How to grow potatoes on the balcony

Where can you dig potatoes? It’s better to grow them yourself. If you don’t have a yard, you can have a small balcony and a flower pot!

Select potatoes

There are generally two ways to grow potatoes: seeds and seed potatoes. The easiest thing to do at home is seed potatoes.

You can choose potatoes that you buy directly from the vegetable market and have undamaged skin, and plant them directly after processing.

Use a sharp knife to cut the potatoes into 4 to 6 pieces, making sure that each piece has no more than 3 "little eyes" (the bumpy areas on the surface of the potato). Then place it in the sun for 1 to 2 days until you see sprouts appear in the eye area.

During this process, be careful not to soak the potatoes. Potatoes are not like seeds. Soaking will only make the potatoes rot faster. On the contrary, the cut surface will heal faster in a dry place.

Preparing the soil for planting

You can plant potatoes in a small piece of soil, or in a large pot or plastic foam on the balcony. The most important thing is that the soil is as free of weeds and impurities as possible. Apart from this, add a small amount of organic fertilizer.

How to grow potatoes

Dip the sprouted potatoes in wood ash and place them indoors for 1 to 2 days. For potato pieces with more sprouts, you can leave the full sprouts and break off the rest with your hands.

Draw two grooves in the box and plant the potatoes with the sprouts facing upwards. The normal density is about one plant per 20 cm, but if you are worried about the germination rate, you can make it a little denser. Then cover it with soil, about 3 cm thick, and water it thoroughly. Place in a warmer environment.

Small sprouts will appear in about 10 days, which means the planting is successful, and the plant will gradually grow taller.

Potato harvest

You can harvest potatoes in stages. 7 to 8 weeks after planting, some potatoes will bloom. Pick off the flowers and some of the leaves, allowing the potatoes to continue to grow fully. When the vine leaves begin to turn yellow, you can harvest them.