After a long winter I’m ready to get back into the garden. Potatoes are super easy choices for the home garden. They are the first in zone 5 garden that I plant in my zone. Grandpa always said it was Good Friday when he planted potatoes in the Midwest. Knowing when to plant potatoes in your hardiness zone is the first step to a successful harvest.
planting times
Potatoes can go very early in a Midwest garden. My zone 5 garden is usually ready for planting anywhere from late March through early April. Potatoes can go into the garden as soon as the soil starts to warm up and is not too wet.
Potatoes will grow as soon as the soil reaches 45 degrees. They can usually be sown 2 to 3 weeks before the average last frost date for your zone. Capsicum plants will survive a light frost, but severe frosts will kill the plant to the ground. But in plants should grow normally. A good indication it is time to sow if the grass starts to turn green.
The average last frost date in the US Department of Agriculture hardiness zones will help you decide when to plant them in your area:
Tardiness Zone – Average Last Front Date
- Zone 3 – May 1/ May 31
- Zone 4 – May 1/ May 30
- Zone 5 – March 30 / April 30
- Zone 6 – March 30 / April 30
- Zone 7 – March 30 / April 30
- Zone 8 – February 28 / March 30
- Zone 9 – January 30 / February 28
- Zone 10 – on or before January 30
They were planting potatoes
Potatoes are very easy to grow. They are sown in every sunny place, as soon as the ground is workable in the spring. It is important to know how deep to plant potatoes so that the sun turns the green and bitter tubers.
– Cut the seed potatoes into sections with three to four eyes each. Allow the cut sections to soak overnight. Scabs formed on the surface of the cut cause the tuber to rot in the ground before sprouting. Certified seed potatoes will yield better harvests than sprout potatoes in your refrigerator.
– Soil preparation by cultivating or turning with a spade. Potatoes prefer light, fertile, well-drained soil. Work in plenty of compost and sand if needed to loosen the ground.
— Plant sections 4 to 6 inches high, in a row. After planting it is important to mulch or cover with another 3 to 4 inches of dirt cover the tubers from the sun . I prefer to use several inches of newspaper grass clippings as mulch rather than deep. Mulch helps to conserve water, deter weeds and keep the sun off the potatoes.
Grocery stores potatoes do not come close to the fresh taste of homemade tater tots. Fresh potatoes are easy to grow around the house if you know when to plant the potatoes in your hardiness zone and how high to plant the potatoes in the garden.
Resources:
Personal expertise
Oregon Serant Dates for Vegetables, http://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog/html/grow/grow/ planting.html
University of Illinois Extension, http://urbanext.illinois.edu/veggies/potato.cfm
P. Allen Smith Garden Home, http://www.pallensmith.com/articles/ garden
