Growing Potatoes

Cutting Tubers

Some seed tubers are small, whole potatoes, one to 1¼ inches in diameter. These are ideal, since you do not need to divide them.

Cut larger tubers into 1¼-inch chunks.
Every piece must have at least one “eye,” an indentation that will produce the new shoot. Two or three eyes per piece is better.
Use a clean knife on a clean cutting board when you cut the seed tubers into pieces.
Place the cut pieces on a tray at room temperature (between 60°F and 70°F) for a few days until the cut surface has dried out and formed a tough protective layer.
If sprouts start to form, be careful not to rub them off while planting.

Planting Seed Pieces

Plant seed pieces as soon as the soil warms. This period is early April in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota. Gardeners in southern Minnesota may plant earlier, while locations further north may not have warmer soil until May.

Plant seed pieces cut side down, 10 to 12 inches apart and about three to five inches deep, in rows 30 to 36 inches apart.
Space pieces closer for smaller tubers and farther apart for fewer but larger tubers.
Cover with four inches of soil or compost.

Hilling

Once the green shoots emerge, hill soil up along plants as they grow. Tubers will form on thin stems, also called stolons, which emerge from the main stems. The longer the underground portion of the plant, the more stolons the plant may grow. Hilling also keeps any shallow tubers from exposure to light and turning green.

Start hilling the plants when stems are about a foot tall, and once or twice more during the growing season. At the end of the season, you will have hilled six to eight inches of soil in total along the plants. Some gardeners plant the seed tubers in shallow trenches to make hilling easier. Instead of mounding soil up, they push it more into the trench.

How to Plant Onion Sets

Bury onion sets 2 to 6 inches apart, gently pressing them into loose soil no more than 1 inch deep. ...
Space transplants 4 to 5 inches apart and rows 12 to 18 inches apart.
Set the bulbs with the point end up. ...
Mulch with straw between rows to help retain moisture and control weeds.

GROWING POTATOES & ONIONS

2023 HERB VARIETIES

Arugula
Basil Boxwood
Basil Cinnamon
Basil Holy
Basil Lemon
Basil Perpetuo Pesto
Basil Purple Ruffle
Basil Red Rubin
Basil Spicy Globe
Basil Sweet
Basil Sweet Thai
Basil Try Me
Catnip
Chive Garlic
Chives
Cilantro/Coriander
Curry Plant
Dill Bouquet
Curry Plant
Dill Bouquet
Dill Fernleaf
Fennel Germander
Lavender Munstead
Lemon Grass
Marjoram Sweet
Marjoram Sweet Var.
Mint Pineapple
Nasturtium
Oregano
Oregano Greek
Parsley Italian
Parsley Triple Curled
Peppermint
Rosemary
Rosemary Creep.
Rue
Sage
Sage Golden
Sage Honeydew
Sage Pineapple
Sage Purple
Sage Tricolor
Sorrel
Stevia Sugar Plant
Tarragon French
Thyme Creeping
Thyme English
Thyme Lemon Var.
Thyme Silver Posey
Mint Julep
Mojito
Chamomile Tea
Lemon Balm Tea
Lemon Verbena Tea
Mint Apple Tea
Mint Chocolate Tea
Mint Lemon Tea
Spearmint Tea

2023 VEGGIES

TOMATOE VARIETIES

Beefmaster, Beefsteak, Better Boy, Big Beef, Big Boy, Celebrity, Champion, Early Girl, Golden Boy, Husky Red Cherry, Jet Star, Large Cherry, Mountain Pride, Red Cherry, Roma Plum, Sugar Rush, Superfantastic, Sweet 100, Yellow Pear, Yellow Plum, 444, Amish Paste, Arkansas Traveler, Beefy Boy, Bradley Pink, Carnival, Chef’s Choice Orange, Chello, Grape Red, Jolly, Lemon Boy, Patio, Rapunzel, Sugary, Summer Sun, Sun Sugar, Sungold, Sweet Cluster, Tidy Treats, Whopper 

HEIRLOOM TOMATOES

Black Krim, Black Prince, Boxcar Willy, Brandywine, Caspian Pink, Cherokee Purple, Green Zebra, Jubilee, Marglobe, Mortgage Lifter, Mr. Stripey, Old German, Orange Oxheart, Pineapple, Rutgers Select, San Marzano, Wisconsin 55 
 

PEPPER VARIETIES 

Better Belle, California Wonder, Cayenne, Chocolate Bell, Golden Bell, Gypsy, Hungarian Hot Wax, Lilac Bell, Red Beauty, Super Supreme Banana, Valencia Orange, Anaheim, Big Bertha, Tabasco, Whopper 
 

EXTREME HOT PEPPERS

Carolina Reaper, Ghost Pepper, Habanero, Trinidad Scorpion, World’s Hottest Pepper  

 

SQUASH VARIETIES 

Acorn Table Ace, Butternut, Peter Pan, Spaghetti, Yellow Crookneck Supersett, Zucchini Aristocrat 

 

OTHER VEGGIE VARIETIES 

Bush Bean Blue Lake, Cantaloupe Classic, Cat Grass, Corn Chubby Checkers, Cucumber Burpless, Cucumber Bush Pickle, Eggplant Classic, Eggplant Inchiban, Honeydew Melon, Pea Sugar Snap, Watermelon Crimson Sweet, Cucumber Whopper, Eggplant Fairy Tale, Eggplant Whopper, Okra, Pumpkin Howden Biggie, Watermelon Whopper, Bean Black Wax Pencil Pod, Bean Kentucky Wonder Pole, Cucumber Straight Eight  

 

SALSARIFIC

Cilantro, Jalapeno, Mucho Nacho, Poblano, Roma, Serrano, Super Chilli, Tomatillo  

 

ASIAN COLLECTION

Chinese Long Bean, Edamame-Soy Bean, Snow Peas, Thai Dragon Pepper  

 

TASTE OF ITALY

Gigante D’Italia Parsley, Juliet Tomato, Long Hot Pepper, Pepperoncini Pepper, San Marzano  

 

COOL SEASON

Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, Cabbage Early, Cabbage Late, Cauliflower, Kohlrabi Kossak, Lettuce Buttercrunch, Lettuce Red Salad Bowl, White Russian Kale