Download: Growing Potatoes in a Raised Bed: Step By Step Guide
Raised beds are a unique way of growing your plants. Even though you might have unhealthy soil for planting based on your planting bed, you can still set up a beautiful garden with the raised bed of your choice.
Read through this article attentively to obtain the right knowledge of how to grow potatoes in a raised bed.
Growing Potatoes in a Raised Bed
One dynamic feature of a raised bed is that it warms up quicker during spring. In essence, you can start planting sooner and, as well,
stay warmer by elongating your growing season during fall. Oftentimes, seeds are fewer when planted in a raised bed, and you have control over the contents of your soil.
As convenient as you think it may be, there are still some varieties of vegetables that are not often planted in raised beds. It is not that they cannot be planted in the raised bed;
some gardeners just prefer to plant them in the garden. If you are still contemplating growing your potatoes in a raised bed, now is the appropriate time.
Follow the steps below to make growing potatoes in your raised bed very easy.
- Loosen the underneath soil of your half-filled raised bed.
- Space the potato seeds 2-3 feet apart and bury them 4 inches below the soil.
- Once the potato begins to grow, add more healthy soil until the raised bed is filled.
- To make it easier for you, simplify your harvesting period and remove the side of the raised bed.
- The potato plant needs a large space to be productive because of the control of the soil content.
- So, if space is not a problem for you, you can successfully grow your potatoes in a raised bed.
How Many Seeds Does a Raised Bed Need to Grow Potatoes?
For each row of seed potatoes, you will have to dig a trench to a depth of 6-8 inches, spacing them 12 inches apart. Potatoes also adapt to mildly acidic soil. So adding a pit of peat moss will make the soil light and adjust the pH level of the soil.
It also helps us to maintain good soil moisture, which will be of great help to us during a dry summer.
How Can I Harvest My Potatoes from a Raised Bed?
You don’t need to pull your potatoes from the soil anyhow. The issue here is that it is difficult to get a potato fork beneath the soil by stepping on it.
What you have to do is gently crawl to the bed, stand on the side of the rail to position your foot to avoid an accident, and then step on the potato fork deep into the planting soil.
How Deep Should Your Potato Raised Bed Be?
The trenches should be 0.5–1 m apart, or approximately 2-3 feet apart, and covered with topsoil. The planting depth is 4 inches deep, and once the potato begins to grow, you will need to set up a hill around the plant’s soil up to the base section of the plant.
What is Hilling?
Hilling is a popular method to protect potatoes that are in the growing process against sunlight. In essence, you will need to create little soil ridges around the potato plant to block the sunlight from getting to the tuber.
Why Do We Need to Block The Tuber?
When the tuber is exposed to heat from the sun, it begins to produce a type of toxin. The potatoes can also turn green and develop some changes.
So my candid advice to gardeners is to add a reasonable quantity of mulch around the plant and use it to block the rays of sunlight.
You can use hay, leaves, weeds, silage, or straw. You must be careful once you discover grass clippings.
This is because they are high in nitrogen, which makes the potatoes produce more leaves instead of developing tubers. The nitrogen content can also affect the taste of the potato.
What Are the Tips for Growing Potatoes on a Raised Bed?
You will need to go thorough research on the variety you want to make use of and keep a record of the period of development and how many weeks or months it will take before you can harvest the potatoes.
Conclusion
Potatoes grown in a raised bed need to stick above the topsoil so that their growth will be significant.
Your potato plants need 1-2 inches of water per week, and if they are still young, you will need to water them every 4–5 days. Once the flowers begin to show, frequent watering is necessary every 3 days.
I believe the information in this article helps you grow your potatoes in a raised bed.
