Potatoes are one of the most versatile veggies out there—you can serve them mashed, fried, baked, or even in pancake form. Try growing some golden spuds in a home garden following these helpful steps!

Step 1 – Prepare your garden bed

The first thing you will need to do is prepare a space for your potatoes to grow. I would recommend growing potatoes in a garden plot, or large planters, as they do tend to need a lot of space. Potatoes prefer a nice loose soil, as they have a very dense root set, so make sure that you have adequate loose soil. Potatoes also need very fertile soil, so make sure to grab a good general garden fertilizer as well as some fresh compost and turn it into your soil.

Step 2 – Get your seed potatoes

You can’t plant just any potatoes. Next time you’re plant shopping, grab organic seed potatoes at your local garden store. Organic potatoes contain more vitamins and minerals in higher amounts, like vitamin C, iron, magnesium, and phosphorus. They also have fewer nitrates and heavy metals than non-organic spuds.

Step 3 – Plant those spuds

Plant your potatoes early on in the spring, about a week before your last frost. They also need a lot of space, so you will need to plant them in a trench that is about 5”-6” deep, and 6”-7” apart. Make sure to plant them with the sprouts facing up, then cover up the potatoes with dirt. If you find the potatoes surfacing, you can pile some loose soil up on top of the sprouts. 

Step 4 – Harvesting

There is nothing better than harvesting a potato—dig through the dirt and you’ll find entire potatoes, almost like nuggets of gold. You’ll know the potatoes are ready to harvest when the plant above ground falls over, which usually happens in late summer. If you can’t wait until then, look for small or “new” potatoes during midsummer — they’re tender and delicious!

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