Everything you need to know about potatoes
by Sandi Coleman/Victoria County Master Gardener
August 31, 2024
Contributed Photo
Contributed photo
Potatoes growing in containers
Today my topic is all about potatoes. What is a potato? The potato is a starchy root vegetable. This root vegetable is a staple food in many parts of the world.
The potato is native to South America. Potatoes are tubers of the plant Solanum tuberosum, a perennial in the nightshade family.
It is hard to imagine that scientists studied the genetics of the potato and found its origin. The beginning was in present day Peru and Bolivia between 7,000 to 10,000 years ago. The Spanish introduced potatoes to Europe in the 16th century from Peru. While potatoes are an essential crop in Europe, China and India now lead the world in potato production.
Potatoes are a vital part of the world’s food supply and the most popular vegetable in the United States. The potato did not become popular in the United States until Thomas Jefferson served them in the White House in 1803. The average American eats 140 pounds of potatoes every year or 2.7 potatoes per week .
Potato plants are perennials that grow up to three feet high. The stems are hairy. The leaves have four pairs of leaflets. The flowers range in color from white or pink to blue or purple. The flowers are yellow in the center and pollinated by insects.
The potato develops tubers to store nutrients. These tubers are not roots but stems that form from thickened rhizomes at the tips of the long thin stolon. Stems originate from the eyes that are on the surface of the tubers. The tubers have small holes that allow breathing, called lenticels. Lenticels are circular and their numbers vary depending on the size of the tuber.
After flowering the potato plant produces small green fruit that resembles green cherry tomatoes. This small green fruit contains three hundred small seeds. One can grow potatoes from these seeds. Next year I am going to harvest seeds and try to grow them.
Potatoes grow from seed potatoes. Fifteen northern states lead production of seed potatoes. Seed potatoes need cold, hard winters that kill pests and summers with long sunshine hours for optimum growth. Texas is not one of the fifteen states.
Curious people have asked me how you grow potatoes. I try to be ready to plant seed potatoes by President’s Day in February. Another time for a winter harvest is to plant seed potatoes in August or September in Texas.
Now think about the space you are going to devote to your potatoes. Then, go to a farm supply business to purchase seed potatoes. They may have different varieties. Choose the one that you like. If you do not have any idea what to get, just guess or get a little of each.
Buy seed potatoes that have good eyes. Remember not to get more seed potatoes than you have room to plant.
Now you have your seed potatoes, what are you going to do with them? Cut each seed potato into sections around the eyes. The eye will sprout and produce a potato plant.
After you cut the seed potatoes let them sit for about a week. This waiting period will harden and protect them from annoying pests that like fresh cut potatoes.
Dig a hole two inches deep and plant them twelve inches apart. During this planting process, you will discover how many seed potatoes you have. Now fertilize with 5-10-10 or 8-16-16. You want potatoes not leaves.
To know when to harvest, dig around the stem and do a visual of the potato. If the potato is the size, you what, harvest it. If not let it grow a few more days.
Enjoy your harvest!
The Gardeners’ Dirt is written by members of the Victoria County Master Gardener Association, an educational outreach of Texas A&M AgriLife Extension – Victoria County
REFERENCES:
FUN FACTS ABOUT POTATOES – Organize with Sandy
MORE INFORMATION:
Interesting Facts
- 5,000 different varieties of Potatoes
- National Potato Day August 19
- International Potato Day May 30
- Another name for Potato is Spud
- In six languages potato means earth apple or ground apple