Potatoes

[Oaktree]

same bugs that hit taters will also consume tomatoes, eggplant, or anything else in the nightshade family!
I plant mine with my homemade planter and dig with my homemade diggers,---well, cept this year, diggers are useless in the muddy ground so dug the Norlands with a hoe and shovel. Hope the Pontiacs and Kennebecs wait til the ground dries out. So far they are still somewhat green stemed yet, so it will be a while before they are ready.
As for messing around them when they are growing and taking small potatoes,-----DONT! Why?--cause the plants will only set so many tubers and if you take some the plant will not set another one to replace the one you took! ---- tried that one year as a test and actually that plant stopped doing anything and at harvest time it didnt have anything big enough to use! ---- IF ya gotta have potatoes that early, plant Norlands and leave them alone til the tops die down!

For whatever reason, I've never had potato bugs on tomato plants, in fact except for one year when I got some green caterpillars (which I think came with the starts) I've never had any bugs on tomatoes. Even potato bugs can be largely thwarted by delaying planting until mid-June (this is in northern New England...dates will obviously vary by planting zone).

I agree on resisting the temptation to grab some potatoes early.

 

[VroomVroom]

My wife grows potatoes every year. Easy peasy to grow, and get large crops every year, cept last years wernt too large for some reason. None of our neighbors grew large spuds either.

funny thing is... I live in idaho. Potatoes are on our license plates. There cheep to purchase. Why she bothers growing them I’ll never know.


now she wants me to make her a cedar raised bed for potatoes. Sure, I’ll spend 3-400 bucks on cedar to grow $8 worth of potatoes.

Lol. Your going to do what your told, like the rest of us.

 

[VroomVroom]

How big are your gardens. When they start getting on the larger side, how do you weed them. And how often?

 

[Torvy]

Mom always had a garden, she still does at 89. Weeding goes like this: hand, hoe, hand tiller, tractor tiller. Unless you have kids, then it is just make the kids do it by hand.

Looking forward to see what we can grow starting next fall. I know rhubarb will not grow in Texas. I love me some rhubarb... and not with strawberries, its just ok with strawberries.

 

[VroomVroom]

How about the cultivators. Do they work well?

 

[Forky]

Gardens are a true labor of love. I'm able to share hundreds of dollars worth of produce to others, because it gives me purpose somehow.
Make your rows wide for room to work....till at least every 21 days to stay ahead of the vermin (weeds).
It is amazing how much food one can raise in a garden, if you pay attention daily.
I literally give bushels of food away...why? Because I'm paying it forward....the world needs more...in my opinion.

 

[VroomVroom]

I was thinking of buying a plow and put one in. Grass is a little long right now , I imagine it’s a little early to turn the sod. I see one guy was skipping a row which allowed him to till between rows/plants. I have large field. But was thinking of using a corner of it which would still be 2 to 3 acres. It would be a labour of love. However, like you said about the 21 days. That’s the time away I have to spend at work. So not sure the quality of garden I might have being away from weeding so long.