The weather outside continues to be sunny and warm which means I can continue planting directly out in the garden. Dona helped me to plant red Norland and banana fingerling potatoes over the weekend. Potatoes are similar to dahlias in that they are tubers that sprout eyes. Before planting, I cut the potatoes into pieces making sure each piece has one or two eyes. The eyes should be just beginning to sprout, but not so much that a stem has formed. Each piece will develop into a full grown plant that will produce 6 to 8 potatoes. I was asked whether or not you can plant supermarket potatoes which seemed like a reasonable question as there is very little difference in appearance between market and the "seed potatoes" that are grown specifically for planting. Apparently not so easily as supermarket potatoes are often treated with a chemical to inhibit sprouting so chances are those potatoes will not thrive in the garden.
When the potato plants are about a foot tall, I will need to "hill" them with compost or mulch to prevent the new potatoes from turning green. My potatoes will be ready in August when I'll be able to go out into the garden and hunt for them like buried treasure.
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