Bedding up in autumn
You lay out the potato bed in a sunny location in autumn. You dig the ground deep with a spade. You leave the big clods lying around for the winter.
also read
- This is how it works with sowing the potatoes in the garden
- Pre-germinate potatoes - a worthwhile head start
- The potato field in the garden
Manure with manure
You put cow or horse manure directly on the dug up clods. This supplies the soil with important nutrients. It is also possible to fertilize with rotted compost.
Rows pull in spring
In the spring you chop up the clods with a cultivator. You work the decomposed manure into the soil and then rake everything smooth. With the cultivator handle you make 10 cm deep long furrows at a distance of approx. 60 cm.
Get seed potatoes
You can get seed potatoes from the hardware store or garden center. Online shipping offers a larger selection and rarer varieties. Those who have already harvested their own potatoes can use healthy, approx. 3 cm large tubers from the previous year.
Pre-germinate potatoes
You start to pre-germinate the seed potatoes about 2 - 4 weeks before sowing. If you place them next to each other in a fruit crate and place them in a light place at temperatures of 10 to 15 degrees Celsius, they will develop their germs.
Sow potatoes
Depending on the degree of ripeness of your potato variety, you sow your seed potatoes directly in the bed from March to mid-May. With the germs facing up, place the tubers in the furrows at a distance of 30 cm. Rake carefully, water. Finished?
Pile up
The piling is still missing. It protects the potato plant from exposure to light and green spots. With the rake you pile up a small dam over the furrow. You repeat that:
- when the shoots look out from above
- the dam is being removed by heavy rain
- until the potatoes bloom.
Tips & Tricks
Did you know that the word potato is derived from the Italian “tartufolo”, the name for truffle?
