Thanks for more info Buddy!
I also have Red Thumb fingerlings, and Purple Vikings. These are supposed to be early season, too? Is this correct?
Potatoes for 2010 - Anyone?
Welcome!
In my experience most fingerlings are early (and very delicious!!).
Your Purple Vikings are mid-season, 80-100 days according to SSE...
http://www.seedsavers.org/Details.aspx?itemNo=1367(OG)
Lemme know how those taste!
GREAT! I HAVE A TRIFECTA!
Yukon & Red Thumb - EARLY
Purple Viking - MID
Kennebec - LATE
Yaaaaaaaaaaay!!! ♪♪♪♫♫♫♪♪^^_^^ doing the happy dance to music!
You'll be eating taters all summer long - lol...
LOL! Dont forget to PLANT A ROW! Share the wealth!
Bud!
What ROW??!! I'm planting in 20-gallon SmartPots! ♪♫♫♪ ^^_^^ ♪♪♫♫
LOL! yano.. plant the extra row for sharing!
Im doing containers too, but not with spuds!
Good luck!
I have always thought most fingerlings are late.
L, is that from thinking or growing? I read up on the Reds and it said they were earlies...
Have not been in the veggie forum for ages!
Love to grow my own potatoes. I try to plant early May and am usually eating early July - I scrounge around the roots for little ones!
I grew Yukon Gold for years and really like it.
A couple of years ago discovered a seedling potato farm near me and they carry many kinds of potatoes. The neat thing is they sell what they fall 'Foursums' which is just 4 potatoes of the variety. So it makes it easy to try new varieties.
Two years ago I tried Russian Blue and hated it and Banada Fingerling which I loved.
Last year I tried Banana, Norland ( which I have grown before) , Viking, Bintje. Viking was really good, I would not bother with Norland or Bintje again.
This year I am trying French Fingerling, Caribe, Cherry Red, Viking ( again) and German Butterball.
I supply the neighborhood with potatoes!
From what I saw on the fingerlings, they seem to be early, but you might want to ask your supplier to your zone
Fancy,
Great news on those varieties! I'll be sure to ask you ??? as I grow my Vikings and Yukons!
I know you cant order from this place but check out the list of varieties!
http://www.seedpotatoes.ca/index.htm
My Grandfather had a great idea for potatoes if a late frost is going to hit. He would just get out his hoe and cover any protruding sprouts with soil.
Not saying a word....
Did you make the butter, too?
not saying!! LOL!
Gymgirl, from the catalog descriptions. The ones I've grown have been late, as well.
I live in zone 5b and last year (2009) I grew Kennebec and Russets. They both did great and I had a ton of potatoes!! I garden by the moon, and grew them in straw per HoosierGreen's instructions: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/937306/ and will do the same in 2010.
Last year, I never did water them once they came through the ground and I put the straw down. Other than adding straw as they got taller, and hand picking the Colorado potato beetles off, I didn't do a thing to them. No weeding or hoeing also!!
**two thumbs up**
Well, ten days late, but today was potato planting day for us.
I poked in five rows. Each row was 50 foot long and we put in:
White
Yukon
Red Pontiac
Kennebecs
and pantry taters.
The ground was nice and cold and wet, but not flooded. Now I need a rain just to set the spuds in the dirt better and we are off and growing!
And so it begins, the waiting.
Dangit, no fries yet! LOL!
PACE PACE PACE!
I am late getting my taters in also. I will be planting them tomorrow. I am planting them in containers and also in the ground. The container planted ones will probably do better since it is easier to keep the bugs out.
Lucky you! My order won't even arrive until end of April but I will get them in early May and should be eating by early July. ( we still have light frost overnight most nights)
Up here in Pennsylvania my potatoes ripen, pontiac reds first, then yukon golds, and Kenebecks last. I would really like to find white cobblers and sent Calalily a dmail asking where they got theirs. Ric
That late frost will work, not good for prolonged periods, but definitely worth trying for an overnight late frost though!
This message was edited Mar 29, 2010 5:14 PM
We got rain after we planted so that was grrreat! But we also got a light frost. Im not worried on the frost. We will get that until mid April, but least as on the taters, no worries for now and I am glad they are in,.
Here are my Red Norlands yesterday afternoon.
Thumbs up! Looking yum!
Looking good, Steph! That's a nice compact box you have there, too!
Thanks! Linda, the DH built the box out of the wood we used last year to build our raised beds. We tore them down this year to expand. I'd like for him to build be a couple more for some herbs I have as well as flowers. The base is made from those blue pallet things one of my potato containers is made of.
I would *love* to plant my potatoes, but my order placed in February hasn't arrived yet - the seeds arrived within a week of the order, but no potato sets yet
Some warm weather has dried out the ground enough that I got the potato beds prepped yesterday, ready for the seed potatoes that are due to arrive tomorrow. Then I just have to sprout 'em out and plant 'em, and wait impatiently for those tasty new potatoes to show up!
I could use some help. I have never grown potato's before. I have them planted in a raised bed filled with Hill Country soil I purchased from The Natural Gardener in Austin. I also amended w/ composted horse manure. I planted the tater seeds on Feb 10th, and all have come up w/ vigor. When the plants reached about 7" or 8" high I " dirted" them (I did this last week). I used grass clippings, compost, and leaves. Now some of the plants are over a foot high. Do I dirt again?? Please see photo.....
You can dirt them. Some folks like to use straw, leaves, grass clippings, manure or dirt.
Pick your pleasure!
Don't use manure unless it's well composted. It can cause scab in your potatoes. It won't hurt them but makes the taters scaly/ugly;o)
So is the purpose of covering as they grow so that more taters keep growing on the greenery that has been covered? I have what looks to be a bumper crop of: fingerling, yukon gold, german butteball and something else. Potato beetles be gone....give a girl a break. I think the grasshoppers have left, don't need no stinkin' beetles.
The purposes of hilling/covering are many. One is to increase production, but the bigger one is to keep the sun from reaching the potatoes and turning them green.
Thanks Stephanie.
We use horse manure on our taters .. have not had a problem with scabbing... so 6 of one half of another.. some other pathogen can cause scab.
You do not want to use raw manure on the veggies though. ANd yes, it should be well well composted to humous value.
Ive had scab for years probably only way I could get rid of it is to remove all the soil in the raised bed and replace wth new! Not about to do that! Worse on some varieties than others although I don't keep track.
I never hill my potatoes. I put a shovel in the ground as deep as I can, make a bit of space and drop the seed potato in , pull out the shovel and the dirt falls back. Thats all!
I had a neighbor who just dug a long deep trench, put the potatoes in with a shallow layer of soil over and as the shoots came up just kept covering them - sort of hilling in reverse
I've read that too much lime added to the soil can also cause scab.
I've always had it since I occupied this house - 20 years now so probably it was already in the soil which had been used for a veggie garden for many years and then unused for about 10 (except by dogs!)