We can plant potatoes any time from the beginning of February to the end of March, it all depends on the weather. This year it was too wet to cultivate and prepare beds until last week.
The seed arrives from Rocky Farms in Colorado in late January. All the local farms get together to save transport and it all comes on one truck We have almost 6,000 lbs which was enough for us to plant two and a half acres.
The seed comes from Colorado because that is where it can be grown organically and there are no aphids to transmit potato viruses.
As soon as the seed arrive we cut them into plantable chunks. We lay them into our tomato trays and expose them to sunlight. It has been cold so the sprouts are just the perfect length. If it is a warm spring and we cannot plant then we have placed them in the cooler to slow them down.
We drop one seed down the tube in the picture below, we aim to place a seed every 12" in the row. As we only grow a few acres of potatoes a year it does not make financial sense to buy a specialized potato planting machine.
Harvest time? In an early year, the beginning of May. This year we hope to harvest the first new potatoes by the end of May.
