When can I plant potatoes? Check soil temperature, and soil is dry enough.

image from The Spruce

When can I plant potatoes?  Check soil temperature and make sure the soil is dry enough. 
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Good morning, Blue clear sky, but temperature is still at 27F(-3C) high today of only 40F.  For us planting in the greenhouse it will be nice and warm with the sun coming out.  Plants will love that warmth and the light.  You stay warm, stay safe. 
 
Australia family and friends said they had a great weather day on Sunday for their Easter.  Wind picked up on Monday.  Now for Tuesday they will 66F(18C) it will feel like 47F(8C) this morning when they get up.  What a change for them this fall weather.  Stay warm, stay safe. 
I asked Evelyn about the price of gas as she said her family rode the train to Melbourne for a game. Evelyn wrote that their state Premier has made public transport in Victoria free for the month of April.  Are you ready for this?  Gas is 9.20 a gallon and diesel is 13.20.  They were higher than us before but now…
 
Highlights from article about planting potatoes

1. The soil temperature should be at least 55°F during the day and 45°F at night. However, pay more attention to the soil than the calendar to determine planting time.   As of today, from the Iowa State Soil temperature map, we are at 42F.  We need warmer days to get that soil up to 55F before you plant.

 

1. The soil should not be so wet that it sticks together and is hard to work. Let it dry out a bit first. If you have a late and wet spring, you can plant later, through April (depending on location) or even June, especially in containers.

 

1. Do not confuse seed potatoes with potato seeds or grocery produce.

 

1. You want to place the end with the most eyes facing upwards.

 

1. Potatoes need 1 to 2 inches of water a week.

 

1. Practice yearly crop rotation with potatoes in order to avoid pests and diseases.

 
 
Planting and Growing Potatoes  Written By:  Catherine Boeckmann
Want to learn about growing your own potatoes that are fluffy and flavorful? Good news: Potatoes are one of the easiest and most rewarding crops for beginners and seasoned gardeners alike. Potatoes are a cool-season vegetable grown for their flavorful, versatile tubers. Gardeners value potatoes because they are productive, store well, and grow reliably in many home gardens. This guide covers the full gamut regarding planting and growing potatoes, including timing, soil preparation, and tips for a healthy crop.
Potatoes grow underground along buried stems, forming the tubers that are harvested later in the season. As the plants grow, gardeners mound soil around the stems—a process called hilling—which encourages more tuber development. In most regions, potatoes are planted in early spring for a summer harvest, while gardeners in warmer climates often grow them during the cooler winter months.
When to Plant Potatoes
Garden potatoes can be planted 2 to 4 weeks before the average last frost date. The soil temperature should be at least 55°F during the day and 45°F at night. However, pay more attention to the soil than the calendar to determine planting time. The soil should not be so wet that it sticks together and is hard to work. Let it dry out a bit first. If you have a late and wet spring, you can plant later, through April (depending on location) or even June, especially in containers.
In cooler regions, the early-maturing potatoes are usually planted early to mid-April. In warmer regions, planting times range from September to February; in central Florida, gardeners plant potatoes in January; in Georgia, they plant in February.
How to Plant Potatoes
Potatoes for planting are called seed potatoes and are usually sold in bags or netting. Use certified (disease-resistant) seed potatoes from which eyes (buds) protrude. Do not confuse seed potatoes with potato seeds or grocery produce.
When you get them, break them free, lay them out in a tray (such as an old egg carton), and pop them somewhere bright and frost-free to sprout, such as an indoor windowsill. This is a process called chitting. It’s not essential, but chitting helps speed things along so that by the time the potatoes are planted, they’ll be primed and itching to send out roots.
A great way to get more seed potatoes for free is to cut them in half. But only do this if they’ve got plenty of eyes, which appear as small dimples—the areas from which the sprouts emerge. For this reason, you want to place the end with the most eyes facing upwards.
At least 2 days before planting, use a clean, sharp paring knife to cut large potatoes into golf ball–size pieces, with one to two eyes each. This time allows the pieces to heal or form a protective layer over the cut surface, improving both moisture retention and rot resistance. Do not cut up seed potatoes that are smaller than a hen’s egg; plant them whole.
You’ll need a location with at least 6 hours of direct sunlight and fertile, loose, well-draining soil; hard or compacted soil leads to misshapen tubers. Ideally, the soil is slightly acidic (pH 5.8 to 6.5) and the soil temperature is at least 45º to 55ºF (7° to 13°C). In the fall, mix compost or organic matter into the soil. (Learn more about compost, soil amendments, and preparing the soil for planting.)
Outside, prepare the planting area by simply spreading compost across the surface to a depth of around an inch or 2.5 cm. Potatoes are fairly hungry plants, so this extra nourishment will help to support good soil fertility and a strong harvest.
4 Methods of Planting Potatoes
There are different approaches to planting potatoes:
Dig Holes: For each seed potato, dig a hole about 6 inches deep (16 cm). Add in a little slow-release organic fertilizer (e.g., chicken manure pellets) and then pop in the potato with sprouts pointing up and cover with soil. Space potatoes about 16 inches (40 cm) apart in both directions for early types. Main-crop potatoes need a bit more space to stretch their legs, so space them at 18 inches (45 cm) apart.
Dig V-Shaped Trenches: Dig 2- to 2.5-foot-deep (61- to 76-cm-deep) trenches. Lay a nourishing cushion of garden compost along the bottom and a few of those chicken manure pellets, then set your tubers into position about 1 foot (30 cm) apart. Then, just fill back in. I don’t think it makes a huge difference which way you plant, so do whatever’s easiest in the space you have.
Plant in Straw: Nestle seed potatoes down into the soil surface, then cover them with straw. See our article on planting potatoes in straw.
Plant Potatoes in Pots: If you don’t have the garden space, plant in large containers, old compost sacks, trash cans, or purpose-made potato sacks. Fill the bottom of your pot or sack with about 4 inches (10 cm) of potting mix, then lay one or two potatoes on top and cover. Once the foliage is growing, add in more potting mix, a bit at a time, to hill or earth them up until the soil level reaches the top, at which point the foliage almost seems to explode in size. See our article about container gardening with potatoes.
Growing
How to Grow Potatoes
First, water! This is really important because potatoes are lush and leafy plants, and those tubers take a lot of effort to swell. So if it’s dry, water thoroughly. Maintain even moisture, especially from the time after the flowers bloom. Potatoes need 1 to 2 inches of water a week. Too much water right after planting and not enough as the potatoes begin to form can cause them to become misshapen. Stop watering when the foliage begins to turn yellow and die off.
If you’re growing potatoes in containers, take extra care to keep your plants really well watered, especially in warmer weather, as this really will make all the difference in achieving a good crop.
Hilling Potatoes
The potato flavor is improved by depth and darkness. As the potato plants grow above the soil surface, you’ll need to periodically “hill up” or mound up soil and compost around the plant so that only the top leaves stick out of the ground. When growing potatoes, it’s vital not to allow potato spuds to be exposed to sunlight, as this also causes them to turn green and produce solanine, a chemical that gives off a bitter taste and is toxic. Do the hilling in the morning, when plants are at their tallest. (During the heat of the day, plants start drooping.) Just draw up the soil with a hoe every time the stems get to around 6 to 8 inches (15 to 20 cm) tall so that just the very tops are left poking out. Continue doing this in stages until you can no longer draw up any more soil or the foliage closes over in between the rows.
If you’re growing your potatoes in a smaller raised bed, it may be easier to simply top up with organic matter around the whole area.
Potato hills in the garden.
Hilling keeps potatoes from getting sunburned, which can cause them to turn green and produce a bitter, toxic chemical. Practice yearly crop rotation with potatoes in order to avoid pests and diseases.
Types
Despite the limited options in the grocery store, gardeners know there’s much more to potatoes than the traditional Idaho white potato. There are more than 100 types of potatoes, varying in skin color, flesh color, and size—from large to fingerling! Floury types are perfect for roasting or mashing, while firm, waxy potatoes are superb boiled or as salad potatoes. You can learn all about potato varieties in the section below.
Dry-fleshed, mealy potatoes are fantastic for baking, frying, and mashing. Russets and long white potatoes are a favorite for mashed potatoes, easily absorbing the butter and sour cream while maintaining that light and fluffy texture.
Moist, waxy, round potatoes are great in soups, curries, frittatas, and salads because they don’t fall apart when cooked. You can pan-fry leftover boiled potatoes. When you mash waxy potatoes, however, they can become sticky.
taken from https://www.almanac.com/plant/potatoes
Till next time this is Becky Litterer, Becky’s Greenhouse, Dougherty Iowa [email protected]  641-794-3337  cell 641-903-9365  Beckysgreenhouse.com  Facebook Becky Kerndt Litterer or Becky’s Greenhouse