{"id":2380,"date":"2021-07-21T07:30:20","date_gmt":"2021-07-21T07:30:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gardendad.co.uk\/?p=2380"},"modified":"2021-07-22T07:18:11","modified_gmt":"2021-07-22T07:18:11","slug":"how-to-grow-potatoes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gardendad.co.uk\/how-to-grow-potatoes\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Grow Potatoes {A Simple Guide}"},"content":{"rendered":"

Potatoes are quite literally the stuff of life. You can survive on solely potatoes for far longer than you can on any other foodstuff; they have a wealth of health benefits, plus, they are startlingly easy to grow! How do you grow potatoes? Let\u2019s find out!<\/p>\n

How Do You Grow Potatoes From A Potato<\/h2>\n

\"how<\/p>\n

This is just about the most simple way to grow a potato! Potatoes actually grow from potatoes; from the little sprouting part that are called Chits<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

You know when you forget about a bag of potatoes in the cupboard for a bit, and they go all wrinkly and start sprouting small white shoots? This is a potato ready to grow!<\/p>\n

The best way to grow potatoes from potatoes, however, is to buy seed potatoes<\/strong> – these have been specially bred to produce good, reliable crops.<\/p>\n

Seed potatoes will come with a few long, leggy shoots already attached to a small, wrinkled potato body.<\/p>\n

All you need to do, once you spot these little shoots appearing, is prepare a space in your veggie patch (or prepare a large pot, bag or potato planter and fill it with compost).<\/p>\n

How to grow potatoes:<\/h3>\n
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  1. Prepare your ground by digging it over, removing any weeds and large stones, and breaking up the large chunks.<\/li>\n
  2. Dig straight trenches, as long as you want your potato patch to be, 12cm deep and 60cm apart.<\/li>\n
  3. Plant your seed potatoes in the bottom of the trenches, about 30cm apart. Cover them with soil and fill in the trench.<\/li>\n
  4. When the shoots reach a height of around 20cm, mound soil up around them (this is called \u201cearthing up\u201d, and will prevent any potatoes near the surface from poking out through the soil.<\/li>\n
  5. Potatoes don\u2019t need much maintenance apart from this; just keep an eye out for weeds, and check the plants regularly for signs of blight and disease.<\/li>\n
  6. After a minimum of 70 days, you can gently lift one plant to check the progress of your tubers. If they are the right sort of size then you can go ahead and lift the rest of the plants.<\/li>\n
  7. If you feel they need a little longer then you CAN replant the one you have dug up to check, but it\u2019s best to just eat them as small spuds.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    This video is great for those new to planting potatoes, as it takes you through the whole process step by step, and shows how you can grow potatoes in containers:<\/p>\n