Spring is Here — Time to Plant Your Potatoes

April 15th, 2012 | Posted in: Growing Vegetables

Interested in planting a few potatoes of your own? Wisconsin is ideal! Our warm summers, cool evenings and rich soils make a perfect environment for growing Wisconsin potatoes.

Where to start? Purchase seed potatoes of your favorite potato varieties. In Wisconsin, we grow Russet, round white, blue, purple, yellow flesh, and round red varieties. If you’re not certain which variety to choose, download our Potato Varieties Use Chart or visit our Pick the Perfect Potato page to learn about the unique flavors and uses of Wisconsin potatoes.

Here are a few how-to-grow-potatoes-in-Wisconsin tips.

• Plant your potato seedlings in the middle of April once the soil has begun to warm up.
• Potatoes need good drainage — they don’t like to have “wet feet.” Consider growing your potatoes in raised beds, especially if you have soil with a lot of clay in it.
• When planting Wisconsin seed potatoes, cut large seed potatoes into pieces that have at least two eyes on them. Let the cut seedling potatoes sit overnight so the wound can develop a callus. This will help prevent rot and disease.
• If your seedling potatoes do not have enough eyes on them, let the seedling slices sit in a warm bright room with plenty of sun for a few days. This will cause new eyes to sprout.
• Dig a trench 6 – 8″ deep. The trenches should be about 12″ apart.
• Place seedling potatoes into the trench with the yes facing upward. Space seedling potatoes about 12 – 15″ apart. Be sure to give them plenty of room to grow so the roots and plants are not competing for nutrients and water.
• Now cover your seedling potatoes with 3 – 4″ of soil. Let the trench sit for about 10  – 14 days until you see some growth. Gradually fill in the trench with remaining dirt, gently placing it around the growing sprouts.
• Once the trench is filled, it’s best to mulch around the potatoes to prevent weeds that will rob your plants of nutrients. Straw works well as a mulch.

Watch Sonia Uyterhoeven for a few tips on how to plant your potatoes this spring.