Where can I grow potatoes?
If you have a garden, you create a potato bed and with enough space you can grow large quantities of potatoes here plant. You can also plant potatoes in pots, buckets and sacks and place them on the balcony. The yield is smaller here, but it's always fun.
also read
- How poisonous are potatoes
- Juice the potatoes
- Pre-germinate potatoes - a worthwhile head start
Where do I get the seeds from?
Potatoes are grown from seed potatoes. You can get them in the garden center or via the garden delivery service. If you have already harvested potatoes yourself, you will get the seed potatoes for the next year from your own harvest.
What types of potatoes are there?
"Linda" and "Agria" are among the most popular potato varieties in Germany. A classic among the potatoes is the “Ackersegen” variety. They are differentiated not only according to their name, but also according to harvest time, type of cooking, peel color and finally according to taste and use.
Different harvest times have:
- early potatoes like Gloria, Cilena, Sieglinde
- medium early varieties: Agria, Stella
- late potatoes: field blessing, granola, vitelotte (blue pulp)
The type of cook distinguishes:
- waxy potatoes: Linda, La Ratte, Bamberger Hörnchen
- Mainly waxy potatoes: Gloria, Granola, Agnes
- Floury varieties: Ackersegen, Bintje
A distinction is made between the shell color:
- yellow-skinned varieties: Adretta, Sieglinde
- red-skinned potatoes: Rosara, Laura
Where do I put my potato bed?
For your Potato patch you choose a sunny and sheltered location in your garden. Even if the tubers grow underground, they need the warmth of the sun.
When is it time to prepare the bed?
The first step is the deep digging of the bed in autumn. The clods remain in place during the winter. The second step is to break up the clods and make the furrows in the spring.
How does the soil have to be made for growing potatoes?
Potatoes need loose, nutrient-rich soil. You can improve the soil by mixing in rotted manure.
Pre-germinate or not?
Potatoes do not need to be pre-germinated. Pre-germination is still advisable in order to promote the growth of the plant and higher Income to achieve.
You start with the pre-germination 2 - 4 weeks before the planned one sowing. In order for the seed potato to grow solid germs, it needs light and an ambient temperature of 10 to 15 degrees Celsius.
When can you start planting potatoes?
The time to plant depends on the type of potato. Early varieties can be sown from mid-March in frost-free weather.
The mid-early and late varieties are sown from mid-April to mid-May. To protect against late frosts, cover the rows with straw, blankets or Garden fleece away.
How are potatoes sown?
as Sow Potatoes refer to the placing of the seed potatoes in the furrow. Here are brief instructions: Place the potatoes about 10 cm deep and 30 cm apart. The potato is turned so that the germs or Point your eyes up. The furrows are loosely raked up and carefully poured on.
How big must the distance between the rows of potatoes be?
Potatoes are planted in rows. The distance between the rows must be at least 60 cm.
Firstly, this leaves space for the plant to spread its underground shoots. Second, you need the space to pile up small dams later.
Why do potatoes have to be piled up?
That Pile up protects the potato from exposure to light. This is important so that no green potatoes or green spots that form the poisonous solanine contain.
Do potatoes even have to be watered?
Yes, because the tubers can only grow if the soil has sufficient moisture. It is therefore essential in longer dry periods poured will.
What are potatoes fertilized with?
As a heavy eater, potatoes need enough nutrient. That Fertilize therefore starts with the Preparation of the bed.
If you mix in rotted manure or compost, the soil is first supplied with all the important nutrients. During the growth phase you can also use Horn shavings(€ 32.93 at Amazon *) and magnesium are fertilized.
How does the potato bloom?
The flowers of the potato are white to purple. They form on the part of the herbaceous potato plant that grows above ground. The actual fruits of the potato, small green berries, develop from the flowers. These contain seeds but, like all green parts of the potato, are poisonous.
What do I grow potatoes in on the balcony?
Potatoes grow in practically everyone vesselwhich has a capacity of at least 10 liters. Black masonry buckets, plastic buckets and sturdy plastic bags are best.
You can achieve a larger harvest with a potato tower. This can consist of flower pots, stacked bricks, masonry buckets placed one on top of the other, or tubes made of bamboo or plastic mats. With the latter, you have to keep in mind that the irrigation water runs off over the balcony.
What do I have to consider when growing potatoes on the balcony?
- use 1 - 2 seed potatoes for a 10 liter bucket
- If you have a volume of 20 liters or more, stick up to 4 seed potatoes
- Place the container in a sheltered, sunny place
- The best time to plant the balcony is from mid-April
- There are late frosts, bring in buckets or cover them
- Don't forget to pour, but avoid waterlogging
When and how are potatoes harvested?
The first new potatoes are already in June ready to harvest. The potato tops are still green at this point. To check whether the tubers are ripe, carefully dig up a potato. If you can no longer rub the skin with your finger, the potato is ripe.
From the end of August you will start harvesting the mid-early potatoes. This is followed by the late varieties until the end of October.
How are potatoes stored?
First, let the potatoes dry off well. Then they have to be in a dark and frost-free place stored will. This is ideally the cellar at temperatures of 4 - 8 ° C.
You build a potato horde from sturdy boards or you get airy fruit boxes that you stack on top of each other. In between, you always provide fresh air.
Medium early and late potatoes have the best storage life. New potatoes, on the other hand, have to be consumed within a few days.
How can I win seed potatoes?
You always get seed potatoes from your last harvest. You will then already know the growing conditions, harvest time and taste and you can use good experiences for the next year. Immediately after harvesting, you pick out the approx. 3 cm large tubers and store them - preferably in the cellar - dry and dark until the next spring.
Which plants thrive in close proximity to potatoes?
Beans, kohlrabi, cabbage, spinach, and cumin Tagetes get along well with neighboring potatoes.
What are bad neighbors?
Pumpkin, zucchini, cucumber and tomatoes are bad neighbors, as they are heavy eaters just like the potato. Planted next to each other, they would take away important nutrients from each other. In addition, potatoes do not get along with sunflowers, celery, peas and onions.
Why do I keep reading that the potato is poisonous?
It is true that all the green parts of the Potato poisonous are. These include the potato tops and the small green berries that form from the flowers. Responsible for this is the poisonous substance solanine, which is produced when exposed to light.
In contrast, the underground plant parts of the potato, i.e. the tubers that serve as valuable food, are harmless. Exceptions are green spots and germs as well green potatoes. They also contain solanine and must therefore not be consumed. So peel the potatoes thoroughly, cut away the green areas and sort out the green potatoes.
Green potatoes are poisonous not only to humans but also to animals. For this reason, feed potatoes must also be sorted accordingly.
Why do I have to follow a crop rotation when growing potatoes?
Growing potatoes deprives the soil of important nutrients. Colloquially, it is also said that potatoes leach out the soil. This is why you have to grow your potatoes in a different location after 3 years at the latest.
With the subsequent cultivation of clover or lupins, the so-called Green manure, the ground is recovering. So that Potato growing Bringing high yields year after year, compliance with the Crop rotation Recommended by heavy, medium and weak consumers.
Why does the potato greens die?
This is usually a natural process. With the beginning of the dormant period, the potato leaves turn yellow and die. In the case of mid-early and late potato varieties, this is the starting signal for the harvest.
Even Diseases and pests and can be responsible for killing the herb. Depending on the damage, it can be late blight, fungus, scab and black-leggedness or infestation with Colorado beetles and snails.
Tips & Tricks
Did you ever blue potatoes tried? Varieties such as Vitelotte and Hermanns Blau offer more than just a color experience with their blue flowers, blue skin and blue pulp. They can also convince with their strong taste.
