Potato questions

[Chuck52]

There's more to life than tomatoes, though it often doesn't seem that way!

So....for the first time, I'm growing potatoes (Kennebec) using a modified version of the straw method. I put the seed potatoes in a trench and covered them with dirt, but when they started coming up, instead of hilling them with dirt I used dry grass clippings. The mound of clippings is now well over a foot high and the potato tops are still several inches above that. They are nicely flowered, and I'll probably add more clippings as I get them, but I was wondering how you tell when they have done all they will do. I always heard that when you got flowers you had potatoes, but I never dig them until much later than this, when the tops begin to die back. I wonder if I'll get more yield if I continue to cover the tops, or if they're done making new potatoes and are maybe just making the ones that are there bigger? Potato experts?

I'm going to raised beds next year, using concrete blocks for the edging. I was thinking about designs for a raised bed for the potatoes. If this grass clipping method gives a good yield, I was thinking a bed maybe 2x25 feet, with chicken wire around it so I could pile up the clippings over the plants. What think yee?

Chuck

 

[jinman]

Chuck, you can always bet I'll have an opinion, even if it's wrong.

Potatoes do form before bloom and continue after bloom. I have dug potatoes recently that have cherry and baseball sized spuds under them on the same plant. I'm sure the cherry size would get bigger and probably the larger size would also grow, but I'd expect the smaller tubers to play catch-up to the bigger ones.

I start digging new potatoes when I see the ground heaving up around the base of the plant. The potatoes are finished only when the plant dies is what I've always heard. By leaving the spuds in the ground until then, they will have a much thicker and well developed skin.

My straw potatoes this year have "tons" more grubworms than the ones in the soil, but there is something very satisfying about pulling the hay aside and seeing bright clean potatoes laying there just waiting to be picked up. The russets and Kennebecs both seem to do well, but not as big as the ones grown in the soil. Even though there are a lot of grubs, I have not seen a lot of chomping on my tators. I'm going to refine my process next year also.

 

[schmism]

i remember diggin tators as a kid, but it was always in the fall after the tops were nearly or already dead.

needless to say i didnt get around to planting any this year dispite the fact that out of ALLLLLLLL the veggies we planted, those would be the ones that would be eaten the most of....

 

[Egon]

I also remember picking potatoes in the fall. It was usually a nasty cold day with a strong wind blowing some snow around. We used to raise enough potatoes to do us till the next years crop was ready.

 

[BTDT]

Here's how I planted a couple of mine for a test plot. Planted in the ground, then when plant got above ground hilled around it and added tire. As it continues to grow, keep adding dirt and hay and tires. I took this pic today. Pic #4 is plants in tires, Pic #9 is row planted in dirt. I pulled a plant from row in dirt and it has nickel sized potatoes. It is time to add more dirt and straw to plants in tires, and possibly add another tire to each. I have been reading about this method for a couple of years, this is first year I've actually tried it.

 

[Chuck52]

I've heard about using the tire trick, too. I wonder how far up a potato plant will grow if you just keep adding straw or whatever and tires. They are related to tomatoes, but I always figured they were more of a "determinate" type plant. That is, I figured they'd only get so tall. That was the reason for my original question. Do they just keep going if you keep covering them up?

Chuck

 

[kwolfe]

I don't know the first thing about growing potatos, however by adding the tires, it makes the plant grow taller. Does this mean that it yields more potatos per plant?

 

[Chuck52]

That's my question....taller plants = more potatoes? I felt around under the grass clippings on some of my plants yesterday and didn't feel any potatoes. I'm hoping I'm not just growing real purty tater greens 'cause they don't taste real good.

Chuck

 

[WayneB]

Chuck, you can always bet I'll have an opinion, even if it's wrong.

My straw potatoes this year have "tons" more grubworms than the ones in the soil, but there is something very satisfying about pulling the hay aside and seeing bright clean potatoes laying there just waiting to be picked up. The russets and Kennebecs both seem to do well, but not as big as the ones grown in the soil. Even though there are a lot of grubs, I have not seen a lot of chomping on my tators. I'm going to refine my process next year also.

Jim I am wondering if you dug a trench for the straw covered potatoes or just laid them on flat ground? I was going to try it up here, but decided to go with the old way of digging a trench, cover with earth and then hill them as the tops start growing. By the way the tops are about 10" high today! Last night it was 40 degrees here so we are beyond frost fears now!

 

[jinman]

Jim I am wondering if you dug a trench for the straw covered potatoes or just laid them on flat ground?

Wayne, we just laid the potatoes on the top of very loose soil and pressed them just below the surface before covering them with the hay. Some of the hay was beginning to decompose and had dirt in it. That takes a little digging to get to the potatoes, but most of them are on top of the ground or just sticking out of the soil like turnips.

We pulled the hay aside a couple of days ago and found that the grubworms had done a little more damage than I thought. This weekend, we will dig all the potatoes unless something comes up. I need to get them out of the ground; although, I guess most of the grubs will turn into Junebugs this month and fly away. After all, they've been well nourished.

I think there are two ways to increase production. One is to heap dirt up as the plant grows to increase the area of tuber formation. The other way is to just plant more potatoes about 6" deep in a larger area and do nothing. We opted for the "plant more" method and haven't touched the potatoes except to chop weeds. I think it's pretty funny that our plants are starting to die off and we are harvesting at the same time you are just planting.