Potatoes Baby Red ( How To Grow Baby Red Potatoes )

               Hell, and welcome back here today on Garden The Easy Way, this is Ken and Marilou.  

               Today we would like to talk about Baby Red Potatoes. The Baby Red Potatoes are also called New Potatoes. They are very popular with a lot of people, they have a thin red skin, they are very good in Pot Roast, Soups, Stew, Steamed, Boiled, Roasted.  

               The Baby Red Potatoes are only 2 to 3 inches long. They are just as good for you, as any other potatoes, they are full of nutrients. You and your family will love eating them.

Advantages:  

1.  Potatoes are an excellent source of complex carbohydrates with 37% more potassium than a banana.

2.  One potato offers a whopping 45% of the Recommended Daily Allowance of Vitamin C.

3.  A potato is 99% fat free, and yet is a nutrient dense food.

4.  An 8 ounce baked or boiled potato has only about 100 calories.    

Nutritional Information:    

Serving Size 1 Potato ( 148g or 5.3 oz )
Amount Per Serving
Calories 100
Calories from Fat 0                                                          
                                                                                              % Daily Value*  
Total Fat 0g                                                                                              0%
Saturated Fat 0g                                                                                       0%
Cholesterol 0mg                                                                                        0%
Sodium 5mg                                                                                              0%
Total Carbohydrates 26g                                                                           9%  
Dietary Fiber 3g                                                                                       12%
Sugars 3g  

Vitamin A 0%                                                                         Vitamin C 45%
Calcium 2%                                                                                      Iron 6%    

              Baby Red Potatoes are easy to grow, but they are some important things to keep in mind.  

1. Always plant in full sun, never plant the same crops in the same place every year, it is always highly recommend to rotate your crops every year. Your soil is always important, you need dark rich soil.    

2. Put potato garden in, out of your everyday living way so you will not feel trapped in. Never plant your potato garden in a low spot, if you do every time it rains your garden will be under water, standing water will cause your garden to die.

3.To have a straight rows in your potato garden,  mark your rows by driving a stake in the ground, at each end of the row, tie a string from one stake to the other stake this will give you a straight row. Use your garden tiller to dig down to the depth of 8 to 10 inches, remove all big rocks and all roots, add 2 to 3 inches of compost, use your tiller and mix well,add 1 1/2 to 2 inches of aged manure ( cow or horse ) use your tiller and mix well.  

4. Take your garden rake and make your rows into a mound about 3 to 4 inches high and 12 inches wide. Make your rows 24 inches apart.

5. Always plant your potato eyes up, plant 3 to 4 inches deep and plant 10 to 12 inches apart, water well after planting.    

6. When your potato plant are 3 to 4 inches high, gently add 2 inches of compost on top of them. Mulch between rows and hills. The mulch reduces weed growth and retains moisture.  

7.  When your red potatoes have developed their first set of true leaves, spray them with a foliar spray made of fish emulsion or seaweed. The foliar spray provides the nutrients your potato plants need to produce tubers and stay healthy through insect attacks and disease. Spray once a week until all the red potato plant flowers are in full bloom.

8. When your red potato plants have sprouted, cover them with a floating row cover. The floating row cover allows sunlight and water to reach the potato plants but keeps insect pests from reaching the plants. You may remove the floating row covers when the plants begin to flower.  

9. Water your plants every other day. The soil should be moist, but you need to avoid leaving standing water.

10. Start checking potato growth in late spring. Harvest new potatoes when they are between 1 and 2 inches long by digging gently around the potato plants and using a sharp knife to cut the potatoes cleanly away from the roots. Allow smaller potatoes to continue to grow before harvesting to extend the harvesting season.

11. When you have harvested all the tubers on a potato plant, pull the plant up and add it to your compost pile.      

             Well that's it for today, we hope we been some help for today on Garden The Easy Way, until tomorrow this is Ken & Marilou wishing you all Happy Gardening Always.