Potato | Waiporoporo 10kg Bag
$100.00
Stock Status: Outofstock
Family: SOLANACEAE
Genus & Species: Solanum tuberosum
SHIPMENT DATE: From late April
Out of stock
Description
Heritage Status: New Zealand
Bio-Region of Origin: Wairoa, Hawkes Bay
Quantity: 10kg
Description: This potato has dark purple skin with russet blotches, a cream coloured flesh which is a little waxy and a little floury, so it is a good multipurpose potatoes, Great flavor and versatility. It is also a heavy cropper. A good main crop potato.
Planting Instructions: Traditionally potatoes are frost tender so plant after the last frost in early spring. Before planting ‘chit’ or sprout the potatoes. Chitting is the process of placing seed potatoes in a cool, but frost free, light but shady place to encourage strong sturdy shoots to grow before they are planted in the ground. They can be hung up in onion sacks in a dry but light, shady place under eaves or in a garage or shed to store them and then they can be laid out in a tray (egg cartons are useful) to sprout, again in a light but shady place. The aim is to have a small number of shoots, not masses of sprouts. If the shoots are very long they can still be successful but are harder to plant without damage so short, sturdy shoots are best. If you have too many shoots you can rub some off. large potatoes can be cut in half and either sundried or dipped in wood ash, to make more seed potatoes. You can either grow them in trenches and hill those trenches up as the potatoes are flowering or you can plant in rows and mulch deeply as they grow up. Either way the more fertile the soil the larger the potatoes and the heavier the crop. We rotate our potato beds by planting a carbon/compost crop into the bed with Ramial woodchip forked in the top few centimeters after harvesting the potatoes each year. We plant them in 2 rows per bed, 30cm apart in the row. Water well when flowering. If you have trouble with psyllid spray with Koanga Psyllid Solution.
Psyllid hit our potatoes and tomatoes here at Koanga a few years ago but we do not have any problem these days. We believe it is because we have built our soil health pretty high, and the crops have BRIX’s over 12. If you do however still have psyllid in your area then the Koanga sells Psyllid Solution, a very finely ground form of diatomaceous earth which if applied regularly using a backpack sprayer (weekly) is very effective at keeping the psyllid off the tomatoes and potatoes and peppers. Koanga diatomaceous earth can also be used as a miticide on poultry and for many other uses. Early varieties of potatoes are usually ready to harvest before the psyllid hits. If you water your potatoes in with BIOBREW solution that will help maintain soil and plant health.
