- 1). Allow your potato sprouts to grow to a height of about 1 inch. If your sprouts are green they are healthy. If your sprouts are white, break them off and allow them to regrow with more sun.
- 2). Cut your sprouted potato into smaller pieces with your knife. The pieces should weigh 2 to 4 oz. and should have one sprouted eye. If you are using potatoes that weigh 3 oz. or less whole, cutting is unnecessary.
- 3). Turn your soil with fertilizer until you have a well-aerated, well-drained patch in which to plant your potatoes. The ideal soil will be loose and deep so as not to restrict root growth or potato development.
- 4). Plant the potatoes after the soil has reached a steady temperature of 50 degrees F or higher. March or early April are the traditional planting times. Potato seed-pieces should be planted about 12 inches apart in rows separated by 20 to 30 inches.
- 5). "Hill" or cover the new sprouts with top soil to a height of 4 inches as they reach a height of 8 inches or so. By doing so you will deepen the roots and allow potatoes to develop higher up in the newly turned and aerated soil. Repeat this process every two weeks to an additional 2 inches so the vines are not smothered as they grow.
- 6). Harvest your early potatoes, such as the Superior variety, as the first blossoms open. Harvest your mid-season and late varieties, like Red Pontiac, Russet and Yukon Gold, once the vines have begun to wither. Pull out or cut the vines off at the soil level and wait one to two weeks before digging up the crop. Use a shovel or pitchfork and harvest your potatoes, making sure not to damage them on the way up.
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