How to Grow Potatoes From the Store
- 1). Press a soil thermometer into the ground to make sure that temperature is around 60 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Potato tubers need temperatures between this range for maximum growth. Plant your potato crop between March to early April.
- 2). Cut your potatoes into 1 1/2 to 2 oz. pieces. Check each piece to ensure that there is an "potato eye." The "potato eye" looks like a small bud.
- 3). Plant your potato pieces 10 to 12 inches apart and 1 to 3 inches deep in the soil. Water the planting area and spread a 3- to 4-inch layer of organic mulch. You can use hay, straw or leaves as mulch. Mulch helps conserve soil moisture and keeps weeds away from your potato plants.
- 4). Create a low ridge that is 4 to 6 inches high next to your potato plants to help shade the potatoes. Potatoes can become sunburned if too much direct sunlight hits the tubers.
- 5). Harvest your potatoes when their vines have died or seven to eight weeks after planting. Press a shovel underneath the tubers and lift the tubers up through the soil. Tubers grow within the first 4 to 6 inches of soil, so press your shovel at least 7 inches in the ground.
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