Things Needed
Across the calendar month of March , gardener in Tennessee prepare their soil bed in anticipation of planting potatoes . Rather than growing these vegetables from germ , gardeners purchase small , healthy tubers calledseed potatoes , which are certify disease - complimentary . Since cum potatoes are set in the ground and initially protect from Robert Lee Frost , planting take place roughly two to four week before the average last bounce hoarfrost date across the Volunteer State . The ideal garden site for white potato vine is one with fertile , organic - deep land that is damp and drains well . Full sun exposure ensure the best growth and production of tubers for harvest time .
Step 1
Cultivate the territory with a digger or rototiller in early saltation as soon as the ground is workable . Dig the soil 6 to 10 inch deep . That means there is no frost in the land , and it ’s not overly wet . Depending on the fix in Tennessee , educate the vegetable garden arena for potatoes between tardy February and former March .
Step 2
Scatter 1 to 3 inch of constitutive matter on top of the soil and mix with the shovel or rototiller . expend compost , foliage mold or well - rotted animal manure to improve the grain and fertility of the soil . The potato will gain from your bed preparation .
Step 3
Rake the tilled sphere smooth with a garden roue and allow it to naturally settle for three to seven days . While raking , bump off any debris and pulverize any soil clumps so the area is even and delicately - textured .
Step 4
leverage seed potatoes at the garden center . Ask faculty member for perceptivity into the dissimilar varieties . Confirm that the seed potatoes are demonstrate disease - liberal . They also should look plunk and feel wry and firm to the touch .
Step 5
edit out the seed white potato with a knife into section about 2 oz . in size of it . Each cut section ask to contain at least one dormant bud called an eye . From this eye the potato radical and roots sprout . This is optional since some seed potato are rather small and do n’t need cutting so one to three center subsist on each . If you’re able to not plant the cut seed potatoes within four hour , allow them to air dry for one or two days . This curing of the wounds seal the genus Tuber and helps forbid any infestation by disease spores .
Step 6
make a 4- to 5 - inch - deep line in the vegetable garden with the hoe . Space row of white potato vine 36 inches apart .
Step 7
Place a seed potato into the furrow with the cut side down or eyes oriented upward or to the side . Space potatoes 10 to 12 inch aside in the furrow . Cover them with soil and mildly pack the surface with the back of the hoe blade . This take air pockets and fetch the source spud in direct contact with grease particles .
Tip
tater rise well in soil with a pH of 5.0 to 7.5 . If you decide to add together basswood to acidulous garden ground , do so the previous fall and integrate it into the soil to a depth of 6 inches . Alternatively , Tennessee gardeners can constitute potatoes in the month of July . Roughly 90 to 110 mean solar day later , they ’re ready for digging and a evenfall harvest .
Warning
bounce rain are usually sufficient to sustain the sprouting of seminal fluid spud once the soil warms . Do n’t overwater implant potatoes , as overly wet soil leads to fungous rot and demise of the seed white potato , especially those that were rationalize and cured .
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