Potato farmer advice

[dj1701]

Hi all,

I'm thinking of planting some potatoes next year. I was wondering if a 5' x 10' raised bed would give me a fair number of potatoes. It's just me and the misses but would like to preserve some as well.

I tilled and hilled in the garden one year with little success.

Thanks
Dave

 

[oldnslo]

You should be able to get two rows and 5 or 6 plants per row in that area. Decent crop should yield 30 lbs maybe more.

 

[bigtiller]

When I was a kid, we planted potatoes under straw and harvesting them was never easier.

Prepare the ground
place potatoes on the surface about 10" apart with eyes up
cover with 4" to 6" of straw
water
if you're in a windy area, cover with a wire mesh to retain the straw.
after they sprout, cover again with 4" of straw
When harvesting, just remove the straw and pickup the potatoes.
No shovel or spade was used

 

[Jstpssng]

Yield should be around 10 lbs for every pound which you plant. I've wanted to try the straw method described above, as I never seem to get mine hilled as soon as I should.

 

[5030]

I've planted them in the ground and in straw bales above ground as well. Both work for me.

 

[ponytug]

We have used composted straw, and I think that both the yield and the ease of harvesting are big improvements on traditional methods.

 

[dj1701]

I might have to give that straw idea a go. Any recommendations on kinds of potatoes and fertilizer to use?

 

[ponytug]

I might have to give that straw idea a go. Any recommendations on kinds of potatoes and fertilizer to use?

I think potato choice is a personal one. There are so many options. Did you have some that you were considering?

In my experience potatoes don't need much fertilizer, but if your soil is poor, and you know that the soil is deficient in something, then of course supplement that. Otherwise, I would use something balanced (e.g. 12-12-12), or something like composted chicken/steer manure, depending on what is available locally. I'd steer away from the recycled sewage fertilizers. Search for what Maine is battling and attempting to ban, if you haven't been following that.

All the best,

Peter

 

[5030]

When I plant the in the ground, I produce my 'hills' with a Ardisam hiller-furrower attachment that attaches to the dept stake mount on my rear tine rototiller and it will fit just about every make of rear tine tiller. They are on the 'Eaethquake' website.

The attachment makes it super easy and substantially less manual labor.

Far as spuds go, I buy seed potatoes both locally and from mail order seed houses like Jung's I like to plant 'Heirloom' potatoes as well as the standard Idaho spuds. I DO NOT plant grocery store potatoes simply because most commercially available for consumption spuds have been treated to not sprout in storage, they they will if stored for a long time, however, store bought spuds if sprouted, won't produce many tubers.

Been planting and harvesting spuds for decades now. Everything from Kennebeck to Kathadin to Idaho to purple ones.

I cut the seed potatoes so each section has at least 2 eyes and then I coat the cut part with powdered lime and let them sit and dry. A wet cut section if planted immediately will rot in the ground or in the straw and I fertilize them with ordinary nitrogen granulated fertilizer I use on my entire garden.

 

[Oaktree]

I cut the seed potatoes so each section has at least 2 eyes and then I coat the cut part with powdered lime and let them sit and dry. A wet cut section if planted immediately will rot in the ground or in the straw

Never heard of that before. I always just cut 'em just before planting and have never had an issue with them rotting. Once in a while I'll buy seed potatoes, but more often just use some of last year's crop.

Been meaning to try the straw thing. Soil here is mostly silt, and has a tendency to compact just from rainfall or weather exposure. Might get better yield and/or larger potatoes with straw. Should help discourage weeds too.

I've mentioned this before, but I generally won't plant potatoes much before mid-June to discourage potato bugs. Seems to work...have very few problems with them.

 

[bigtiller]

Far as spuds go, I buy seed potatoes both locally and from mail order seed houses like Jung's I like to plant 'Heirloom' potatoes as well as the standard Idaho spuds. I DO NOT plant grocery store potatoes simply because most commercially available for consumption spuds have been treated to not sprout in storage, they they will if stored for a long time, however, store bought spuds if sprouted, won't produce many tubers.

Maybe that was my problem.
The last time I planted potatoes, I planted 10 pounds and harvested about 10 pounds.

 

[5030]

Maybe that was my problem.
The last time I planted potatoes, I planted 10 pounds and harvested about 10 pounds.

You want to plant 'Certified' seed potatoes only, not store bought eating taters.

 

[bigtiller]

You want to plant 'Certified' seed potatoes only, not store bought eating taters.

That's what they were, old taters from the back room of the grocery store.

 

[2LaneCruzer]

You might check with your state dept of agriculture to see which variety of potato to plant; red potatoes grow best here. I always coat the seed cuts with powdered sulfur; it does two things...it keeps the insects away, and adds acidity to the soil, which potatoes need.

 

[ning]

I tilled some raw ground and threw some potato chunks into it... watered... the devil grass took over and it was a bear to get at the potatoes.

 

[MMC]

Hi all,

I'm thinking of planting some potatoes next year. I was wondering if a 5' x 10' raised bed would give me a fair number of potatoes. It's just me and the misses but would like to preserve some as well.

I tilled and hilled in the garden one year with little success.

Thanks
Dave

You might stop at your County Agent's office and pick up some materials (or online). We are fortunate in Kentucky to have excellent support from this ancient system. Here's a paper on raising potatoes you might find beneficial. It mentions some of the techniques others here note (need for nitrogen, hilling in, certified potatoes, diseases, etc.). As for the potato beetle...they've already put you on their list to come visit. A little Sevin dust will take care of them - some are conservative about Sevin, but in my many decades, I must have eaten a barrel of it with no consequences. But, wash stuff off before eating...

As to 5030's note about heirlooms, yeah, if you're going to to raise your own, get some of the stuff you don't find in the supermarket. I got some variety from Burpee's last year that was surprisingly, uh, good. Don't remember the name, but I'll try it again.

You might not get as much production as you want from a couple of 10' rows, though (which is what I think you can get in your box). But the straw is an excellent way to do this if you have cheap access. I've even done that with onions for fun - just toss 'em and cover with straw.

Best of luck, and enjoy.

https://publications.ca.uky.edu/sites/publications.ca.uky.edu/files/NEP231.pdf

 

[Oaktree]

As for the potato beetle...they've already put you on their list to come visit. A little Sevin dust will take care of them - some are conservative about Sevin, but in my many decades, I must have eaten a barrel of it with no consequences. But, wash stuff off before eating...

I'm not into organic gardening, but I tend to avoid pesticides whenever possible. Actually, the couple years I tried Sevin it didn't seem to have much effect.

 

[5030]

No organic 'gardening' here at all. Not that I garden much anyway, well I do grow veges for the root cellar but I'm all about chemical weeding and pest control and I have to be. I have to keep invasive species out of my alfalfa hay.

I'm a firm believer in 2-4-D (B) as well as glyphosate. In fact I grow Roundup Ready sweet corn in the garden I have. Sure cuts down on weeding....

 

[MMC]

I'm not into organic gardening, but I tend to avoid pesticides whenever possible. Actually, the couple years I tried Sevin it didn't seem to have much effect.

I take your point. In a perfect world, we would rotate crops perfectly, use manual labor to destroy insects, pay strict attention to varieties, and a host of other things. But that is not the real world for most of us and not for large scale farming in general. But it should remain aspirational.

And perhaps I was a bit flippant about my earlier post on Sevin. But it has been used for many decades with little harm that I can see. And I do find it to be effective on insects and to encourage chemical thinning of fruit in apple trees.

But we do have to go by rules. For example, no one on this farm may spray anything unless I am satisfied they understand the chemical used, the rates of application, can and do use protective gear, and know basic safety rules.

It's not exactly fly-by-night out here on farms. Chemicals are very expensive - we simply wouldn't use them unless we have to. As to personal and environmental harm, I have to believe in the EPA, FDA, and USDA rules and follow them. Before some anti-government types wade in, I honestly don't think the government is my enemy. The rules on pesticides and herbicides seem sane to me, to keep farmers and consumers alike as safe as possible.

But you do have to follow the rules. Even in your home garden and orchard there are time constraints for re-entry after spraying and for consuming veggies and fruits as well. And for washing produce. Read and heed.

If you follow those instructions, I believe you probably will be quite safe (or else how did we get so many old people on this site, LOL).

I am certainly not against more organic farming where it can work, by the way. More study is needed (funded by the government and not Dow Chemical).

Now if you really want to get concerned, read the label on the fly spray under your kitchen counter, the part about organophosphates. That's close to GB Nerve Agent in military terms...so hold your breath when spraying that cloud around LOL.

Regards, and enjoy an apple (but wash it first).

 

[mulitweed]

where u located ? here ( north dakota ) frozen tundra sometimes i plant in april , sometimes its into may here red norlands are an early variety , vikings are later , I go to a fam]rmer and buy 100 lb sacks of seed, I tryed a purple variety this year they didnt yield very good it was dry this summer , reds did better