How to grow irish potatoes with the children in your childcare.

Hello Educators, Welcome to an exciting educational journey of growing sprouted yellow irish potatoes in a container  garden with the children in my home child care.  Our adventure began with a few organic store-bought yellow Irish potatoes sprouting in my kitchen. I love to garden, so we decided to try our hands at planting potatoes again. In 2017, we planted some red Irish potatoes, and that enriching experience triggered my recall and beckoned my soul to replicate that learning experience with the current children in my care. 

Whether you have acres of land or just a small balcony, this gardening adventure with potatoes is within your reach. As a bonus, it is easy to do and manageable. Though we have no pictures to show you how we started the 2023 project, here are photos of our 2017 classroom project. 

photos showing stages of growing red irish potatoes

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Knowing that we had great success some years ago, I gathered the yellow sprouting potatoes that were sprouinng in my kitchen and we planted them in a large rectangular container. What seemed like winter discovery led to a spring garden, summer science fun, and a fall harvest—truly a project that spans all seasons, a real adventure and learning experience.

A Reminder to all educators: whether you have a large plot of land, a side yard, a backyard, a front yard, or no yard space, growing potatoes is an easy way to garden with your children. A golden nugget to all educators: Irish potatoes are one of the easiest things you can plant with children. They only require sprouted potatoes, dirt, a container, sun, and water. 

PS—Unfortunately, Miss Sue can not locate the pictures of our 2023 potato growth stages before harvesting them. I think they are on my camera, but I can’t find the memory card.

children digging the dirt to harvest potatoes

If you operate an all-year school like I do and aren’t closed for the summer (potatoes will need someone to care for the plants), this is for you. I hope you will garden with the children in your school, be it a home child care, preschool, co-operative, or any early years setting. Planting potatoes with your children is deeply rewarding for adults and children —it’s a win-win situation and brings educational value. Let’s see how you can accomplish this in your school.

Sprouting Potatoes

 In the heart of winter, our furnace breathes life into our homes, helping warm and keep us safe, and at times, it breathes life into other things. During winter, I usually observe sprouted potatoes, ginger, and turmeric in my kitchen veggie crate. Some people keep their vegetables in the refrigerator and may not experience sprouting. You can sprout your potatoes through a process called chitting, or purchase sprouted potatoes. 

child holding sprouted potatoes

For a school project like this, I support sprouting your own potatoes and using the experience as a science experiment in the classroom. If you look back on the document of our 2017 experiment, you will see that those potatoes were growing in a small tin before we transplanted them outdoors. If you choose to skip that step and plant the sprouted potatoes outdoors after the frost has gone, do so after the frost has gone. Take the potatoes to the garden, plant them in the soil, and document and observe their growth over a few months.

Chitting is forcing your potatoes to sprout. You can do this by placing some of your organic kitchen potatoes in a paper egg carton, closing it, and placing it somewhere you get plenty of natural light but not direct sunlight. A corner, on a table, windowsill, or even in your frost-free shed or garage can be ideal. Leave the egg box there for at least three weeks and watch how the potatoes sprout.

Preparing to Plant Your Potatoes

Get your soil ready. Container garden soil is perfect for planting your potatoes. They don’t like clay soil and love plenty of sun to thrive. Choose your spot to grow these. If you are using large containers, you can add pebbles, wood bark, and shredded newspaper at the bottom, then add your soil—that will save on the amount of dirt you add to your container and the cost. In addition, potatoes love compost or manure; you can add some of that to the soil before planting the sprouted potatoes. 

a sprouted red irish potato ready for transplanting

Now that your potatoes have sprouted, you can transplant them in the ground, a raised garden bed, a grow bag, or any container. I like the idea of a grow bag with a window—what better way to show children the roots of their favorite snacks than by growing them in a grow bag?  

Planting Our Potatoes

Planting is simple: Insert sprouted potatoes in the soil, leaving the prodding side up so they can grow out of the soil. Spacing them out encourages a healthier, more generous yield. Cover them with dirt and wait for the leaves to shoot and develop fully.  

image of the root system of ready to harvest potatoes

Hidden Dangers with Potato Plants

Potato plants conceal a hazard despite their inviting appearance—their flowers and fruits are toxic. Adults need to pinch these off as they see them. Remember, gardening with children involves adults, and this task should be done only by adults or responsible teenagers. I usually pinch these off early mornings before school or as needed.  

a bountiful harvest of irish potatoes

You can also use this as a teaching tool for the children to learn that some parts of the potatoes are not edible. Use caution with your stories without giving children reasons not to eat the potatoes. Children are smart, and our picky eaters know how to manipulate a story – they are the first to tell you. Remember you said it was poisonous without referencing the flowers or berries! Isn’t it funny how some children eat french fries but do not eat potatoes mashed, baked, scalloped, roasted, or hashed? 

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Patiently Care for the Potato Plants

We know children like immediate returns; they are impatient. To help this process, you must teach them what to look for in a growing plant. A growing seedling gets more leaves as it grows, it gets taller, and the stalks get wider. In addition, you can share children’s gardening storybooks with them.  

image of potatoes growing in a container

Some grow bags will allow the children to observe the science of watching them grow – this is a genius design, especially for little gardeners. They can lift the cover and see how the potatoes are growing – no more guessing, and this will help them eagerly care for the potatoes as they watch them grow. Children can also incorporate mathematics in this hands-on learning opportunity – they can count the number of potatoes that emerge, measure the growth, and record the number of days it takes to grow. Remind children that they care for a plant that needs water, sunlight, and maintenance to thrive. Engage the children and assign them roles; they love games, so adults can help children be record keepers, supervisors of all activities, watchkeepers, and bosses – we know that child who likes to give orders.

Our Rainy Day Harvest Adventure

After months of caring for the potatoes, taking notes, observing insects, watering, and tending to the potatoes, it was time to harvest. On a rainy day, while they were muddy puddle jumping, getting dirty, and enjoying the middle of the muddy puddle, I wanted to delight them more and decided that was the day of harvesting the potatoes.  

image of children playing in the rain in my backyard

Rainy day outdoor sensory exploration is one of our most loved playtimes. We used that ordinary day to turn it into an extraordinary adventure. Rainy days usually have a lot of excitement for us; the pitter-patter of the rain, finding worms, and getting muddy is always exciting, but this day, the excitement was pulling potatoes from an already mushy soil that corporated with the digging. The children washed the potatoes in the rainwater. For months, they recalled the adventure of pulling up potatoes on a rainy day: “Miss Sue, you remember when we picked the potatoes in the rain?” Leave it to children to tell you the truth about what they remember about an event. It makes my heart happy to hear how one muddy puddle day was more about pulling up potatoes and finding a potato that looked like a man—sizing up their harvest from the tiny, baby one to the medium and big one. The simple joys of childhood hold my heart and my heart and remind me of fond years. We embrace the unexpected with joy and resilience.

children enjoying the muddy puddle in our backyard

Conclusion and Reflection

As I wrap up the journey from sprouted potatoes in the kitchen to a bountiful harvest on a rainy day, I invite educators to join us for the 2024 season. Growing potatoes with children can be accessible to all and it’s richly educational. 

If your home child care has limited space, consider using containers on your balcony or at your front door; remember, you can help transform any sunny patch into a little garden. This project is a testament to the simplicity and joy of gardening with your children. It required minimal resources: sprouted or chitted potatoes, soil, a container, some sunlight, and, of course, a bit of water and care.

image of children separating the roots from the potatoes

Video of the children harvesting potato in the rain””

As we look forward to our next gardening adventure, I encourage you to dive into gardening with the children in your care. Whether it’s a potato, flower, or herb garden, growing something together can open up a world of discovery, patience, responsibility, joy, and learning in many domains.

image of clean potatoes the chidlren washed in the rain

I invite you to join me on this journey of transformation. Together, we’ll explore innovative strategies, practical tips, and engaging activities that will transform your outdoor space into a dynamic classroom overflowing with adaptable strategies for achieving early learning standards—where every child’s curiosity is encouraged and their connection to nature is strengthened.

Stay tuned as I prepare to unveil a comprehensive guide to help you garden with the children in your child care. 

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Here is another potato inquiry did with the children in my child care –  science project  with sweet potatoes 

Until next time, I am Miss Sue your educator in the trenches with you.

xoxo Miss Sue

photo of children jumping in muddy puddles