Of all the things we could be short of ... Spuds?

[radios1]

crop down 6% and we are short of potatoes?. we must be exporting way too many, keep enough for us too!!..

 

[Texas Driller]

You're making us Irish nervous...you know that don't you?

Hey, French Fries and potatoes are international... even a Texan man's gotta have his spuds.

 

[Ford850]

My crop was close to normal, but the taters were smaller than normal. Last year my crop was the largest ever, in both total weight and potato size. It all evens out. I did enjoy some hash browns with my fried eggs and sausage on Saturday, and mashed potatoes last night for dinner. Nothing better than home grown potatoes.

crop down 6% and we are short of potatoes?. we must be exporting way too many, keep enough for us too!!..

The total crop is projected to be down by 6%, but like I said I noticed with my crop, the potato size is smaller than normal. The article is talking about a shortage of French fries, because they use large potatoes which will be in much shorter supply. But that's ok, I'll still have my hash browns, mashed potatoes, home fries, and occasionally some short French fries. :licking:

 

[TnAndy]

My crop was close to normal, but the taters were smaller than normal. Last year my crop was the largest ever, in both total weight and potato size. It all evens out. I did enjoy some hash browns with my fried eggs and sausage on Saturday, and mashed potatoes last night for dinner. Nothing better than home grown potatoes.

Whole lot better for you as well. Commercial grown potatoes contain lots of pesticide, fungicide and herbicide residue. We've grown our own for decades, only buying seed potatoes every few years.

One variety we're going to try new this coming year is Huckleberry Gold. Supposed to have higher antioxidant level and lower glycemic level (less starch) than traditional potatoes.

 

[5030]

Whole lot better for you as well. Commercial grown potatoes contain lots of pesticide, fungicide and herbicide residue. We've grown our own for decades, only buying seed potatoes every few years.

One variety we're going to try new this coming year is Huckleberry Gold. Supposed to have higher antioxidant level and lower glycemic level (less starch) than traditional potatoes.

Keep ours in the root cellar in the dark, along with carrots and onions and all the canned goods. Light is the enemy of spuds. My yield was down a bit this year, I attribute that to an odd growing season. Wet spring, cooler summer and wet fall.

 

[Jstpssng]

Whole lot better for you as well. Commercial grown potatoes contain lots of pesticide, fungicide and herbicide residue. We've grown our own for decades, only buying seed potatoes every few years.



One variety we're going to try new this coming year is Huckleberry Gold. Supposed to have higher antioxidant level and lower glycemic level (less starch) than traditional potatoes.

Every spring an old timer in town offers me something to put in the rows before covering my potatoes... "You will never have a problem with beetles"

Every year I tell him no, he doesn't understand that if I wanted that I would just buy a 50 lb bag at the end of the season.

 

[2LaneCruzer]

Haven't raised potatoes in a few years, but when we cut our seed potatoes, we always put them in a bag with powdered Sulfur and coated the cut portions. Never had a problem with bugs on the seeds, but occasionally had a few tater bugs on the plants.

 

[TnAndy]

Every spring an old timer in town offers me something to put in the rows before covering my potatoes... "You will never have a problem with beetles"

Every year I tell him no, he doesn't understand that if I wanted that I would just buy a 50 lb bag at the end of the season.

Probably click beetles....they lay the eggs that develop into wire worms that drill potatoes out like Swiss Cheese. Solution is to remove all trash/leftover plant residue/etc from the garden in the fall so they don't have a handy place to overwinter. I plow mine under as early as possible, and plant a cover crop of red clover or buckwheat. Typical cover crops like wheat/rye actually encourage wire worms from what I've read. Then several turnings in the spring as soon as the soil can be worked, planting potatoes later than typical (May vs late March here) also helps.

 

[k0ua]

^^^^
You guys could be SOL... learning to have mashed rice and baked turnip.

We do the riced cauliflower. It is actually pretty good. On Keto diet you see.

 

[TnAndy]

Haven't raised potatoes in a few years, but when we cut our seed potatoes, we always put them in a bag with powdered Sulfur and coated the cut portions. Never had a problem with bugs on the seeds, but occasionally had a few tater bugs on the plants.

Yeah, sulfur will help as fungicide if you get a wet time after planting. As for potato beetles (Colorado beetle or flea beetle) that attack the leaves, there is a very effective organic rated spray for them if they get to be a real problem. Most years they've not been a problem to us, so I don't bother with spray.

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