How to Grow Irish Potatoes [Practical Guide]

Irish potatoes, also known as white potatoes, are one of the most widely grown and consumed crops in the world. They are a good source of vitamin C and fiber, and their skin is edible, too. You can use Irish potatoes to make chips or boil them for an instant potato dish.

Choose a sunny location with well-draining soil, purchase seed potatoes, chit your seed potatoes, create bed rows, plant your seed potatoes, water them regularly after planting, apply fertilizer, raise the farm bed, checkout for weed and pest, and harvest are the steps involved in growing Irish potatoes.

You may successfully produce Irish potatoes with a little care and work, by following the steps given and explained in this article.

How To Grow Irish Potatoes

The following steps discussed below will assist you with growing your potatoes.

Step 1: Choose A Sunny Location with Well-Draining Soil

The location should have rich soil that drains properly and is slightly acidic. Also, it should have a soil pH between 6 and 6.5. Also, virgin soil with a high organic matter content that has been adequately plowed and brought to a fine tilth is suitable.

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Step 2: Prepare the Soil

Soil preparation is a paramount step in growing Irish potatoes. Soil preparation should be done months before planting commences. The field should be deforested clearing the field of all bush and tree trunks.

After that, the land must be tilled and plowed deeply to loosen the soil and remove weeds. Manure should also be used to supplement soil nutrients.

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Make farm beds that are 2 to 3 inches high to provide the potato plant ample room to grow because it is a root crop that will burrow deep into the soil.

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Step 3: Purchase Seed Potatoes

Potatoes do not grow from seed, rather, they grow from potatoes. Seed potatoes have buds or eyes that sprout tubers and yield potatoes. Irish potatoes have different varieties such as russet, red, and yellow.

The quality of the potato seed you acquire will determine the yield you will get at harvest. It is better to get your seed potatoes from a reputable source such as a garden center.

Step 4: Prepare Potatoes Seeds

Before planting, keep your seed potatoes in a sunny place for about a week. Green shoots will emerge from your potatoes while they are chitting. This gives potatoes a head start.

Place seed potatoes in a bowl and placed them in a dry, sunny location. A windowsill is ideal for chitting seed potatoes. Plant potatoes when the shoots are about 1 inch (2.5 cm) long.

Step 5: Create Bed Rows

While your potato seeds are chitting, you should begin preparing bed rows for planting the chitted potato seeds.

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Make 10-12 beds that are 36 inches apart in rows. These beds are critical for your patch’s drainage. Rake and shovel the soil to the required height.

After you’ve created the mounded dirt beds, flatten them with the back of your shovel until they’re approximately 6 to 8 inches (15 to 20 cm) high and 10 to 12 inches (25 to 30 cm) wide. This will make it easy to apply fertilizer.

Step 6: Plant Your Seed Potatoes

This is the stage where you plant your seed potatoes on the field. Seed potatoes can be planted whole or sliced into pieces for planting. Plant your seed potatoes cut side down 3 to 5 inches deep in the bed rows and 10 to 12 inches apart if they are cut.

Plant your complete seed potatoes at the same depth and spacing, with the tubers pointing upwards. Cover the seed potatoes with dirt, about 4 inches.

Step 7: Water Them Regularly After Planting

Water your potatoes regularly after planting. When potatoes start to germinate, they require moist and enriched soil. To ensure the soil is always moist and damp, water it with a hose or watering can. This will prevent the soil to dry out.

Step 8: Apply Fertilizer

To grow in the early season, potatoes require a lot of fertilizer. As a result, you will need to apply fertilizer both before and after planting the seeded potatoes.

Apply 1 cup (128 g) of fertilizer to the area when the potato plants are about 4 inches tall. You can use the same fertilizer as before on the farm beds. For every 30 feet (9.1 m) of a row, apply roughly 1 cup (128 g) of fertilizer.

Step 9: Raise Farm Bed

When the plants are 6 to 8 inches tall, raise the farm bed. Pile the earth around the stems of the potato plant to cover it. This will enhance the amount of developing Irish potatoes and keep them from turning green.

Repeat this method whenever new stems reach a certain height. After the season, build up roughly 8 inches (20 cm) of earth along the plants.

Step 10: Checkout for Weed and Pest

Weed control aids in the reduction of yield loss due to competition for moisture, nutrients, and light. As a result, weed when the crop is around 10 cm high and again when it is 20-25 cm high. Weeding early is preferable to avoid plant interaction and the spread of diseases such as the potato virus.

Potato plants can be prone to pests and diseases, so keep a watch out for any issues. If you notice anything unusual, contact your local agricultural extension office for advice on how to handle it.

Step 11: Harvest

Irish potatoes should be harvested 95 to 110 days after planting. When the plant leaves have dried and yellowed, potatoes are ready to harvest. As a sign of maturity, the skins of ready potatoes will be tough to remove with your thumb.

How Long Do Irish Potatoes Take To Grow?

Irish potatoes grow to maturity between 95 to 110 days.

What Is The Best Way To Plant Irish Potatoes?

To begin, store the cut pieces of potato seeds in a well-ventilated area in a warm, humid environment. On the farm, dig a 3-inch (8 cm) deep trench, plant the potatoes 10 to 12 inches (25-31 cm) apart, and cover with 3 inches of soil (8 cm.)

How Do You Grow Irish Potatoes At Home?

You can grow Irish potatoes at home using a container or a backyard garden.

When Should Irish Potatoes Be Planted?

February or early March is the ideal time to plant Irish potatoes because the climate is favorable during this period.

How Many Potatoes Will One Plant Produce?

One plant of potato can produce about 5 to 10 potatoes per plant depending on your gardening efforts.

Which Fertilizer Is Best For Irish Potatoes?

Potatoes need a lot of nitrogen to grow. So, you should go for fertilizer with an NPK of 34-0-0.

What Month Do You Plant Potatoes?

February or March is the ideal month to plant potatoes.

Is Irish Potato Annual Or Perennial?

Potatoes are not annual but perennial crops. The plants are cultivated in spring and harvested in fall.

What Happens If You Plant Potatoes Upside Down?

The ideal way of planting potatoes is to place the plant with the eyes facing up. However, your potatoes will do just fine if you plant them upside down, although it is not recommended.

Do Potatoes Need Full Sun?

Potatoes need daily sunshine of minimum of 6 hours daily to aid growth.

How Do You Know When Potatoes Are Ready To Harvest?

You will know that your potatoes are ready for harvest when the top of the vines have completely withered.

Do You Plant Seed Potatoes With The Eyes Up Or Down?

You plant seed potatoes with your eyes facing the sky so that the stem that has begun to grow can easily protrude from the soil and reach the surface.

How Do You Prepare Soil For Potatoes?

You prepare the soil for potatoes by removing weeds from the soil before digging straight trenches that are 12cm deep and 60cm apart. Add fertilizer to the soil to enrich nutrients.

How Long Can You Leave Potatoes In The Ground?

You can leave potatoes in the ground for a little over 2-weeks.

Can I Leave Potatoes In The Ground Over Winter?

Potatoes can be left in the ground over winter but it is not recommendable. Because it can become wet and get rot or develop some kind of plant disease.

How Often Should Potatoes Be Watered?

Potatoes require between 1-2 inches of water per week to germinate properly.

How Many Potatoes Do I Need To Plant For A Family Of 4?

40 potatoes are enough to be planted for a family of 4.

What Is The Highest Yielding Potato?

Purple Peruvian, Purple Abundance, and Red Pontiac have all been identified to produce the highest yields.

How Long Do Irish Potatoes Take To Grow

Irish potatoes grow to maturity within 110 days after planting. you will see signs of dried plant leaves up and yellowed.

How To Grow Irish Potatoes In Containers

1. Get a container
2. Prepare potting mix or compost
3. Fill the container with potting mix
4. Plant the chitted potatoes seeds 1- inch deep and cover with topsoil
5. Hill the soil when a plant grows 4-foot tall
6. Water the plant and place the container in a sunny spot
7. Watch out for weeds, pests, and diseases
8. Harvest

How To Grow Potatoes Step By Step

Step 1 – Soil Requirement

Step 2 – Prepare Land for Irish Potato Farming

Step 3 – Acquire Best Varieties

Step 4 – Seed Preparation

Step 5 – Planting Methods

Step 6 – Irrigation and Fertilizer Application

Step 7 – Weed and Disease Control

Step 8 – Harvesting

Irish Potato Farming PDF

Knowledge is essential in farming. That is why you must learn the skills and techniques necessary to start a successful Irish potato farming business. You can look through a series of PDFs containing all of the necessary information and guidelines for potato farming.

Also, you will be informed about the different methods on how to grow Irish potatoes.

How Many Bags of Irish Potatoes Per Acre

You will get 20 to 25 bags of potatoes per acre of farmland.

Irish Potato Seeds

Unlike most vegetable plants grown from seeds, Irish potatoes are grown from potato tuber. The tuber of potato is chitted to sprout. The tuber can be sliced into pieces and planted or it is planted in whole.

Irish Potato PDF

Irish Potato Farming PDF is a well-documented material filled with information that will enhance your knowledge about Irish potatoes. you will learn about their origin and how the crop gets to become wildly known.

More so, you will learn about the different varieties and how they were derived including recipes for different Irish potato dishes that you can prepare.

Conclusion

Irish potatoes can be grown easily by anyone interested. The process is not strenuous except if you are going into large-scale commercial farming. We recommend that you go through this material carefully and learn all you need to know on how to grow Irish potatoes.