Lecture by Alan Chadwick in New Market, Virginia, 1979
Lecture 19.3, Plant Study: Solanum Tuberosa, The Potato, Part 2
An Introduction to Alan Chadwick's Lectures and a Glossary of Terms
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With the early potatoes, harvest before the plant makes flowers. The middle crop must blossom and yellow, and then be lifted and used immediatley or within two months at the most. Late potatoes are the ones to use for storage, which is best done by clamping. It is best to chit the seed potatoes. Only buy seed that has not yet begun to sprout. Expose the seed to light before they sprout. Set them into a shallow seed flat with the joint downward. Keep them 6-8 weeks to chit with heat and full sunlight. The shoots will grow about one inch. The shoots reflect the color of the future tuber. Keep them at 55 to 58 degrees at night. Cultivate the soil deeply. Three weeks before the last frost you can begin to plant out. Spacing depends on the variety. Prepare the trenches in advance with compost. Plant 4" below the surface. Fertilize primarily between the rows. Space at 1 1/2' to 3' between plants in the row. Have a bucket of live lime and soot. Be careful not to damage the shoots. With a knife, slice a piece out of the potato seed. Dip the cut portion into a mixture of the lime and soot. Cover the seed with 3" of soil, and then with bracken fern. The recording ends here abruptly. (19:26)