Step 1. Germination

Spread the tubers out on flat surface and bring to warm sunny spot. Potatoes are ready to be planted when green sprouts appear and are approximately 1 cm long. Large potatoes can be cut in pieces, so that each piece has 2-3 sprouts on it. Each piece is planted separately.

Step 2. Planting

Start planting potatoes 2 weeks after the last pring frost. In Ontario it is about mid May. Plant in full sun, well drained garden with loose soil. Place tubers - largest sprout facing up - in a shallow trench, space them 1 foot apart from each other. if you use fertilizer, put a pinch of chemical fertilizer approximately 2 inches away from the tuber (NOT directly on the tuber). Then cover trench with good layer of soil using spade.

Step 3. Growing

When sprouts appear above the ground and grow approximately 6 inch tall, earth up each plant with a ridge of loose soil about 6 inch tall, do not worry if sprouts are completely covered with soil - they will grow up again and will multiply from inside the ridge.

You may want to repeat this step couple times during the season, to make a ridge up to 1 foot above the ground.

Step 4. Harvest

You can harvest potatoes in stages: "young" are ready about 10 weeks after planting and after the bloom stage is over.

For storage of full-sized potato wait for foliage to completely dry out. After harvesting leave potato tubers in shady place for couple of days to dry and cure.

Store in dark cool and well ventilated cellar. Best storage temperature is 2-5 degrees Celcius.