Potatoes are a staple in almost every home. So for your first produce, you can try enriching your Edible Garden with potatoes. Potatoes are great to use in many different meals. Also, kids love potatoes! So if you want something you know your whole family will enjoy, here’s how to grow potatoes.

Where To Plant
Choose a site that is sunny. The soil must be fertile and fast draining. It should have a pH level of below 5.5.

When To Plant
You should plant potatoes during the spring, about 4-6 weeks before the last frost date. If the warm weather is already here, then choose an early-maturing variety of potatoes. Potatoes stop growing when the soil warms up. Plant a late-maturing variety in the late spring for a fall crop. In mild weather climates, plant in the late summer or early autumn.

How To Plant
1. Two Days Before Planting: Cut seed potatoes into 1 ½ inch chunks with 2 eyes still attached. Allow them to dry for two days. This will prevent rotting.
2. Create furrows in the soil. They should be 6-8 inches wide, 4 inches deep, and spaced 2 ½ - 3 feet apart from each other. Put the chunks into these furrows about 12 – 18 inches apart from each other.
3. Cover the potato chunks with about 2 inches of soil. Once you see sprouts, add 2 more inches to the furrow, allowing the foliage tips to show. As the vines continue grow, add soil so that you mound a ride over each row. Ridges should get up to 4 inches high and 18 inches wide. This helps to protect your crop.
4. Make sure to moist the soil and weed regularly.
5. Wait for the foliage to turn from yellow to brown. Water them then in 7-10 days cut the vines off to allow the potato skins to harden.

How To Harvest
1. About 90 – 120 after planting, you can begin harvesting your potatoes. This should be 5 – 7 days after cutting the vines. Use a spalding fork to very carefully dig up the plants without injuring the potatoes. Lift the plants out of the dirt and pull the potatoes off.
2. Insert them into a burlap bag or basket.
3. Store the potatoes in a dark, humid environment to heal any bruises for 2 weeks. Then store only the healed potatoes in a dark, dry and well-ventilated location. In the right conditions, potatoes should keep for about 3-6 months.

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