Great Plains Gardening

By Edith Koeller

March 12, 2004

Are you planning to plant potatoes next week? There is the saying that potatoes should be planted on St. Patrick’s Day, but is that really the right thing to do? I’ve seen very cold weather and blizzards the latter half of March that contribute to very cold ground temperatures. Potatoes should be planted up to 2 weeks before the average date of the last spring frost. St. Patrick’s Day is much earlier than that. The best way to determine planting date is using a soil thermometer. The soil temperature should be 45 degrees or warmer at planting time.

CSU Extension has a fact sheet, #7.610 – Potatoes for the Home Garden that has very good advice about raising potatoes, which would be very helpful to the first time potato planter.

I said last time that the variety of potato was not as important as the type of seed planted. This is true. However, one should also look for varieties that do well in this area. The above mentioned fact sheet has several varieties listed, with their description, maturity date, the best method of use, and other comments. Did you know that not all varieties are suitable for frying or baking? Most all varieties are good for boiling, however. Some seed catalogs will have a selection guide comparing the different offered varieties as to their usage. Potatoes that are high in starch are mealier and will make great baked potatoes, fries, and chips. Potatoes that are low in starch are often higher in sugar content and hold together better during boiling so are better suited for soups, salads, etc.

Potatoes come in three maturities: Early - 65-85 days; Medium – 85-100 days; and Late –more that 100 days. This is counted from time of emergence. The Norgold Russet is an example of the early varieties. It is a medium yielder and excellent for baking. The Kennebec is a high yielding medium maturity potato that is good for frying and chipping. The Chipeta, which was developed in Colorado, is one of the late maturity potatoes and is good for chipping and baking.

Gardeners can purchase either whole seed potatoes or seed pieces for planting. The whole potato needs to be cut into pieces containing 2 to 3 eyes. The seed pieces are ready for planting when purchased. These are planted about 4 inches deep, 10 to 12 inches apart in rows that are 30-36 inches apart. Warming the seed to 50 to 65 degrees before planting will encourage germination and sprout growth. Sprouts on the tubers will emerge quickly if they are up to ¼ inch long when planted. According to the fact sheet from CSU one should allow about 15 pounds of seed potatoes per 100-foot row. Most seed catalogs sell seed pieces by "sets" so multiplying the sets by the 10-12 inch spacing in the row will allow one to determine the amount of sets needed for the individual garden.

If one can master the idea that color does not affect the taste of the potato as it is being eaten, trying the new all blue, red, and yellow varieties might be something to consider.

Until next time…