Gardening on a Shoestring by Alex Mitchell

Author:Alex Mitchell
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Publisher: Cool Springs Press
Published: 2016-01-31T05:00:00+00:00

To grow a decent supply of potatoes choose any hardy variety and buy tubers in late winter or early spring. Lay these out in old egg cartons so that the blunt end, where most of the eyes are, is uppermost. Place them on a windowsill inside to let shoots develop. Known as chitting, this process gives them a head start when you put them in the ground. If you are growing only in containers, choose a variety that thrives in small containers (see here).

In mid-spring, plant the chitted potatoes, sprouting ends up, about 12 in. apart and 12 in. deep in soil that has had plenty of garden soil mix added. As the plants grow, “earth” them up by drawing soil around the base of the plants with a hoe or spade. This stops the potatoes turning green. Keep well watered throughout the summer and feed every couple of weeks.

Early fall is the time to dig up your spuds. Two weeks before you harvest them, cut the plants down to ground level and compost them. This lets the skins of the potatoes harden up a bit so you don’t damage them when lifting. Then, on a sunny, dry day, dig up carefully with a fork and leave to dry for a few hours before gently putting them in burlap or paper sacks and storing them in a frost-proof shed. Stored this way, the potatoes should keep for months.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.