How to Plant Potatoes

Start with good seed potatoes. The potatoes from the grocery store are crap. Using seeds from crap will yield crap. Cut the potatoes so that each piece has a thick piece of “meat” and at least one eye. The rest of the potato can be eaten. The little seed pieces need to be cured before they are put into the ground.

Lay them out on a piece of paper so that they don’t touch one another until they get a leathery texture. Plant them in deeply worked soil about 2” or 3” deep. They should be about 6” apart and the rows should be 1 1/2’ apart. A row of onion sets can be planted between the rows of potatoes.

As the potatoes grow the plants should be covered with dirt or leaves to keep most of the plant buried. The potatoes are ready to pick when the plant blooms. You may want to “gravel” a few new potatoes once in a while. Just stick your hand in the dirt under the plant and feel around until you find a few potatoes.


David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://www.segrestrealty.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/