{"id":1003892,"date":"2026-05-01T14:46:58","date_gmt":"2026-05-01T17:46:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/independent-white-fish.learmonthmarketing.com\/?p=1003892"},"modified":"2026-05-08T09:47:05","modified_gmt":"2026-05-08T12:47:05","slug":"growing-potatoes-in-nova-scotia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/themastheadnews.ca\/?p=1003892","title":{"rendered":"Growing potatoes in Nova Scotia"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Potatoes are perfect for growing from \u201cseed\u201d in Nova Scotia. Almost any variety will do well if they are given enough water and fertilizer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSeed\u201d means potatoes that you have cut up with at least one \u201ceye\u201d on each piece. The eye is an embryonic shoot, called an axillary bud. If the potato has begun to sprout in storage, the eyes can be seen more easily. It\u2019s from the eyes that the new stems and eventually the leaves emerge. Tubers (or potatoes) grow from the stems. Depending on the size of the potato, two or three pieces with at least one eye will do when planting. Before putting your potatoes into the ground, dig a hole about 15 cm (6\u201d) deep and sprinkle it with a powdered fertilizer that has a 6-12-12 ratio, as stated on the bag or box.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I find that a handful of this kind of fertilizer is generally enough to give the potatoes the boost they need. Cover the fertilizer with about 2-3 cm (1\u201d) of soil, and then put the cut potatoes into the hole. Each hole should be 30-38 cm (12-15\u201d) apart. By the time the potatoes have started to form roots, the fertilizer will have dissolved into the ground to be used as nutrients. Supplement rainfall with a sprinkler and hose as needed, especially during the summer, when rainfall is less frequent.<\/p>\n\n\n

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The 6-12-12 ratio gives you nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium, but in order to make sure your potatoes have all the nutrients they need, use RX-15 at least once every two weeks. RX-15 is a powdered fertilizer that dissolves in water, so that when you douse your growing potato plants with this solution, they will get all the trace elements they need. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the growing season, rake soil around the stems of the plants, keeping only a few leaves exposed to the sun. Keep this up until the foliage begins to yellow. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mounding, which is what this process is sometimes called, allows more potatoes to grow from your stems. But it also requires a lot of space, so leave your rows 1.5 m (5\u2019) apart. If your garden plot is small, you can get away with a little more than a metre (3\u2019) apart. All you need is just enough soil to keep the potatoes from growing above the ground and turning green. If they do turn green, the potato will become toxic. Common potatoes are Norland, Pontiac, Yukon Gold, Kennebec, Irish Cobbler, Chieftain, Viking, and Russet. So-called new (small) potatoes from all the above, except Kennebec and Russet, can be harvested 7 to 8 weeks after planting. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just put your hands under the plants and remove the number of potatoes you want. Varieties are mature when the leaves turn brown. They should then be dug up and stored away in a cool, dark, dry place. Other people grow potatoes successfully under mulch they have made or bought. Weeding every one to two weeks will help to keep weeds and grass under control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Ron Driskill<\/p>\n\n\n

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Potatoes are perfect for growing from \u201cseed\u201d in Nova Scotia. Almost any variety will do well if they are given enough water and fertilizer. \u201cSeed\u201d means potatoes that you have cut up with at least one \u201ceye\u201d on each piece. The eye is an embryonic shoot, called an axillary bud. If the potato has begun […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1003932,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[233,89,85,44,266],"tags":[324,325,323,326],"class_list":["post-1003892","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-233","category-garden","category-gardening","category-may","category-tips","tag-growing","tag-nova-scotia","tag-potato","tag-season"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/themastheadnews.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1003892","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/themastheadnews.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/themastheadnews.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/themastheadnews.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/themastheadnews.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1003892"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/themastheadnews.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1003892\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1003934,"href":"https:\/\/themastheadnews.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1003892\/revisions\/1003934"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/themastheadnews.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1003932"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/themastheadnews.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1003892"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/themastheadnews.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1003892"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/themastheadnews.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1003892"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}