In 1995, a potato was grown in outer space, on the Space Shuttle Columbia, which made it the first vegetable to be grown in space!
I don’t know how they grew it in space. But on earth, they need a lot of sunlight, loose soil, and fertilizer.
Also Read: Why Pick Cow Manure for Potatoes
How Much Fertilizer per Acre for Potatoes?
Potatoes need between 400 to 600 lbs of potassium fertilizer per acre and between 200 to 230 lbs of Nitrogen. You need to fertilize your potatoes 4-5 times throughout the 3-4 month development season to ensure proper nutrients.
Can You Over-Fertilize Potatoes?
Overfertilizing can harm your potato plans. If you over-fertilize your potatoes, they will have more green foliage, but you will not get a satisfactory harvest. And if they become too tall due to over-fertilization, the plants can fall over before they mature.
What’s the Best Type of Fertilizer for Growing Potatoes?
Before applying any fertilizer, you need to know the condition of the soil. After you have the right soil data, you can choose a fertilizer accordingly.
Since you need to fertilize your potatoes about 4-5 times throughout the development season, you will need different fertilizer blends. That’s why you can change the fertilizer blend and use a new one each fertilizer application time.
At the time of planting, you can use a fertilizer with a 15-15-15 NPK ratio. Here, NPK refers to the ratio of Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P), and Potassium (K).
Maintaining the NPK ratio is important because the amount of nutrients matters a lot when it comes to fertilizing your potatoes. For example, the potassium in this 15-15-15 fertilizer helps in the development of strong stems.
Plus, it helps to increase outer cell wall thickness, which ultimately helps the plants to tolerate pests and some diseases. So, if your potato plants don’t get enough potassium at that time, your plants will have higher chances of growing up with vulnerabilities.
During the first two months, your potato plants will need a lot of Nitrogen because during this time your plants will have foliar development. So, a fertilizer with a 34-0-0 NPK ratio is an ideal option for this time.
When your potatoes reach the age of two months, they will require more potassium. And this will continue until they are about 14 days away from harvesting. So, during this time, you need a fertilizer with a 14-7-21 or 12-12-17 NPK ratio to fulfill their potassium needs.
So, the best type of fertilizer for your potatoes will depend on when you are applying the fertilizer. You need to choose a fertilizer with the right NPK ratio for the right time.
Final Thoughts
For a bountiful harvest, you need to fertilize your potatoes properly. You need to fertilize your potatoes considering the size of the field and the soil quality. In this article, I have discussed which and how much fertilizer to choose for your potatoes. So, follow this guide to calculate the fertilizer needs of your potatoes.
