Fertilizing Potatoes in your Garden to have the Best Crop Yet

Best Potatoes to Plant

Potatoes are one of the easiest things to plant in your garden as they do not need much uptake to produce, but fertilizing potatoes is the way to go if you want to take your yield to the next level, and that can get a little tricky. As the days in South Georgia are getting longer, it is getting into tater time, and Hoss Tools wants to help you navigate through growing and fertilizing your potatoes. Nothing beats going out and scratching you a potato to take inside and boil up for dinner. So how do you get your crop to that point? First, we need to talk about getting them in the ground and what should be in your soil. There are many different varieties you can grow, everything from All Blue potatoes to a general Yukon Gold. Your method of planting is going to be around the same for all Irish Potatoes. In regards to your soil, potatoes like to live anywhere from 5-6.5 pH level, so you want to make sure you have plenty of that organic matter in there. When planting potatoes, we suggest you plant them four to six inches apart with a 36-inch row spacing. The spacing will give them ample room but also keep them close enough together, so your rows aren't too spread apart. With all crops, it is imperative to have you a good crop rotation so that you don't soak all that nutrients up out of the soil. Figure out a plan for what you are going to plant before and after your potatoes to make sure you are a good steward of your soil. Make sure to remember that potatoes are in the nightshade family, meaning it isn't healthy to plant where other nightshades have been like tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant. Look out for sandy soil to know that you may not have suitable growing soil anymore and figure out how you can add nutrients back into it.

Fertilizing the Potatoes

It is essential to fertilize your potatoes once they are in the ground and throughout the weeks. Though potatoes don't have many pests, they do struggle with a little bit of Blight and the Colorado Potato Beetle here in the south. That Colorado Potato Beetle, you have to look for eggs that might be waiting to hatch under the leaves. One way to fight against that is to alternate between Spinosad and Neem Oils, which are both insect sprays. Rotating weeks and starting while their young as well as making sure that you are spraying under the leaves and getting good coverage will help you see success in your potatoes. Once your plants are in the ground, there are a few things you can do to make sure that you are getting the most bang for your buck. In a cup, you are going to want to mix a 10-10-10 synthetic fertilizer and pour it down in the roots of the plant. The benefit of this fertilizer is that it will help boost your yield to the next level as well as gain that resistance to pests and diseases. Once you do that once with the cup when it is young, you should go in there again, but wait until they are at your desired height of four to eight inches tall. That will continue to help the plant as it matures. Though potatoes aren't expensive in the grocery store, we want everyone to be encouraged to grow their food! Gardening is a family activity everyone can enjoy and reap the benefits. If you have any questions, check out the video below to see more.