potatoes under straw PART II

Linda those washing machine tubs make great containers, never expected them to be like this, great way to recycle too! I know you have probably mentioned before and i probably forgot, but where did you get them?

Steph: negative on the Purple-on-Purple Theme
Beck: Washing Machines. No need for drainage in the dryer.
Carmin: I think I found the 1st one and it was early enuf in my marriage that the DH surprised me with 2 more!
Houston: We have lift-off!

And one more.

Where is everybody? Out in the garden, duh!!!

Except for today, pretty nasty and rainy, but still managed to place my maters out for a few hours and bring them inside. I think tomorrow is going to be even worse.

They probably enjoyed the rain water! We had the icky rain the past two days. Today it was gorgeous, so sunshine is heading your way!!

I saw one blossom open on my Methley plum tree today. A sure sign of spring but I think it means that there better not be anymore heavy frost or there won't be any plums. I don't remember ever being so stressed over wondering is it or is it not spring.

Twiggy, I forgot that you mentioned that you have a methley plum, how long have you had this plum tree? have you tried any of its fruits yet? I am very excited about mine as well, hopefully they wont die on me.

It has 4 more blooms open today. In a few days there will be a million. It was the first one I planted and must be about 18. I planted a Bruce at the same time. They bloom at different times and wouldn't work as pollinators. So then I got a Santa Rosa and now they all bear. The Methley tastes very good and makes the heaviest crop of smaller fruit. The Santa Rosa is medium sized and very good but stingy. The Bruce tastes the best to me and is the largest but stingiest of all. The Methley is easily the most valuable. I just got a Burgundy and an Elephant Heart so there should be lots of plums in my future.

got tators?

I hope this rain stops soon so I can plant these things in two weeks.

Blossom fingerlings (pink-skin, pink flesh), Maris Piper (high-yielding cream fleshed, cream-skinned potato similar to Yukon Gold), and unidentified bonus from Ronniger's.

This message was edited Mar 13, 2010 4:54 PM

The three carolas I've had in the closet since late January when I bought them at the farmer's market are already ready to plant.

This message was edited Mar 13, 2010 4:53 PM

Got Blooms?

Mine, too! I also saw thin white roots growing everywhere! Hooray!

OK, one more time, please....shouldn't use manure or composted manure when planting potatoes in containers or growbags? Just regular soil is ok?

You can use poultry compost or mushroom compost but NOT cow manure/compost. Potatoes do not do well with high acid in the soil. I used mushroom compost with perlite, a small amount of pine bark fines (which can cause acidic soil so use just a little), and some peat. Mine are in 5 and 3 gallon grow-bags. I am hoping those bags are big enough. Others mentioned 10 gallon. Since this year is trial and error for me, I am going to see how the 5 and 3 gallon work. If they work well, but seem like the potatoes are crowded then I will get some 10 gallon grow-bags for next year. I am using grow-bags with other veggies too. My ground soil is awful, so that is why I am using the grow-bags. Easier to do it that way than putting lots of work/dollars into fixing my soil ... IF the grow-bags do actually work for my veggie plants.

Well, it's a good thing I have some home made compost left. I now have 6 bags of composted cow manure...any suggestions where I can use it?

I'm doing a lot of experimenting too. I started some potatoes in buckets in the greenhouse in January in potting mix. They started growing, but then we had a deep freeze for a few weeks. They are now growing again.

I've been saving our large dogfood bags that I think will work well for growbags. They're a kind of plastic, but not the kind bagged soils and compost come in. I turned them inside out last night and rolled the tops down, and then punched lots of drain holes in the bottoms. Planning on growing some potatoes in those with straw, some in a garden bed with straw and the majority in the ground. I've also consider planting in plastic drums, cut in half with drain holes. We have a problem with field mice eating some of potatoes.

You can put the cow manure in your compost pile and let it age and mix with the rest of your compost. Next year it'll be awesome!

Tomato plants love cow compost. And right now there is a shortage in FL on tomatoes because of our unusually cold winter. Lost a lot of tomato crops here. Other veggies like cow compost, too! But for most, it is better when aged.

I, too, am worried about the fruit rats getting into my veggie garden. What to do, what to do?!! (sigh) I am hoping that the grow bags keep them out.

The bags I bought were Blak Kow, that's composted manure, isn't it? And composted humus with composted manure (not more than 10%). So these should be good or okay to work in around the vegetables?

Becky, I've heard about the crop loss. What a shame!

I believe Black Cow is okay to use with most veggies, but don't use it on potatoes. :-)

I suspect more than just tomato plants were damaged this winter. Time will tell by the supermarket prices. (sigh)

Using manure on potatoes can lead to scab. Soil with a high % of organic material in general can cause it. Though it doesn't reduce your yield too much and won't kill you, scab is unsightly and not desirable, especially if you are a market grower and plan to sell your taters.

Thanks Kelly, that helps a lot. Got to have nice looking tators for my customers.

lol - I lurk a lot on the Market Growers forum. I like to see what you all are doing;o)

Kelly - So what IS the best kind of soil to grow potatoes in? I have sandy soil that turns hard as a rock. I can't get straw here ... only hay, so I won't use that. :-(

From what I have read and my own experience sandy loam is best. You want well drained soil but soil that will also retain moisture. If your soil is compacted you will want to loosen it and you can incorporate organic matter to help lighten heavy soil. I think a lot of people grow them in straw and leaves to not deal with their soil or to make harvesting easier. My taters are growing in raised beds that contain my own soil mix of compost, a little peat and a little vermiculite. Make sure your compost is completely broken down or work it in a few months before planting.

Oh my - use hay and you'll have more than taters sprouting;o)

Great looking potato plants, Becky, Linda, mine are growing as well, it is very exciting, I'll have to take pictures of mine when I have a little more time, I have been really busy planting all the fruit trees and veggies out, almost everything is planted except for 2 more tomato plants and the bush beans, we will see how this year goes.

I saw my first sprouts today! I *think* these are the Red Norlands.

Beautiful!

I am using mushroom compost, perlite, peat, a little bit of pine fines, and some moisture control potting mix all mixed up together. The grow-bags seem to have good drainage. We had a lot of rain a couple of days ago and they got saturated, but it didn't seem to bother them. They are making lots of new leaves! It appears that every potatoe seed is growing leaves, so that is encouraging. :-) I will need to add more potting mix to the soil soon as some of the trunks are extending much higher than the soil line. Don't know why?

Stephanie - Yours looks great, too! Congrats!

Do you fertilize them? If so, with what? I know this question was asked and I can't remember now. What's best to use? Or don't fertilize at all?

Potato growth update:

Here's a picture of the new sprouts.

Here's the same sprouts, 3 days later!

Looks like you're off and running, Linda!

I only wish it were true, Steph!

I have sooooooooooo much to plant out still, and everyone's already done with their planting and sowing!!!

O.K here are my potato plants, they seem to be doing O.K so far, I would imagine pretty soon we'll have to start hilling them right?

Here's the second potato bed.

I'm wondering if the potatoes on the right are a little smaller because they're shaded part of the day by the side of the container. You might give it a turn now and then if it isn't too heavy. I like the wooden barrels - they look nice.

dividensky, you might be right, so I'll try your method and see if it makes a difference or not.

Woot! Have little tater buds in all my planters!! Only saw 1 planter budding yesterday, so I was really surprised to find something in each planter this evening when I got home from work!

WE'VE GOT TATERS ON THE WAY!

This is sooooooooooo exciting!

Carminator1, Sky's right about the sunshine. I have one planter on the end of a row that gets almost full sunshine and it's outdistancing the other two on the same row by 2x. The blooms this morning were almost 6" tall and full, full, full!

Shoot, I was rushing around protecting the tomatoes from the thunderstorms we're supposed to get today, and couldn't stop to snap a pic!

I feel like I've just given birth! I'm so proud of my tater babies. LOL