potatoes under straw PART II

The container is approx. 30"w x 36"h x 36" deep. It's original purpose was to be a compost bin, but it's never been used so I repurposed it for the potatoes! I put down about 6-8 seed potato pieces down on each "side". I planted 2 varieties, so I divided it in half mentally. I had approx. 1/2 lb. of seed potatoes of each variety.

Here's a really bad picture of some of the seed potatoes. To the left are the ashes that were in the bottom of the egg crate. I just sprinkled them over the part were there were no potatoes.

I'll look to see if I can find the stand alone pic of the container I posted previously. The container gurus on here told me to plant no more than 2 varieties in this size container.

Linda I saw some peeking out as well today, I think I am just going blind, can't wait to see all of them out and for the weather to change. Still cold, I had to cover my beds again yesterday because it was freezing.

I am trying a new experiment, I planted some corn seeds the other day but I am leaving that bed covered the whole time to see if anything comes out, if not I still have more seeds that I can plant in a couple of weeks if weather permits.

The minimum soil temperature for corn to germinate is 50 degrees. Optimum is 60 - 95.

Yes, I really don't think they'll make it but thought I could give it a try since the plastic I use is prety good at keeping the beds warm. I have more seeds so I'll just probably have to replant if I don't see anything coming out.

:o) it's hard to resist poking some seeds in the dirt when you feel like there might be a chance, I know. I just hope that mother nature is kind to us this year.

stephanietx: I'm concerned that you have only 2" of soil in your potato containers. Unless you are using a lot of fertilizer, which isn't recommended for potatoes, I'm not sure there will be enough soil to support the root system of the potatoes. Have you done it this way before, or know someone who has? I would think you would need about 6"-8" of soil for the root system.

Hoosier, someone here, I can't remember who, grows potatoes in leaves and has been very successful. I can add more dirt, though, if it's best.

Hey, go for it if you've seen it successfully done!

Perhaps the person who used only leaves can review how it's done for us.

And, please let us know how your experience works out, stephanietx.

Smiley.

Well, I tried to edit and add my pic but that didn't work! LOL

The DH and I peeled back the thin layer of leaves we had covering the initial container of potatoes. Then we gently lifted the pieces of potatoes out of the dirt and added more, then put them back in and added about 3" or 4" (or more) dirt on top. Best guesstimate is that there's a total of a foot of dirt in the container. Then, we covered the container again with a very thin layer of leaves, as in you can see dirt between the leaves.

This isn't the best picture and it's not the original container, but here's what the other two containers look like. Once the spuds start growing, we'll tack on some chicken wire and let those taters grow up in the square of the chicken wire.

Uh, ya'll know I'm just the newbie here, but I'm gonna chime in with what I've read. While the potatoes are formed laterally along stems that grow under the leaves, the MAIN part of the potato that's sending out all those stems has to be securely anchored in the soil.

I believe HoosierGreen is right on point that they need more than 2" of soil to establish a firm hold. Also, keep in mind that that initial layer of leaves is gonna break down over time and cause your soil to shift with it.

I believe the formula is a 6-8" bed of soil to anchor, then cover with another 4-6" of soil. After the vines start coming up leaves can be pile on top of those.

But, hey, I'm a believer...^^_^^

Linda

My name is potato failure but in my limited experience, when I've unearthed my treasures, ALL the action was above the seed piece. I've never seen any roots or stems go below it. I didn't realize that last year and initially gave them more soil under the seed than I did to cover it. That limited their ability to put on stems and roots while I dallied around wondering why the tops weren't growing much. I may flop again this year but I do have at least that much figured out.

Okay, folks! I'm gonna add more soil!

This message was edited Mar 4, 2010 6:11 PM

Jumping-up-and- down-clapping-my- hands Smiley!!

Now, this is going to get confusing, for sure. BUT...actually, you don't have to add more soil on TOP. The whole reasoning behind "planting in straw" is to be able to get at the new potatoes easily, without digging. It is not necessary for the actual newly-forming potatoes to be buried in soil. They will form perfectly well in straw, leaves, shredded newspapers, etc. ABOVE the soil line. In fact, they would form laying open on the ground if not covered with anything, but then they would get green skins and be toxic.

The roots actually go down from the seed potatoes sprouts (ALL the sprouts form both roots and lateral "stems" that grow new potatoes), but the roots don't need much more than 6" or so of soil so as to anchor the plant and provide nourishment.

So, IMHO, what stephanietx has done should be just fine, even thought she didn't need to add more soil on TOP after adding more on the bottom. The potatoes will grow through the whole arrangement.

twiggybuds: I don't know what to say about no roots growing down into the soil. It's a puzzle to me. But, hey, if it works for you, great! My original description and explanation (at the beginning of this thread) is what works for me, but there are many ways to skin a cat, or in this case, grow potatoes!

I'm figuring better safe than sorry, Hoosier! LOL Besides that, we needed to move the dirt anyway!

Well maybe I don't have it figured out. I still have some that didn't get planted last weekend so I'll try it both ways. For these, I'll give them soil below and oak leaves on top. Last year all the visible roots seemed to grow out horizontally from the seed piece and new stems without seeming to want to reach down. They got plenty of rain so maybe that's why they didn't need to go deeper.

I think you're both going to be fine, and if you got potatoes either way, don't worry. Aren't new potatoes just the "bestest"?

I'll chronicle my progress. Maybe working together we can figure it out!

Hoosier, any idea when you're going to put your tators in the ground this year?

Purdue's vegetable planting calendar says we can do it as early as March 20. If I won't be onsite every night and be able to throw a sheet over them if mother nature throws colder weather than usual our way, maybe I should wait an extra week or two? Or are we usually in pretty good shape by the time the leaves and stem pop up and start growing?

Yeah,
What HoosierGreen said!

And here's a picture of my "air" potatoes to back up his explanation of what's going on underneath the coverings (whatever they may be)

It's Good to have a backup...

dividedsky: Since I still have a little snow on my garden, I will probably be a week later than planned. With the weekend warmup (Yeah! 50s!) the snow might be gone, but with the rain this week, there'll be another delay. Regardless, I try to get my potatoes planted in March, which will probably work out this year OK.

It's good to let them sprout in a sunny window anyway. I'll be buying my seed potatoes this weekend and letting them sprout. Any delay getting them in the ground is more than offset by letting them sprout indoors. Instead of just sitting there in the garden while it's cold, they really take off when pre-sprouted.

If you don't have a good source of seed potatoes, and if it's not too much of a drive, about 20 miles west of Indy is Cox's Plant Farm. It's on US 40 between Belleville and Stilesville. They usually have at least four varieties and you can pick through the bags to get the nice, little ones that make great, uncut seed potatoes. It's an easy drive, and his prices are great.

Gymgirl: Great photo to show the little potatoes and also the roots. Pretty neat!

This message was edited Mar 5, 2010 11:57 AM

The sun - and the warmup! It's fantastic!

I ordered my potatoes from Ronniger's and they should be here next week. So I should be right on track, I guess. Thanks for the tip on the source, though. There's a winery out in that direction, so I could do some garden shopping and wine tasting all in one day, ha!

I might just get them locally in the future. I think they have them at Dammann's too, if you've ever heard of them. I get my onions from there.

I planted the potatoes I got from Ronniger's. I have 4 different cultivars. I planted all of them in grow bags. I let them pre-sprout first and planted them over a week ago. The bags I planted them in were only 5 gallon bags. soil under them and soil on top of them. I saw some tips emerging above the soil yesterday. Should be interesting to see how these potatoes do in the grow bags.

It got cold last night and was very cold this morning, so I didn't drag them out of the garage to be in the sun today. Every so often I just leave them inside the garage for 24 hours and they seem to do just fine. I am curious to see how they do. I can unroll the bag as needed when the leaves and vines grow taller. I'll just keep adding dirt to it. I don't know why, but I prefer the dirt. Though leaves would certainly allow cleaner potatoes. I am also curious as to what the leaves will look like for the different varieties of potatoes. Fun, fun!

Yep. Damman's is a great place. Cox's is a nice place to get all gardening needs. They have a huge selection. Their nursery stock is OK, but they have everything you need for gardening, at good prices. I like to get seeds from their left-overs from last year, at 50¢ a packet. The potatoes are definitely a great price compared to ordering and shipping, except that there are only a few varieties. I'll let you know the ones they carry.

Sounds like great deals, Hoosier!

That's why I ordered from Ronnigers - they have such a wonderful variety. I got Blossom (a pink fingerling) and Caribe (purple accents). I guess I'll have the rainbow bright garden this year. Carrots, chard, radishes, tomatoes, . . . everything I'm planting will be a variety of colors.

Becky, what varieties did you plant? I planted Red Norland, Purple Viking, Kennebec, and banana Fingerlings.

Will be interesting to see your grow bags...grow! It's neat that you can just unroll it and keep adding dirt. Do you have pics you can share of the taters in their grow bags?

Stephanie - I am growing Silverton, Red Pontiac, Red Dale, and Yukon Gold.

In this photo, you can see the grow bags. I have carrots, tomatoes, and the potatoes growing in them. The potatoes are in the front. The leaves from the carrot are hanging over the front potato bag. You can see the bag can be rolled up to expose more of the white bag. I bought the dual color bags. White on the outside and black on the inside to reflect the intense heat here in FL. Of course, I never thought it'd be this cold in March. LOL!

This message was edited Mar 5, 2010 11:11 PM

Those taters are looking good, Becky! I totally understand about the cold at this time of the year! Last year at this time, we were considerably warmer.

I have leaves!! I thought for sure with all the cold and rain that they had rotted since I hadn't seen hide nor hair of them since I planted them. I even checked yesterday or the day before and nada. :D

Woohoo! I'm hoping to have leaves in a couple of weeks, if not sooner. We're expecting rain either tonight or tomorrow, so I hope the soil drains well enough and they don't rot!

I am also seeing leaf buds poking through the soil in my grow-bags! Should be interesting! :-) I just hope it doesn't get too hot here. It has gone from almost freezing a couple of days ago to 70's! Sheesh!

I planted my taters last Sunday and there are green leaves poking through today! I planted Yukon Gold, Red Pontiac and Purple Majesty in my raised beds...

Kelly that's great! I am not sure what is going to happen with mine, I had a couple of them sprouting just the little tinny tops were showing maybe 1 sprout in one container and 2 sprouts in the other container, but today when I went to look at the container I could not see anything, well after looking really close I noticed the sprouts had turned blakish color, I am wondering if maybe the last frost we had here a couple of days ago did some damage to those little sprouts.

Carmen that sounds like frost damage. If that's all it is, they'll continue to grow and it won't matter except for their appearance. Mine are not showing yet. My longest sprouts were only 3/4" so they have a way to go.

My sprouts were pretty large so I think that might have been the cause of their rapid development plus the fact that I use to cover them with plastic when it got really cold. The burned spot is only on the tiny tips that are showing so hopefully the plant will keep growing.

They should be fine. You're up late tonight - lol. I spent all day outside ahead of the rain so now I'm trying to catch up on e-mails and laundry!

The beauty of the washing machine tub potato garden is the great drainage! I can see huge purple sprouts on my Red Vikings.

Are the Purple Vikings (I always think of the Minnesota Vikings when I read that.) in the middle tub? For some reason, I expected the tubs to be taller. Guess they're really not all that big once they're out of the washing machine.

What a great idea, Gymgirl! I like all the drainage holes in those washing machine tubs. Or are they dryer tubs?