The ground they are going to be growing in needs to be well worked as soon as we dry out enough. Don't put fresh manure into the soil where you are going to put potatoes as this will cause scab. But do put some ashes and some of the phosphate we talked about in the last garden news. Cottonseed meal can give you some of the nitrogen you need if you don't already have old manure worked in that needed to age and break down. Leaves or compost could be worked into this area. We stopped liming this area a couple of years ago because some of the reports we read said that with the lime the soil isn't acid ENOUGH to prevent some diseases.

Once your soil is worked until it is loose and soft and it is as free of weeds and ant beds as possible, then it is time to get the seed potatoes from your local feed/seed store and get them prepared. Everyone has a very different opinion on preparing the potatoes for planting. We have read every book and tried every method. So far the best for us has come from "Best Ideas for Organic Vegetable Growing" put out by Rodale Press. We take the seed potatoes (seed potatoes have not been sprayed like store potatoes to retard their sprouting) and cut them into LARGE pieces. Now seed potatoes are LARGE--learn from this valuable lesson. Seed potatoes are large just as any seed saving you want to do. Save your largest, sweetest, juiciest, most perfect fruits and vegetables for the seeds or starters for next year. Save your inferior and you will grow inferior! We used to save the little sweet potato "strings" for starting our sweet potato slips the following year. We always got little sweet potatoes. When we finally understood seed saving and that you perpetuate what you plant, we learned that it should always be our best that we plant. We saved bigger and bigger until we had giant sweet potatoes. Use your LARGE seed potatoes and cut them into large pieces, only 3-4 pieces, cutting between the eyes, which is where the potato plant grows from. This will be like cutting a jigsaw puzzle.

Once you have cut your seed potatoes, dust them down with sulfur. This will cause them to be more acid to prevent the diseases and it will also discourage insects that would invade them. Let them set 5-6 days to "heal" over. This will help prevent rotting when the potatoes are planted when it is wet and cold. We just leave ours in the 5 gallon buckets we cut them up into if it doesn't stay too moist. Spread out on paper, if needed, to allow to dry.

Now to plant. Planting potatoes in our area has always been a rule of thumb by the old-timers that you plant around February 14. So if my soil is dry enough to plant and I have things ready I plant then. The extension agents say you can plant in January. I'm still skeptical on that because the more the plants grow in the frosting and freezing weather the more I have to go hill the dirt over them to prevent them from freezing. IF your plants do freeze don't worry too much because they will usually come back, but you have lost all of that growing time. If you wait too long to plant you lose growing time and also push them into the TOO dry a time.

Planting in East Texas has ended up successful for us by planting almost on top of the soil. Normally potatoes are planted in a deep trench. But for us in our wet springs and then sometimes the late May and early June heavy rains they rot on us. So now we plant on top of the soil. We don't lose any to rot anymore. With the drought last year they lacked some of the moisture they needed by being so high up, so since they "predict" another drought year this year I will plant them in a very shallow trench which will give them a little more contact with the moisture level.

Cover the potatoes generously with the soil by hoeing from both sides, making a hill, and wait for them to grow. Don't get discouraged, this takes a long time! As they come above the soil, regularly hill the dirt up around them just leaving them peeking up above the soil. This keeps them deep enough and makes more potatoes by having more contact with the soil. The potatoes do not grow down where the seed potato is, they grow above it, thus plenty of soil above that point make plenty of potatoes.

If the potato beetles show up while they are growing, carry a bucket of hot water with you to drop them into. If you will faithfully not allow any potato beetles you will have and continue to have a good crop. But they must be kept controlled or you will have wasted all of your effort and your garden will be infested until you can not grow any potatoes. At the first sign of one make it a family emergency. Call everyone out and scour the plants closely looking for more. Kill everyone and you will enjoy the bounty of wonderful potatoes. If you haven't seen any because your untrained eye doesn't know what it is looking for, and you see your potato plants look like they are being chewed on, this is the real emergency. Call everyone out. Find what it looks like and find everyone of them!! They come from the soil and will continue to come, so keep a watchful eye.

You will be able to feed your potatoes by using manure teas. This gives them moisture when it is dry, feeds them at the same time, and doesn't cause scab. You will have lush green plants making nice big potatoes underneath. Manure teas are best mixed up a couple of days ahead and then added to the garden, but you can use the tea immediately. Manure tea is best if it is used every couple of weeks to give the plants a boost. A consistent source of moisture makes bigger and better potatoes.

You will know your potatoes are finished and ready to dig when they begin to yellow. They are finished then and can be dug when it is fairly dry. They keep better if they are not dug in wet soil. Extension recommendations are moist soil, but not wet or dry. .

Seeds for next year? Those biggest, prettiest, best looking ones you dig. I know you want to eat them, but they are going to make you nice potatoes for next year instead of saving the little "marbles" of potatoes you don't want.

Let your potatoes dry at least for the day on the soil or on the grass or on drying tables or trays. Under a shade tree for a couple of days if they didn't dry enough in a day. Then bucket them, tray them, or follow any of your root cellaring ideas you have read. Keep them dry, cool and hopefully dark.

Most potato varieties are ready to dig in 95 to 110 days after planting.

You will quickly learn that the potatoes you used to throw away because they sprouted will be appreciated as valuable food when you can't run to the store to get those beauties they have displayed.

Do not plant potatoes in the same place again next year. This breeds disease and increases potato beetle possibilities. The extension mailouts say don't precede or follow potato plantings with eggplant, okra, pepper or tomato because of their being closely related and share the same insect enemies and diseases.

The extension mailout says that "Irish potatoes contain 2% protein and 18% starch. They are an inexpensive source of carbohydrates and provide a good quantity of vitamins and minerals. Green areas on potatoes should be peeled away before cooking."

Your spring potato crop can often be followed with a summer crop of peas in our area. This makes a good rotation.

Linda
 

IN "THE VIRTUOUS WOMAN" BOOK THAT I WROTE, THAT SOME OF YOU HAVE, I HAVE A PAGE WRITTEN BY MY FRIEND JAN WITHERSPOON ABOUT MANURE TEA. I AM ENCLOSING HER ARTICLE HERE FOR SOME OF YOU THAT DON'T KNOW MUCH ABOUT MANURE TEAS.--Linda
 

LINDA'S BEST-EVER TEA RECIPE
by Jan Witherspoon