Potatoes Growing Guide

Planting Potatoes

You can start planting your seed potatoes 2 weeks after the last spring frost.
Choose a planting spot in full sun and well-drained, loose soil.
Be sure to spade or loosen the soil extremely well. Potatoes will not grow in hard or compact soil.
Place the tubers with the sprouts facing up in shallow trenches 15 cm (6 in) wide, space them 20 to 30 cm (8 to 12 in) apart, and cover with 8 cm (3 in) of soil.
Water thoroughly after planting

Potatoes need consistent moisture, so water regularly when tubers start to form.
As soon as the shoots appear, earth up each plant by covering it with a ridge of soil so that the shoots are just buried.
You need to do this at regular intervals and by the end of the season each plant will have a small mound around it about 15 cm (6 in) high.

You can harvest potatoes in stages - “young” or “early” potatoes should be ready about 10 weeks after planting (when the flowers appear). Take a few without pulling up the stems, and leave others to continue growing into full-sized potatoes.
For storage of full-sized potatoes, wait until the foliage turns yellow, then cut and remove. Leave for 10 days before harvesting the tubers.
After harvesting, leave the tubers on the soil surface for a few hours to dry.
Once dry store them in a dark, cool but frost free place.

Les pommes de terre de semence peuvent être plantées deux semaines après le dernier gel printanier.
Choisir un emplacement en plein soleil au sol meuble et bien drainé.
Penser à très bien labourer ou ameublir la terre avant la plantation, car les pommes de terre ne poussent pas si le sol est dur ou compact.
Placer les tubercules espacés de 20 à 30 cm, les pousses vers le haut, dans des tranchées peu profondes de 15 cm de largeur, puis les couvrir de 8 cm de terre.
Arroser abondamment après la plantation.