Gardening is the ultimate solution for nature lovers; it is considered an art and science. Because growing them requires specific techniques, temperature, and their existence is a subtle art. Usually, the basic methods and principles of planting are the same in the different parts of the world, however, a little change might be needed as per the environment. How to grow potatoes is not too hard, it’s easy and very economical.
When it comes to gardening, you have the option of flowering and nonflowering, flowering plants are called angiosperms and non-flowering ones are gymnosperms. All the flowering plant further change into fruits hence become the fruiting ones, and non-flowering don’t go through fruiting.
People generally go for ornament plants for home decoration and kitchen gardening for homegrown vegetables and herbs. Which includes;
- Tomato
- Potato
- Cucumber
- Mint and coriander
- Spinach
- Fenugreek
- Cherry tomato
- Ladyfinger
- Green beans
And much more just in and around your house.
Planting potato is a fun experience if you are doing it for the very first time; it actually grows to from the other potatoes you have in your kitchen. In some conditions that are favorable to potato, it will sprout buds while remaining in your vegetable basket. Or by planted and will further become an independent plant.
How to Grow Potatoes on Your Own
Here is what you need to know about potato planting to enjoy homegrown potatoes;
- In a deep planter (or grow bag), if you are growing on the rooftop or in a trench in the backyard, place a potato with buds few inches deep with adequate spacing and cover with soil.
- Place the planter in a sunny place, and water the soil thoroughly.
- The potato plant starts to grow above the soil (sprout starts appearing).
- This process will take 10 to 15 days, which means you can see the sprout on the fifteenth or sixteenth day of planting.
- Meanwhile, its tuber also starts to appear above the soil, cover them with soil from time to time to protect them from sunlight. Extreme sunlight will damage the tubers.
- After the potato plant starts growing taller, add fertilizer and pesticides to avoid pest attacks and encourage growth.
- It will grow up to 100 centimeters tall and around 40 inches.
- When the potato leaves and stem turn brownish, it is an indicator of mature tubers, and the potato is ready to harvest.
- Harvesting them before maturing will still give you potato but tiny size known as ‘new potato.’
- New potato’s skin is soft and can easily be peeled off by rubbing them a little, while mature potato’s skin is hard and require a peeler.
Potato Care
While planting a potato plant few things are needed to take into consideration to maximize the yield;
- Use a timely fertilizer; banana peel can be used as a natural fertilizer, full of potassium and nitrogen. Still, excess nitrogen is not a good idea for potato plants.
- Be careful in using soil; it should not be rocky, dense; potatoes around such soil will not grow to their maximum size.
- Guarding mature tubers from sunlight exposure through a hilling process (soiling up the plant’s tuber part). Because if the tubers that you are protecting from sunlight get the exposure for a long time will cause the potato to turn green and produce a toxic chemical known as solanine.
- The placement of potato plants is an essential factor; it should not be around pest-prone cultivation.
Types of Potato to Grow
Now you have several potato varieties to grow, approximately a hundred varieties available in grocery stores and farms for cooking and planting purposes.
Following are the types that are commonly used;
Whites-White potatoes (waxy) are suitable for boiling, salads, mashing, and steaming purposes having low starch. You can have them in long and round shapes.
Russets-The starchy and classic potato mostly use in baking and frying
Yellow-Yellow potatoes are one for all-purpose, available in a couple of varieties.
New potato– baby potatoes harvested at a very early stage. That is why small in size and sweet in taste because their sugar is not completely transformed into starch—all-purpose but not suitable for baking.
You have many others option too, like red potato, finger, blue, and bluish-purple to
Gardening a Hobby to Adopt
- Gardening encourages your physical activities and makes you more concerned about working in a healthy environment.
- Many studies have proved that gardening does help you; it relaxes your mind, changes your mood, and improves your self-esteem. As they carry a positive vibe can calm down your depression and stress level as well.
- Planting gives you a sense of empowerment; from sowing a seed to harvesting it’s a long journey, and finally, when you get fruit, it will make you feel competent and skillful about yourself.
- You will take responsibility for your plants like anything, make you aware of the new beginnings and how to let things go smoothly. Overall a changed person because of the impact these beautiful creatures have.
Potato is an easy homegrown vegetable; unlike other vegetables and crops, it reproduces from the fellow potatoes. From the very quickly and well-developed root system, it absorbs nutrients and supply to other parts of the plant. You can also use seeds to grow available at stores but might risk some potato disease. Only in developed countries the facility of ‘disease-free or ‘certified seeds’ is available. So grab some from your kitchen and start planting them now!
