Ag Weather Impacts-Potato Planting

Ag Weather Impacts-Potato Planting

Are your spuds in the ground yet? Well the wet weather this weekend, may limit garden and field work, but from now to late April is prime time for potato planting, according to Greg Juul of G2 Farming near Hermiston. They grow several varieties of potatoes in rotation with onions, grass seed, and alfalfa. I asked Greg what soil temperatures they look at when planting.

Greg: We try to get to 45 degrees at 6 inches of soil depth before we plant. Optimum is anything over that. If you can get up into that 48 to 52 to 54 degree, that's much better than 45.

Cool temperatures have slowed potato planting this year.

Greg: I think if you look at our growing degree days that most charts are showing, we are behind last year already.

Strong winds and blowing dirt could impact both potatoes and onions until they are established.

Greg: Basically on your lighter soils or coarse soils, when that soil moves, it actually acts just like a knife. If you have onions that are just coming through the ground, it just cuts that top pushing through, it'll cut it off, or you can completely expose seeds if you have really bad wind.

Greg said they usually start digging the early potato chip varieties in Mid June. My thanks to Greg Juul of G2 Farming for giving us some real good insight to the weather impacts on potato planting.

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