I'm not sure about you, but I seem to always buy too many potatoes at the store, and then I can't eat them fast enough before they start to sprout. One time last winter, this happened to us, so we decided to try planting them to see what would happen. They did grow, so we can confidently show you how we did it so you can give it a try too!
First stage of prep:
In order for potatoes to do well, you have to prep them first. But it's easy! You'll want to chit your potatoes as the first step. What you want is for them to start getting their sprouts, or eyes, developed. If you have small potatoes, you can put them in an empty egg carton, or you can put them on a cloth on plate. Put them somewhere warm like a window sill or radiator so they can start to produce their eyes. Once they have some decent sized eyes, they'll be ready to put into some dirt. This will take a couple to a few weeks, depending on your potatoes.
Second stage of prep:
Time to plant your potatoes! We had a nice large pot, but you can use a mesh bag, or any bag that will let air through. Fill in the bottom with dirt, about six inches or so, add your chitted potatoes, and then cover with about six more inches of dirt. You'll want to make sure your soil is moist, but not holding water or your potatoes will stay soggy and rot.
Third stage:
Keep your potatoes in a cool area to grow. We had ours in our greenhouse over winter. You'll see sprouts grow and that's the exciting part!
Fourth stage:
After about 4-5 months, we took our potatoes and this is what we had! We weren't expecting much, but we were very happy overall!
Weather report: Warm and sunny, high in the 60s
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