This year, the potatoes will not be bought in the supermarket, but grown in the garden themselves. There are a few things to consider when sowing, such as digging up and fertilizing the bed, drawing rows, pre-germinating potatoes, sowing and piling up.

Digging up beds in autumn

You lay out the potato bed in autumn in a sunny location. Dig the ground deep with a spade. You leave the large clods over the winter.

Fertilize with manure

You apply cow or horse manure directly to the dug up clods. This provides the soil with important nutrients. Fertilization with rotted compost is also possible.

Pull rows in spring

In the spring you break up the clods with a cultivator. You work the decomposed manure into the soil and then rake everything smooth. With the cultivator handle you draw 10 cm deep long furrows at a distance of approx. 60 cm.

Get seed potatoes

You can get seed potatoes from hardware stores or garden centers. Online shipping offers a larger selection and rarer varieties. If you have already harvested your own potatoes, you can use healthy, approx. 3 cm large tubers from the previous year.

Pre-sprout potatoes

About 2 - 4 weeks before sowing you start with the pre-germination of the seed potatoes. If you place them next to each other in a fruit tray and place them in a bright place with temperatures of 10 to 15 degrees Celsius, they will germinate.

sowing potatoes

Depending on the degree of ripeness of your potato variety, sow your seed potatoes directly into the bed from March to mid-May. Place the tubers in the furrows at a distance of 30 cm with the sprouts facing upwards. Rake carefully, water. Ready?

pile up

The piling up is still missing. It protects the potato plant from sunlight and green spots. With the rake you pile up a small dam over the furrow. You repeat this:

  • when the shoots stick out at the top
  • the dam is worn down by heavy rain
  • until the potatoes bloom.

tips and tricks

Did you know that the word potato derives from the Italian "tartufolo", the name for truffle?

Category:

Vegetable garden