Potato

Here are my tips for growing great potatoes:

Site, soil type:	Potatoes like soil that has medium fertility; not extremely high, nor void of nutrients. Use light soil to give tubers freedom to grow. Grow in full sun.
Planting requirements:	Potatoes can be planted at 40 degree air temperature or three weeks before last frost. Plant three inches deep, 12 inches apart. Plant pieces or whole potatoes that have at least two eyes. If cutting potato pieces, leave them in a warm place to dry for 2-3 days. This prevents rot in the ground.
Nutrition/Fertilizer needs:	Apply fertilizer that is low in nitrogen and high in phosphorus like rock phosphate. Rock phosphate is available to the plants faster than bone meal (which also has phosphorus). Overfeeding results in “hollow heart”, holes in the center of the potatoes.
Water needs:	Keep moist. More water means more tubers.
Other tips:	Mulch potatoes. Add leaves or straw as plants grow, starting when they are about six inches tall. Mulch discourages weeds, retains moisture, and will give more potato producing real estate since potatoes grow up from the seed. Mulch also prevents potatoes from turning green. Green potatoes are toxic. Green results from exposure to light. Pre-sprouting (chitting) gives potatoes a head start. Put potatoes in flats up to two tubers deep. Put in a warm bright place for up to two weeks. Sprouts will start growing and will produce tiny green leaves near the tuber. Then plant as usual. A soil Ph below 6 will discourage scab. However, scab doesn’t affect edibility or flavor of potatoes. Although not routinely recommended, I have successfully saved and subsequently grown my own seed potatoes. Red Gold is a potato variety that I consider perfect. It tastes wonderful, produces early, and has a very high yield. This table at Fedco/Moose Tubers gives excellent information on potato varieties.

Insect Invasion?

Squash bugs? Cucumber beetles? Squash vine borers? Root maggots? Flea beetles? Cabbage worms? This product will help: Summerweight Garden Fabric 6' x 20' It also will help keep the rabbits and deer from munching your goodies.

Learn how to Improve your vegetables’ flavor

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A Great Hose…

I love my expandable garden hose! It's lightweight and easily moves around the garden with me. It doesn't get kinked or tangled. Hoses can be such a pain, even the ones that say they won't kink. And they are heavy and bulky and bothersome to wind up to make the garden neat. Not this one. Recoiling it is a breeze!
Find this hose here at Amazon.com.

Vinegar Kills Weeds!

Many gardeners report success with regular household vinegar. It has 5% acetic acid and 95% water. But for an even more effective weapon, vinegar with 20% acetic acid is sold as a non-toxic herbicide. I recommend experimenting with diluting the 20% vinegar to make it last longer. University studies say that 10-20% vinegar is effective. Vinegar is a quick-acting, non-selective contact herbicide and its residues degrade promptly in the soil. Foliar contact results in rapid dehydration of annual weeds and grasses, and top growth reduction of herbaceous perennial weeds and grasses. 20% vinegar may be applied up to two days before harvest. Find 20% vinegar here. 20% vinegar is non-food grade and is strong. Read application instructions carefully.

Critter Ridder

A motion-activated sprinkler WORKS to keep deer, rabbits, raccoons, squirrels, dogs, and cats out of your garden. These sprinklers give a strong blast of water that lasts for 15 seconds. They have a sensor with night only, day only, and always on activation modes. One user says “My experience is that the sound of the sprinkler, and the sound of the water suddenly hitting plants startles and scares away the animals. It doesn't matter if the spray is aimed to actually hit the animal.” Here is a YouTube video of this action. At Amazon, you can find the Orbit 62100 Yard Enforcer Motion Activated Sprinkler. It works well to detect and surprise encroaching critters.

Row cover for cold protection

Floating row cover is a lightweight blanket for your plants. It’s an easy way to extend your growing season. With row cover, your seeds will germinate faster and the plants will get off to a better start. The highest quality of row cover I’ve found is called Agribon. Agribon is made in several different weights. Agribon 19 offers several degrees of frost protection. I have had 12-15 degrees of protection with this product. Agribon 19 also allows 85% of light transmission. This product is for sale at Amazon.

Grow Great Vegetables

Tips, Tricks and Tools!

Potato

Here are my tips for growing great potatoes:

Site, soil type:

Potatoes like soil that has medium fertility; not extremely high, nor void of nutrients.

Use light soil to give tubers freedom to grow.

Grow in full sun.

Planting requirements:

Potatoes can be planted at 40 degree air temperature or three weeks before last frost. Plant three inches deep, 12 inches apart.

Plant pieces or whole potatoes that have at least two eyes.

If cutting potato pieces, leave them in a warm place to dry for 2-3 days. This prevents rot in the ground.

Nutrition/Fertilizer needs:

Apply fertilizer that is low in nitrogen and high in phosphorus like rock phosphate. Rock phosphate is available to the plants faster than bone meal (which also has phosphorus).

Overfeeding results in “hollow heart”, holes in the center of the potatoes.

Water needs:

Keep moist. More water means more tubers.

Other tips:

Pre-sprouting (chitting) gives potatoes a head start. Put potatoes in flats up to two tubers deep. Put in a warm bright place for up to two weeks. Sprouts will start growing and will produce tiny green leaves near the tuber. Then plant as usual.

A soil Ph below 6 will discourage scab. However, scab doesn’t affect edibility or flavor of potatoes.

Although not routinely recommended, I have successfully saved and subsequently grown my own seed potatoes.

Red Gold is a potato variety that I consider perfect. It tastes wonderful, produces early, and has a very high yield.