Are you thinking of growing potatoes at home during this lockdown? Thumbs up, go for it! Potatoes can be very easily grown at home with just a bit of guidance. How to grow organic Potatoes at home.
How to grow organic Potatoes at Home?
Yes, growing potatoes is quite simple and easy. Although being easy to grow, you need a bit of patience with potatoes. They need fertile and a bit of loose soil. They take 70 to 120 days to grow on average. Different types of potatoes take different amounts of time to grow. Some might take more days to grow properly. So you need to choose a proper variety and learn how to grow that variety of potatoes. This will lead you to the best results in your journey of growing potatoes at home.
There are a lot many different ways in which you can grow potatoes. They can be grown in your backyard with more space, in poly bags, and even in pots and buckets. If you want to learn these ways, read ahead to find out more about them. Below are listed a total of 7 different ways.
In a trash bag
One of the easiest ways to grow potatoes is by using a trash bag. For this, all you have to do is poke holes in the trash bag and add 40% of compost and 60% of regular soil. Then, keep around 4 seed potatoes a few inches apart. Add potting soil on top of it to cover the potatoes. Once the plant starts growing, keep adding more soil to cover them around. Repeat this till the whole bag is fully covered. Remember, potatoes need constant watering, so keep the soil moist but not wet. When the foliage dries up and turns yellow, that is the time to harvest them.
In a bucket
If you do not have enough space in your backyard, you can just grow them in a bucket that is wide and deep. Fill the bucket up with 3-4 inches of soil, then add seed potatoes and place them distantly. Cover them with potting soil and keep the bucket in a place where it gets direct sunlight at least for 6 to 7 hours. As the plant grows, keep on adding more soil to mound its stems.
In a wire cage
For this, you’ll need rigid wire mesh, straws, soil, some compost, and manure, and you’ll be good to go. What you need to do is roll your rigid wires in cylinders and use a piece of wood of the same size of your cylinder to keep them in place. Combine the soil and compost, moist them with water, and put them inside the cylinder. Now add straws on the sides of the cage. Then cut seed potatoes in half and make sure that they have at least one eye in them and place them inside facing upwards. Add more straws on top. Repeat the process until you have almost filled the cylinder. For harvesting them, simply remove the wire mesh around your fully grown plant.
In a raised wood box
Use a wide wooden box for this. Add the moist soil inside it and cover it a few inches. Place the potatoes on top and add potting soil. Keep adding more potting soil every few days once the plant starts growing. If your box is long enough, you can also dig trenches.
In rows
This is the most common way of planting potatoes. Dig up a few shallow trenches in your backyard. Place potatoes at least 12 inches apart from each other. Once the plants start growing, keep mounding the soil to keep the stems buried. Among the other ways, this one is the traditional and best way of growing potatoes.
In a pot
Use a pot with depth and fill it with soil and compost. Add seed potatoes and then cover the pot with more soil. Place the pot where it’ll receive lots of sunlight. And this is all you have to do. It’s that simple.
In water
Yes, you heard that right. You can also grow potatoes in water. For this, use a container, small or large, and fill it with water. Add 1-2 small seed potatoes with its eye facing upwards. The portion of potato inside the water container will start absorbing the water and provide nutrition to the growing plant above.
These were our ways of how you can grow potatoes at home easily. Please make sure to use potatoes with at least one eye. Also, if your potato doesn’t have seed, keep them in your pantry for a couple of days, and the potato will start growing the spud. Remember to use only the seed potatoes, or else they won’t grow. We hope you’d have found this article helpful.
How to Grow Organic Potatoes
