07/23/2023
DID YOU KNOW YOU CAN PLANT FALL POTATOES?
Yes, you can plant a Fall Potato Crop if you are in a Planting Region where you have enough time left in your growing season. Potatoes are a cool weather vegetable, and so you would have to plant in Summer to be harvested in late Fall or early Winter. Fall Potatoes are actually crisper and firmer than ones grown in Spring, and after harvest can be stored all Winter if stored properly.
STEP 1--WHEN TO PLANT. Most Potato varieties take about 100 - 110 days to harvest, so your best time to plant is late June- July period for fresh October Potatoes. To be more exact, you can take your first frost date, and then count back 100 - 110 days. That would be your last date you could get them in the ground, and be able to grow them to full harvest. Of course, New Potatoes can be grown for a shorter period of time.
Plant fall potatoes just as you would in spring. Set the seed pieces 3 inches deep in the soil. Proper planting depth is important because seeds set too deeply are more susceptible to disease. Cover the potatoes with soil and step down on it to pack it down firmly. Set the seed pieces 10 inches to 12 apart, with rows spaced 2 feet to 3 feet apart.
Fall potatoes have different care and maintenance requirements than those grown in the spring. Because they typically are planted in late summer, when temperatures remain high, they need regular watering, especially during dry spells or when it is windy, advises Kansas State University Extension. However, be careful not to use too much water, which makes the tubers susceptible to rot. Fertilize as you would earlier crops -- apply 1 cup of fertilizer for every 30 feet of garden row when the plants reach 4 inches high
STEP 2 — PREPARING THE SEED POTATOES. Cut your potatoes into several 1-inch to 2-inch chunks. Include at least 1 or 2 “eyes” on each piece. This is the growth point where the new plants emerge. Don’t cut the pieces too big. A smaller chunk of potato encourages the plant to get busy and put down its own, strong roots, rather than live off the stored foods in the seed piece. Let the pieces air-dry, for 24 hours. This toughens the outer layer of the potato and helps it resist disease.
You can also give the potato pieces a light dusting of sulfur powder to help prevent fungi from attacking them. Shake the pieces in a bag with a small amount of the powder until the pieces are evenly coated. The spuds will be fine without chemical treatments if the soil they’re planted in is dry and warm.
STEP 3 — PREPARE YOUR SOIL. With this method, you don’t need to dig trenches or mound soil into hills. Just work a trowel full of compost into a square foot of soil in a sunny, well-drained area of the garden. The soil should be loose enough for the potato to send down roots easily. Take a piece of seed potato and press it firmly into contact with the soil. Be sure the “eye” faces up when you do this.
STEP 4 — MOUND UP THE MULCH. Build up a 6-inch-deep mound of mulch over the potato. Water the mound gently to thoroughly wet the mulch. This will help it hold together. Keep the mound evenly moist. As the vines start to peek through the mound, begin feeding them with a half-strength foliar spray. Use fish-emulsion or seaweed extract once a week until the flowers open, then stop feeding. Mound additional mulch around the stems each time they’ve grown about 6 more inches. Potatoes grow at the ends of stolons that the plant puts out wherever the stems are covered with mulch. So in time your plant will have tubers in several sizes within the mound.
STEP 5 — TIME TO HARVEST. The best part about this method is that you can get NEW potatoes, the creamers and steamers, without disturbing the plant. If that’s your goal for your potatoes, the time to go after the first new spuds is right after the flowers bloom. Just move the mulch gently out of the way and pop the new potatoes off the ends of the stolons with your fingers. Only take about 20 percent of the new potatoes at a time. Let the rest remain to keep the plant from getting too stressed.
Continue watering the plants throughout the season to keep them producing new potatoes. If you’d prefer to let the potatoes mature and get larger, stop watering them after the flowers bloom. This causes the plant to start concentrating on developing the potatoes. Then, in the fall, when the plant begins to die back, move the mulch away and harvest the full-grown potatoes.
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