potato plants are either primary or secondary growers, which means they fall into one of two categories. Primary growers create new plants from their existing stems, also known as tubers or roots. Secondary growers produce shoots and new tubers from leaves and branches. When replanting your own potato plants, you need to keep that in mind and plan accordingly. Primary growers are called this because they have underground stems called tuberous roots. These grow out of the soil and put on new growth every year, creating a secondary grower as well as tubers that grow large enough to eat. If your potato plant is a secondary grower (as most are) it will probably die after setting fruit or tubers this season. But if your plant has main roots instead of stems (and only some do) it’s probably a primary grower that can be left alone to sprout more spuds next spring – provided you know how to help them along!
How Do Potatoes reproduce
Selecting Your Potatoes
The first step in growing potatoes from seed is, of course, selecting your seed potatoes. The best potatoes for seed sprouting are culled potatoes that are one to two years old. The potatoes should have no sprouts or flowers. The potatoes that you choose to use for seed sprouting should be firm, free of blemishes, and have no cracks. The potatoes should also be free of any sprouts or flowers.
Preparing the Soil and planting your seed
After you’ve selected your seed potatoes, it’s time to get started on the actual growing process. Potatoes grow best in loamy, sandy soil that is rich in organic material. The soil for planting your potatoes should be prepared ahead of time by adding organic materials such as peat moss, manure, or compost to enrich the soil. Next, you’ll want to dig a hole in the soil that is approximately 5 inches deep. Place one seed potato in the hole, then cover it with soil. You’ll want to leave the tip of the potato exposed so that it is visible above the soil level. After you’ve covered your potato, water the soil thoroughly. You’ll want to water regularly to keep the soil moist, but not soggy.
Grow Your Taters!
Potatoes are hearty vegetables that are known for thriving in almost any type of soil and climate, making them a great choice for the beginning gardener. Potatoes prefer full sun, but they can tolerate partial shade as well. Your potatoes should begin sprouting in approximately 10 to 14 days. Once they’ve sprouted and you can see tiny green shoots coming out of the soil, it’s time to harvest your potatoes. To harvest your potatoes, carefully dig around the plant, gently pulling it out of the ground. You’ll want to be careful not to damage the plant, but you don’t want to leave them in the ground too long. Potatoes left in the ground too long may begin to develop potato scab, which is a fungus that causes small, brown spots to appear on the surface of the potato.
Harvesting your first crop!
You’ll want to let your potatoes grow for approximately 4 to 6 weeks before harvesting your first crop. The potatoes will be ready to harvest when the tops begin to die back and the potatoes themselves are firm. Your potato plants should have grown large enough that the leaves are covering the potatoes. This will prevent the potatoes from being exposed to sunlight, which may cause them to turn green. If you don’t let the leaves cover the potatoes, you can either harvest them early, before the plants are fully developed, or be sure to cut the leaves off of your potatoes once you’ve harvested them. This will prevent them from turning green due to sunlight exposure.
Harvesting again!
After harvesting your first crop of potatoes, you can allow the soil to rest for approximately 3 to 4 weeks. During this time, the soil will be too moist for new potatoes to grow, so your only option is to let your existing ones grow larger. When the soil has dried enough for you to plant again, plant a new batch of potato seeds. You can do this at the same time as your first harvest is maturing, or you can wait until your first harvest has been fully harvested and you’ve cleaned up the plants.
What Are The Different Types Of Potato?
Baking potato
A baking potato is a type of potato that is long and oval-shaped. It is also known as a russet potato. You can bake them in the oven or boil them for about 20 minutes. They are good for mashing and making great French fries.
Boiling potatoes
Boiling potatoes are large, oval-shaped potatoes that have waxy skin and smooth texture. They usually range from 10 to 20 ounces in weight, which makes them ideal for boiling, roasting, or baking.
Potato chips
Potato chips are very thin slices of potatoes that are deep-fried until they are crispy and golden brown in color. They are often flavored with salt, garlic, onion powder, or other spices and seasonings which add more flavor to the chips while they cook in the fryer at high temperatures over oil or fat.
Sweet potatoes
Sweet potatoes are best known for their bright orange color and sweet taste. They are rarely eaten raw and are often boiled, roasted or baked. They can also be mashed or made into pies, puddings, and other desserts.
Red potatoes
Red potatoes are small to medium-sized potatoes that have smooth skin with red or purple spots on them. This type of potato is often boiled or steamed for about 20 minutes before it is eaten. It is also a common ingredient in potato salads and other cold salads because it holds its shape well when it is chilled in the refrigerator overnight before serving time.
Russet potatoes
Russet potatoes have a light brown skin that has a rough texture to it, which makes it easy to peel off once the potato has been cooked thoroughly by boiling or baking it in the oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for about 45 minutes. It is a common ingredient in many potato dishes such as mashed potatoes and potato salad.
Spuds
Spuds are the common name for any kind of potato that you can purchase at the supermarket or a farmer’s market. They are also known as white potatoes, even though they come in many different colors, sizes, and shapes. You can boil them, bake them, roast them or make French fries out of them.
Yukon Gold potatoes
Yukon Gold potatoes have thin skin that is smooth in texture but has a yellowish-gold color to it when it is cooked properly by roasting in many colors, such as white, red, and purple.
Tips For Growing New Potatoes
- Choose your variety. Potatoes come in many different varieties, and each has unique characteristics. Some are good for baking, some for boiling, and others for frying. Try a few different kinds to see which ones you like the best.
- Preparing the soil. If you’re planting new potatoes directly in the garden, prepare a new bed by digging up the soil to about 10 inches deep and adding a generous amount of compost or manure to enrich the soil. If you have an existing potato patch that was planted last year, simply add some compost over your existing rows before planting new ones this year.
- Planting time is here! New potatoes should be planted as soon as possible after being harvested from storage or purchased at the store (see below). The warmer the soil is when they are planted, the better they will grow and develop their skins quickly enough to protect them from insect damage later on in life.
- Controlling pests and weeds Once your potatoes are planted, you will need to control weeds and pests. Weeds can be controlled by hoeing or by mulching. To mulch, simply spread a thick layer of straw or hay over the top of your potato patch. The straw will suppress weed growth while allowing the soil to retain enough moisture to keep the potatoes happy.
- Keep an eye on your plants potatoes are susceptible to many different types of pests and diseases. It is important to check your plants every few days for signs of problems, such as white spots on the leaves or potatoes covered in moldy-looking growths that may indicate early blight or late blight disease. If you catch a pest infestation early enough, you can spray with a mixture of one tablespoon each of dish soap and vegetable oil per gallon of water; this should kill almost all common potato pests (except Colorado potato beetles).
Summing Up
Potatoes are an incredibly easy crop to grow. You don’t need much space or fertilizer, and you don’t even need dirt if you prefer to grow them in a container! As long as you know how to help your plants along, you can have a bountiful harvest in as little as a few months. That said, if you want to grow a new crop of potatoes next year, you’ll need to know how to help them along. It’s easy enough, though. If you have a primary grower, just dig up the plant and pot up the shoots. If you have a secondary grower, just cut the shoots and plant them in the soil. If you have main roots, you’ll have to move the entire plant to a new bed.
