Time Period to Harvest Blue Potato Seed

Seed Potatoes

• Seed potatoes that are planted to grow potatoes are not true seeds but edible potato tubers. Ideally, you should purchase seed potatoes that are labeled disease and pest free. However, blue seed potatoes can be hard for the home gardener to find, so you may have to plant a healthy-looking blue potato that you purchase at a grocery store or farmers' market. In ensuing years, replant the potatoes that you harvest from your garden and store through the winter months.

Harvest and Storage

• The time to harvest blue potatoes is in the fall or early winter after the vines die back. Wait at least two weeks before digging them up. To store potatoes to plant next spring, place them in an open paper bag or basket for 10 days for curing. The area should be dark, approximately 60 degrees Fahrenheit and have a relative humidity level of 85 percent or higher. After curing, dip the potatoes in a sulfur powder, which is available from a garden store, to prevent mildew during storage. Store the potatoes in an area that is between 40 and 45 degrees Fahrenheit with high humidity levels until spring.

Preparation

• Plan to plant seed potatoes in the spring as soon as the ground thaws and the soil reaches 45 degrees Fahrenheit. Cut the whole potatoes into seed pieces. Pieces should be about 1 1/2 to 2 ounces each and contain at least one eye, which is where the new plant will grow. Cut away rotten, mildewed or otherwise damaged areas and discard.

Planting

• Plant pieces about 12 inches apart in 4-inch-deep trenches that are 3 feet apart. The eyes should face up and the cut sides down. Cover the seeds with 2 inches of soil. As the potatoes grow, continue to cover them with soil. Eventually, the trenches become hills. Harvest blue potatoes again in the fall or early winter, store healthy tubers and replant pieces in the spring to continue the cycle.