Papas!

Everyone loves potatoes! Even the pickiest of eaters will still eat a french fry. They are super easy to cook with and hard to mess up. Growing (and harvesting) them is also a simple pleasure.

Seed Potatoes and Prep
Potatoes are tubers, meaning they grow underground from the roots of the plant, and mature as the tops of the plant mature. Have you ever stored a potato for too long and noticed sprouts growing? You are witnessing the beginning growth stages of the potato plant.

To grow potatoes, you plant a certified "seed potato". You want to buy these from a garden supply store to ensure a disease-free crop, not from the grocery store, where potatoes are often treated with growth inhibitors and other chemicals to store longer.

Potatoes enjoy cooler spring-time weather, but don't like freezes, so here in Central Texas we have a short growing season. All this means for us is that we should plant "early" varieties...ones that mature faster. Any nursery you go to will likely carry Yukon Golds, Pontiacs, Red La Sodas, or Kennebecs, all of which will grow fine. This year, I got mine from Natural Gardener, which is quite the drive for San Martians. King Feed in Wimberley also has them. Get them now (this week) and you will be right on time!

Potatoes do take a very small amount of planning ahead, so get them as soon as possible. When you get your potatoes, they may already be sprouting, which is fine. Some gardeners prefer this "head start". Just handle with extra care to make you don't damage these sprouts. A few days before you plant, you want to cut your potatoes into golf ball sized pieces. Aim for two eyes on each piece. Small potatoes can be left as is. Leave them out on the counter to cure. The potato flesh will get kind of purplish and feel like a callous...which is normal. After 5-10 days, they should look something like this:

NOTE: Some say that potato pieces should be dusted with sulfur before curing, to prevent rot once planted. I've never done this. If rot is the only thing it prevents, just don't plant in wet soil, and don't plant them somewhere with crappy drainage. Try the sulfur method if you want, but if you prefer to go the cheaper route and skip that step, I think you'll be just fine.

Get 'R Dug! (and planted, and tended)
Hopefully you have already prepared a bed for them. If not, this is something you can do while you are waiting for them to cure. They aren't picky plants or heavy feeders, but they do need some compost love, so if you haven't added compost in a year or so, make sure to do this. If you are behind, don't fret too much, but you do want to aim at getting your potatoes in the ground by March.

Plant each potato piece, sprouting eyes up, 4-6 inches deep and about 12 inches apart. Different gardening resources will give you slightly different planting depths/spacing. Some say 6-8 inches deep, and 10-12 inches apart. Don't fret too much over this. You will still get your taters.

Don't get discouraged if it takes a little while for the shoots to emerge. Last year mine took three weeks. The new vegetation can be easily damaged by a hard freeze, so if we get some bitter temperatures after planting, make sure you protect them.

The coolest thing about potatoes is that they grow above the seed piece you planted. Some gardeners will continue to pile dirt on top of the plants as they grow, to increase production. I just cover them with a thick layer of mulch. It keeps them cooler and it's easier since I always have hay on hand. Plus there is some debate as to whether or not this is a beneficial practice for such a short season. Definitely mulch though.

I'm Hungry! When Can I Eat Them?!
Patience. While technically you can eat them anytime you feel they are big enough, it might be worth the wait to get larger potatoes. However, with any root crop, I get really antsy and just HAVE to dig a little and feel around. That suspense is the beauty of root crops...just be careful not to damage any roots/tubers when you do this.

Basically, you know they are ready when the tops start to turn yellow and die, because obviously they won't be growing anymore. Carefully dig them up. Set them outside, somewhere in the shade, or a shed that gets adequate airflow. A shady balcony would be good, if you live in an apartment. Let them sit for a few days to toughen up. If there any soft, shriveled ones, throw them out. Now they are ready to be scrubbed, cooked, eaten, sold, or given away to friends!

I don't need to include cooking ideas here, but once I get my harvest and am forced to come up with creative uses for potatoes, I'll throw some new ideas your way. In the meantime, enjoy getting dirty!