Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Potatoes:
This is the staple vegetable for millions worldwide and comes in many different varieties. A
vegetable for the cooler climate, potatoes come as early, mid or late planting varieties and is
the World's 4
th
largest food crop.
Home-grown potatoes are renowned for being much tastier than store-bought, and picked
fresh from the ground they cannot be beaten!
Planting:
Potatoes are planted from seed potatoes that are specially grown to be disease-free and to
provide consistent healthy plants.
Althoughyoucaneasilygrowpotatoesfrompotatopeelingsthathaveatleast1eyeonthem,
it is best to plant the whole seed tuber as peelings are likely to rot before they start to ger-
minate.
After choosing the variety that best suits your region or culinary tastes, place your potatoes
in a cool dark place until the first shoots start to appear (4-6 weeks).
After the last frost has left, place one potato per square into your SFG, into a hole 6 inches
deep, being careful not to break off the early shoots, then cover with the soil. As the potato
grows and breaks the surface, pile compost around the shoot to encourage further upward
growth. If a late frost is forecast be ready to cover the young plant with gardeners fleece or
other protection.
