| manure will burn the tubers.
Five to eight pounds of potato seeds should be sufficient to plant a 100 foot row. Potatoes are perennial. Left in the ground they will come up year after year. Nevertheless, they are usually treated as an annual, as the edible part of the plant is the root and the plant must be dug up to obtain it.
Cut seed potatoes so that one or two eyes are on the surface of the potato, leaving some of the meat of the potato for initial energy for the plant. Plant with the eyes facing upward about 5 inches deep and 12-14 inches apart. Potatoes are typically planted 2 weeks or so before the last killing frost of the spring.
Generally store-bought potatoes have been sprayed with a chemical that inhibits sprouting. So they do not make good seed potatoes. Yet they can produce a crop. For best results obtain your favorite variety from a seed store.
As the potatoes grow, keep weeds to a minimum, but do not hoe too deeply near the plants as the roots and tubers are relatively shallow. Remove and destroy insects as soon as they appear. Some typical pests include: the potato beetle, red slugs and blister beetles. Where crops are small, hand picking the pests is effective and safe. However, where this is not practical, sprays may be used. Consult your local Quality Co-op as to what chemicals are legal and effective. Where air is particularly moist and cool, early blight can kill the vines.
Blight appears first as purple blotches on the leaves. The blotches turn brown and rot. This disease can be prevented by
spraying chlorothalonil, mancozeb or copper products, such as
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