Growing Potatoes.

I understand that they need a lot of room.

What is "a lot" of room. What would you recommend?

I am planning on having an 8x10 garden, and then doing another section outside of that for potatoes.

Any thoughts on how big to make it? I don't want hundreds of potatoes, just enough to eat, etc.

I assume you mean Irish potatoes, Minimum is one square foot per plant. I give mine two. Sweet potatoes are a different story.

Yes, I did mean irish potatoes, thank you.

I'm going to sound dumb, but I don't know how potatoes grow. I know they grow in the ground, but how do you go about doing it?

I read you can cut the eyes out and use those, and some people use the baby potatoes (that have been treated so they don't rot). What would you recommend?

Thank you :)

There are as many ways to grow Irish potatoes as there are people who grow them. I plant in the ground so I will give you that way first. You are apparently going to have a small in ground planting, lets say 4 X 4 . The first step is to dig it deep ( 8-10 inches) with a spading fork or shovel. Depending on the quality of the soil, you can amend it with compost. My soil is pretty good so I would just work in about two cupfulls of 10-10-10 fertilizer. You know about the eyes on Irish potatoes, those little dimples where the sprouts comes out. Cut the potato into pieces so two or three eyes are on each piece. Let them sit a couple days with plenty of air,(no plastic bags) until the cuts scab over. With a shovel or trowel, dig a hole 5-6 inches deep ( as close as 12 but I would recommend 15-16 inches apart) drop in a potato piece cut side down, Cover with soil and relax until they emerge. That should give you 9-10 plants which should yield 3-5 lbs of potatoes each. After they emerge, stir the soil with a hoe to keep the top loose and keep weeds out. just before the plants start to reach each other, pull dirt up around each plant (hill). as the plants begin to show signs of age, began yellowing and falling over, you can take out "new" potatoes, which in my opinion taste much better than mature potatoes. For storage or if you want bakers, let the plants completely die than dig with a fork or potato hook.

Thank you for your help!

Can you just use potatoes that you buy at the store (for eating)?

Or do you absolutely have to use the treated kind?

In your area, you can use the grocery store potatoes, partciularly if they have sprouted. Down here we have to grow an early maturing variety, and we don't often know what the grocery store has.

This is how I'm growing potatoes. I found these 25 gallon pots at a nursery for $6.00 each.

BocaBob

There is way of growing potatoes in car tyres ? I think you just keep putting one on top of another as the plant grows and topping up with soil - I think. Does anyone know how to do this exactly and if so, does it work ?

Farmer D is it too late in our area to try and plant taters? Also you asked whether someone was growing Irish potatoes as opposed to sweet potatoes,how much room should be allowed for sweet potatoes?thanks

Yes it is really too late to plant Irish potatoes in Georgia, They need to be planted in early February, early March at the latest. It just gets to hot here. The vining sweet potaoes do ok, planted 16-18 inches apart in 4 foot wide rows. They will run up to 6 ft or or so, but overlap does not hurt much. The bunch versions only go three feet or so and can use be planted in two- three foot wide rows. Or if you are using something like the square foot method, give them 3 sq ft per plant.

Sweet potatoes are planted later than irish pot. correct?? Also, how long til harvest on sweet potatoes? is it the same thing - wait until the plant dies to harvest.... ??? I have a habit of killing plants before their time so it might be hard to tell.... LOL

Also, how much yield per sw pot plant?? And any recommendations on storing them long term??

thanks

Correct sweet potatoes are a hot weather crop. They are actually tender perennials, so they don't die until killed by frost. Typically they take about 4 months from transplant. They are dug at first frost or the first of October, whichever comes first. If allowed to cure with plenty of air and temps in the 80's and then properly stored (temps above 50 degrees) they will keep until June of the next year.

typical yield

This thread is very helpful! Thank you to all the experienced gardeners for lending your aid. After reading this I've asked my husband to cut up some of the old sprouted potatoes that have been mouldering in the back of the pantry for the past month. They haven't rotted yet (I hope) but I'll see when I get home.

Is it alright to plant potatoes when it's cold? We had frost yesterday, then again today, it seems spring this year is dragging her heels in coming.

Ok, so does that mean I don't plant them until June 1 ...to harvest 4 mos later on Oct 1 or do I plant now when I am planting all my other stuff (which SHOULD have already been in the ground).

Also, how long do they have to cure at 80+ weather? And how will I KNOW when they have cured? I LOVE sweet potatoes and buy them on a regular basis and would love to grow some in this garden experiment that we are trying this year. Where do I get the plants? or seeds? or whatever I use?????

Thanks!!
Genna

Typically one begans transplanting about 15 days after your last average frost date. Mine is April 15, so I will begin transplanting this week. It takes about 10 days or so to cure them sufficiently for storage. At this time, plants are generally available at Seed and Feeds. To grow your own slips, you would need to start about 6 weeks earlier. It is easy, just takes time.

Ok, so I will check out my local feed store and see if I can find any - have NEVER seen any, but maybe I wasn't looking in the right place... LOL.... I will ASK because i would really like to try this. Do they run similar to watermelons?

Obviously, I don't have time to "make my own slips" (I assume this is what the plant it called..??) but IF I decide to do such a thing next year, how would I go about it? I figure as long as I am asking all these questions - might as well hit that one too..... :-)

I have trouble with sw pot stored in my pantry wanting to sprout - so I assume that means I would need to store them in the garage or somewhere with less heat once they are cured. Of course, I have heard of potatoe sheds - but have never had one, even as a kid on the farm , we never raised potatoes. ..... not sure why - but we didn't ... helped my best friend's family dig potatoes once - they thought it was a horrible chore.. I thought it was a great adventure since I had never had to do it before !!! LOL all in prespective I guess....... seems like he pulled them up with a tillar - but maybe I am remembering wrong..it has been a FEW years ago!!!


I appreciate your patience and your help with all the answers! THANKS!
Genna

Not quite like watermelons, I plant them on lists. 16 inches spaced in the row with the rows 4 feet apart. The bunching types do fine with 36 inch row spacing. Producing sprouts can be easy as placing the potato root end down in a jar of water and pulling off the slips (sprouts) as they get 6 inches or so. I place mine in a sheltered plant bed. They are ready. I will start planting in the next couple of days.

Sweet potatoes will sprout, but it does not hurt them like it does Irish potatoes. They don't like storage where the temps are below 50 degrees.

one more question - and I PROMISE I am thru at least for a few days.... LOL ... but I don't know what a "list" is...... is that a mound? or a hill? or a bed??

THANKS so much for all the information - you are obviously very knowledgeable. Well, I guess I mislead you because I have yet another - is there any certain variety that I need to be looking for?? Of course, in my area, I might be doing good just to find plants of ANY kind.......

THANK you again for all your help! It has been most educational and now I am wanting to try my hand at these!!!

Genna

A list is a long continuos hill or mound. I throw mine up with disk tillers, but in the old days we used a one horse plow.

As far as cultivars go, You might want to browse through Plantfiles to see other folks results. The "Bunch" cultivars hog less space. Porto Rico and Vardaman are two of the more popular orange fleshed cultivars. Beauregard is currently the most popular of regular orange fleshed cultivars, I like Copper Jewel better. There are several others that are good. There are also white fleshed and yellow fleshed cultivars.

At the price of gasoline, we might have to go back to that one horse plow.... :-) Of course, ONLY if you have the room to "feed" the animal because if you had to buy all of its food it would probably cost way more than the gas!! LOL

I feel like I have reverted back to that era - because I don't have all the proper equipment. Have an almost new rear tine tillar - and now it isn't working - probably has less than 2 hrs of use on it, but it is 3 years old so no longer in warranty....now that i want to use it, it won't work!! So, I have borrowed an OLD front tine tillar to help me until I can get someone to work on the other one.... and I am laying out most of my rows with a hoe by hand !!! I don't really mind - since I enjoy the memories if conjures up of me working in the garden with my parents who have both since passed on, but I have a LOT of rows to lay out and I am already behind schedule .... WAY behind schedule. I have considered buying one of those old timey walk behind cultivators - looks like a mule plow but with a wheel instead of the mule..... and trying that. There is one selling at an auction this weekend ,.....the guy said I might could get it for 5 dollars or so...maybe 10. Another guy offered to sell my one for 15 - but he said the axel would have to be repaired on it because it was bent ...and right now I need something that will WORK not slow me down more.....

Thanks again for all your help. I have learned a LOT about sweet potatoes. I will browse the local feed store and see if I can find any plants at all. At least, IF I can find some of these, i won't be as far behind on them as I am everything else!!

THANKS!
Genna

Those old high wheel cultivators do the Job. I have one thats over a hundred years old and by using a moldboard I can throw nice lists for beets etc. I plant tto many sweet potatoes to use it, but it would probably work for a couple dozen plants.

LOL - ok, so NOW what is a moldboard?? I assume a particular type of plow?? I am correct in that those have different attachments such as plows, cultivators, etc.... at least that is what I THINK I am looking for ..... never had one.....

Genna

Moldboard on the wheel hoe. (old name for what is now sold as the high wheel cultivator). The wheel hoe is all I use to cultivate in the 40 x 70 ft kitchen garden. Use tiller for prep and everything else the wheel hoe takes care of. Fields are another matter, use a one row tractor with cultivator there. These moldboards are also used on horse drawn and tractor drawn cultivators primarily for laying by. ( hilling up at last cultivation)

I now of planting in leaves as one DGer has an article and i thought i would try this.
I will also try the method mentioned abouve
i got 5 lbs of yukon gold to try as my first yr
thanks for the questions gen2026 I had the same questions too LOL with Farmerdill on your side yo u can't go wrong :)
thanks
sue

Thanks so much Farmerdill .... you have been most helpful. I don't believe I have ever seen a moldboard..... or at least I just lumped it in with a "plow" title if I did. :-)
My Dad was born in 1919 - so he was very familiar with all the horse drawn tools and equipment and was pretty good to educate me on them, although thankfully, I never had to use them myself!! LOL But, I just had not heard that term before. Of course, he grew up in the hills (mountains) of NW Ar so they didn't do a lot of farming in those rocks...... :-)

Not sure what anyone else has gotten out of this thread, but I have learned a tremendous amount ! Thanks so much for taking the time to share your knowledge....... I really appreciate your help! Haven't found my sw pot slips yet, but have another feed store to try this afternoon....... MAYBE......

Genna

I learned alot
i m actually thinking of doing sweet pots too. Never thought about them but tey might taste better home grown :)

Oh, I love sweet potatoes - and we have gone to eating a LOT of them at our house ....SO IF I can ever find some sw pot slips - this might work out well. .... so far, haven't located any!!!

Genna

I got a late start on my spuds but i cut them up to scab over except the little ones.
I m doing yukon gold.
on the look out for sweet pots too
sue

I'm also doing yukon golds, they're my favorite for gnocci and I think they have a better flavor than russets for mashing.

I'm a little worried my little yukons might not make it though as we've got a lot of white grubs in the ground and one method to rid yourself of them involved burying potatoes only to dig them up in a day or two full of white grubs.

YUCK - sounds like loads of fun......NOT.....

I think chickens like grubs :)
i m glad someone else is doing yukons too. Love gnocci !!.
When one cuts the pots to scab over. DO they get blackish ? iwth a whitish scab ?
I got my pot bed and am ready to add manure and straw to it. Then the potatos.
I hope it works out.
looking forward to these.

Sure wish I had bought (or started) some sweet potato slips. My yukons are just starting to bud, and I have 2 rose finn fingerling plants about 4" tall in 2 tires.

darius i have heard those fingerlings are realy good. I couldn't find any this yr.

Sue, I forget where I got mine, maybe Southern Seed Exposure? Fedco has them but they stop shipping earlier than I thought to get an order in, and their prices are much better on lots of things.

good to know thanks

Ok - 2 MORE questions now....

1. Why are you putting down straw? Leaving on top like a mulch or tilling in for compost?

2. What is gnocci ??? I assume if it involves sw pot that I would like it...............
Never heard of it.
Genna

LOL your cute :) gen2026 gnocci is an italian dumpling made from potato's :) if i can do this right it is pronounced " knee-yok- ee " or something like that . Germans have a similar dumpling from potato's called Spaetzel.
they are quite yummy.
I m laying down straw for a mulch over the spuds. I would have used leaves but i didn't have time to get some this Arpil with my kids and i were sick.
sue

Can you share how to make them?? You can dmail me if you prefer. I have never heard of such a thing!!! Around here Dumplins are dough like but I would sure be willing to try it. Of course, i am sure it would be better to have someone fix it who KNOWS what they are doing - but I am willing to try to make them at least once.... :-)


Would have KILLED the name too....would never have pronounced it anything like that - but then I am not Italian ^-^

Genna

I can try and look some up for you :)
they are a bit time consuming. But yummy.
yep no one here in OH would know what they are either .:) they have a hard time iwth ginger root
sue

Oh, sorry, just assumed you were familiar with how to make them.... guess you just like to eat them!! LOL Sounds like most of my favorite foods!!!

Genna