Project details
Skill
Cost
Estimated Time
Tools & Materials
Digging shovel
Hand rake
In this video, Ask This Old House landscape contractor Roger Cook travels to an Idaho farm to learn about the process of growing potatoes.
Steps:
1. Clear area in your garden down to soil.
2. Dig a trench line about 3 to 4 inches deep.
3. Cut seed potatoes into 4 to 5 pieces, leaving 2 or 3 eyes on each.
4. Plant each piece about 12 inches apart and cover with soil.
5. As the plant stem grows, mound up the soil around the shoot to keep potatoes from sunlight.
6. A few weeks before the end of the season, cut back the plant to the soil level, which will allow the potatoes to toughen up for storage.
7. Potatoes can be dug up and harvested after as little as two months or as much as four months.
8. Once harvested, potatoes can be stored for up to a year in the right conditions. It’s best to keep them in a cool, dark place like a basement or a pantry.