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Hey kids, here’s a really neat way to grow your own tasty ‘taters’! You can grow a Spud Spot in a container, or just grow them in a potato mound. You can even harvest a few‘Tater “tots” as they’re growing!
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What you’ll need:
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- several “seed” potatoes
- 30” deep container
(Just about any container will do – a trash can, a barrel, or even a stack of old tires!)
- good soil
- a sunny spot
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What you do:
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- If the container you’re using doesn’t have drain holes in it, ask your parents to help you. Potatoes will rot if the soil is too wet!
- Cut your “seed” potatoes in small (1½ -inch) cubes, making sure there are one or two “eyes” on each one. Be sure to ask your parents to help you when you’re using a sharp knife!
- Put in 12 inches of moist soil, and lay your potato “eyes” on top, cut side down. Put a small amount of soil over them, leaving the “eyes” exposed.
- Make sure the potato plants have full sun, and as they sprout, keep covering them every couple of days with more and more soil, a little at a time. This will encourage the plant to grow more.
- Here’s the really cool part! All the new potatoes will grow above the piece you planted. So eventually, you’ll need to give them another 12 inches or so of soil, giving them lots of room to grow.
- Try planting several varieties in different containers. Did you know that there are red, yellow, blue and purple potatoes? Some grow long and narrow and are called fingerlings.
- Whatever you do, make sure the potatoes stay under the soil! If they’re exposed to the sun, they will turn green, and they can make you sick!
- When the leaves turn brown, dig out the potatoes, or dump the container over and harvest your ‘taters’!
P.S. If you don’t have a container, you can grow potatoes in your garden by planting a few potato “eyes” in the ground. When they sprout, just keep putting on more soil to form a mound. Enjoy!
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