Get your gardening gloves and shovel out, it’s time to plant early spring vegetables! Onion sets and seed potatoes arrive soon to all Russell Feed & Supply locations. So start planning your garden now. Other cold weather crops will arrive around the first or second week of February. Even though it’s cool outside, it’s the perfect time to plant cool weather cole crops. New to planting Cole Crops? Check out this article from the Texas AgriLife Extension office on easy gardening for cole crops.
Preparing and Planting Potatoes
When purchasing seed potatoes, look for certified seed potatoes. These are seeding potatoes which have not been treated with growth retardants to prevent sprouting. Conventional potatoes in grocery markets are typically treated with retardants.
After you have planned and prepared a garden spot with well-drained, loose soil, the seed potatoes can be prepped for planting:
Cut each seed potato into quarters (sulfur dust can be applied to the fresh cut ends). Then let the potato quarters set out overnight or longer until cut sides callus over. Finally, the seed potato quarters are then ready to plant. Additionally, a good rule of thumb is that potato quarters should be planted 3” to 4” deep and spaced 12” to 15” apart. To provide plants plenty of growing room, make sure rows are spaced 24” to 36” apart.
Quick Tips For Planting Onions
Prepare the soil: The soil should be worked to a depth of 8-10″ and should have good drainage and be in full sun.
Fertilize: Spread about 2 pounds of fertilizer (10-10-10 or 10-20-10) over a 100 square foot area and mix into the top 3-4″ of soil.
Plant: Pick out the best-developed plants and plant 3/4″ to 1″ deep and 2 to 3 inches apart.
Read more tips for planting spring onions here.