Rural Lifestyle

Life in Rural America

Cutting Seed Potatoes For Planting

Cutting potatoes before planting

Cutting potatoes before planting

When planting potatoes there is a common misconception that the whole potato has to be planted. That simply is not true. It is possible to grow multiple plants from a single potato. This is done by cutting a chunk of the potato along with an “eye.” A potato eye is another name for the sprout. Potatoes will have multiple sprouts coming off of them. Simple cut the sprout along with a chunk of the potato off.

After cutting the eye off the potato, some people dip the cutting in lime or fireplace ashes. Then allow the cutting to dry for a few days before planting. Some people say the lime or ashes help prevent the cutting from rotting.

Potato planting time is just around the corner. In the southern part of the united States it is common to plant around February 14th. Or anywhere between the middle of February to the first of March.

When it comes time to plant, plant the cutting about the width of your hand deep.

Here is an article about planting potatoes. However, we will get into planting the potatoes in another article.

Overall, tubers are some of the easiest crops to grow, harvest and preserve.  To store the potatoes, store them in a cool dry location, such as a barn.  I have seen potatoes stored in a barn with nothing but a layer of hay between them.  As we needed potatoes through the year, we would dig through the straw to find them.

One time I stored potatoes in bushel baskets in a spare bedroom.  A layer of straw was put down, a layer of potatoes, a layer of straw, a layer of potatoes, until the bushel was full.

When the 2018 potatoes have been harvested, we will go over storing them

Kevin Felts © 2008 - 2018