Eyes up, or eyes down?

[RSKY]

Planting a few potatoes this year just for the fun of it. I always forget, is it eyes up, or eyes down?

RSKY

 

[Looking4new]

I's down

 

[Wagtail]

Depends on how the spud is 'dressed'. :laughing:

 

[RSKY]

Well the story is my wife showed me this Internet article about growing 100 pounds of potatoes in a 2'x2' 'potato tower'. So of course I've got to try it. Not that I don't have anything else to do. Can't get caught up as it is. So one more project.

This retirement is getting complicated!

RSKY

 

[billwa]

It doesn't really matter, but eyes up means that the sprouts can grow directly to the surface instead of having to grow out and around the seed piece first. That might save you a day or two on emergence at the most.

 

[billwa]

Well the story is my wife showed me this Internet article about growing 100 pounds of potatoes in a 2'x2' 'potato tower'. So of course I've got to try it. Not that I don't have anything else to do. Can't get caught up as it is. So one more project.

Towers don't work. Potatoes only form tubers in the region up to about 4 inches above the seed piece. If you bury them much deeper, you are just making them work harder and reducing yield. There are a huge number of variations on this all with lots of hype on the Internet, but they all fail to observe how potatoes actually grow.

 

[RSKY]

Towers don't work. Potatoes only form tubers in the region up to about 4 inches above the seed piece. If you bury them much deeper, you are just making them work harder and reducing yield. There are a huge number of variations on this all with lots of hype on the Internet, but they all fail to observe how potatoes actually grow.

And I've already spent $2 on seed potatoes.

 

[oldnslo]

Plant the potatoes in a bushel basket and put the tomatoes in a the tower.

I have never worried about which way the eyes are facing, just drop them in the ground and cover them. And then I usually hill them up twice after they emerge and start to grow. Soil around here gets hard so the hilling helps them grow larger and produce more.

 

[Mendonsy]

My wife planted some in 12" rectangular flower pots last year. As I recall she planted about 4 in each pot then covered them a couple of times with potting soil after they came up. They actually did quite well.

 

[2LaneCruzer]

I used to take my fresh potato seed cuttings and put them in a brown paper bag with some flowers of sulfur (powdered sulfur). The fresh cuts will cause the sulfur to coat and adhere to the seed. I always planted mine with the eyes up, but I can recall my Grand Dad and my uncles planting theirs by plowing a furrow and dropping the seeds in the furrow while moving and they grew well.

The sulfur does a couple of things; it keeps the bugs and worms off the seed and it supplies a bit of acid as it deteriorates in the ground. Potatoes, as I recall, recall a slightly acid pH to thrive.

 

[Looking4new]

I plant mine in bathtubs. They grow good.

 

[billwa]

And I've already spent $2 on seed potatoes.

:laughing:

 

[JimWalch]

How many "eyes" do you guys cut for each seed? My dad always cut 3 for each piece. I only do one or two and usually have a good crop. Mine get eyes up. (most of the time) ha ha

 

[feasant]

:thumbsup:

 

[buckeyefarmer]

I just drop them in the row. They have to look out for themselves after that.

 

[cruz54982]

Each eye has 7 chances to grow the main in the center with 6 secondary around it if the primary gets damaged another will take over so 1 eye should be plenty as for up or down we do not look while planting 5 or 6 hundred acres , as for hilling the main purpose is to keep the new potatoes below ground so they do not get sun burn causing greening which will cause them to not keep well .

 

[Mace Canute]

Almost time to get the planter out again. We tried it last year and it needs depth wheels for a consistent planting depth so that might be an addition plus I have a new narrower shovel for it. The one on it would be ok for digging them out but it doesn't work well for seeding. It's a learning experience...

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