How to Plant Kennebec Potatoes

Kennebec potatoes are also fine baking potatoes.

Kennebec potatoes are a late-maturing variety of garden potato. Home gardeners use mature Kennebec potatoes for potato chips, french fries and hash brown frying. The Kennebec variety of potato requires the same planting process and care as other garden potatoes. Once you plant the seed potatoes, they require little maintenance and will mature underground until harvest time. Gardeners can store Kennebec potatoes in a root cellar over the winter.

Things You'll Need

• Organic compost
• 5-10-10 fertilizer
• Garden tiller
• Kennebec seed potatoes
• Knife
• Shovel
• Water

Instructions

1. Select a well-draining planting site that gets full sun. Make your selection in the early spring.

2. Cover the planting site with one inch of organic compost. Apply one application of a 5-10-10 fertilizer to the soil, according to package directions. Till the amendments into the soil at a depth of 10 to 12 inches with a garden tiller.

3. Cut the seed potatoes into sections, so that each section has two eyes, or buds. Store the cut sections in a cool, dry place until the wounds from the cuts harden.

4. Dig a two-inch trench in the planting site with a shovel. Lower the cut pieces into the soil, spacing them one foot apart. Fill in the trench so the pieces have a one-inch thick soil cover.

5. Water the soil until it settles, then continue watering once a week. When you water, water enough so the soil is moist to the touch at least three inches below the soil surface.

6. Wait for the Kennebec vines to turn yellow and begin to wilt. The potatoes underground are then ready for harvesting.

References

• The Maine Way: Growing Potatoes, Past and Present
• Hume Seeds: Growing Potatoes