The Yukon Gold potato is a creamy buttery tasting potato, it's excellent for eating with the skins on as they have thin flesh. The Yukon Gold potato is an excellent crop for shorter season zones, as it takes 80-95 days to maturity.
Requirements
Sun: Full Sun
Spacing: 10-12"
Height: 24-36"
Days to Maturity: 80-95
Sow: Directly Outdoors
Season: Cool
How To
When planting seed potatoes plant as soon as the soil is warm, planting the seed potatoes 4-5" deep and in row 30-36" apart. You can cut seed potatoes in half if there are two or more eyes, be sure to slice them cleanly and do so 2-6 days before planting to help heal the cut. Make sure to plant your potatoes at the recommended distance apart to allow proper air flow, and to help mitigate the spread of the Colorado potato beetle.
If you find the Colorado Potato Beetle on your plants, pick them off and drop them into a bucket of soapy water. When watering your potato plants water with a strong stream to help keep the beetle off of the leaves. This beetle lays yellowish orange eggs on the undersides of leaves. The young are a orange bodies soft bug with black spots. The adults have distinct stripping on the back and are hard shelled.
Once your potatoes are 8-12" tall begin hilling up around the base of the plant to keep your tubers hidden from the sun; otherwise the tubers will turn green and then be inedible. Hilling is done multiple times throughout the growing season.
Once your potato tops die down, it's time to harvest your potatoes. Stick a pitchfork into the ground parallel to the edge of the mounds. Gently loosen the soil around the plant and mount, next dig out the tubers from the soil. Be gentle as potato tubers skins are fragile until cured, and may rip easily. If this happens put the potato aside to eat first.
Any potatoes that get pierced or are damaged eat first or give to your livestock. They won't do well in storage and may cause other potatoes to rot.
Did You Know?
Each potato plant can yield up to one pound of potatoes. When choosing your spot to plant your potatoes, keep in mind crop rotation to keep any bugs away. Potatoes are great when planted with bean, cabbage family, corn, eggplant, flax, peas, strawberries and squash. Be sure to keep them away from apples, cherries, birch, cucumbers, raspberries, sunflowers and tomatoes.