Got some advice from one of the old timers here in town about my potato plants wanted to run it by this forum before I do anything drastic. This is the first year I have planted potatoes and I must say they have popped up very well. I hilled them and put straw around the plants. They have become rather tall and have tipped over. One of the old farmers told me that I can cut the tops of the plants off so that the potatoes get the lions share of the nutrients and not the leafy tops getting all of it. I just wanted to see if anyone else has done or heard of this before I take the machete to the plants and ruin the potatoes.
Thanks all
Ben
Potato Plant Old Skool Advice
I've never heard of that one. I'm no expert. My potato tops flop over too. I kind of like how the flowers look. But I'm growing them for the potatoes, not the flowers. I'm intrigued. I hope someone comes along who knows about this. How much does this old timer say to cut off? And when do you do it?
Jen
New one on me.
Seems to me that you need the leaves and tops to provide the nutrients for the tubers.
Of course you could experiment, cut some and leave the rest.
[I like experiments]
I have heard of this and know a guy who swears by it but if it is so great why do professional potatoe farmers spray their vines to kill them in stead of cutting them off. My potatoes do just fine by leaving the vines.
They infact spray the vines to stop the growth and harden the tubers before harvest to minimize damage and make them store better.
I've heard this too. Maybe it's a northern thing where the growing season isn't quite long enough.
I don't think they mean to cut off all of the top, just part of it. Prune them, not totally defoliate them.
Up here we also stomp on the onion tops to make them lay over and start to dry up. That (supposedly) is to make the onion bulb grow bigger.
Personally, I've never tried pruning the potato plants, but I do stomp my onion plants over. :)
I don't know about the theory that all the energy goes to the tubers if you cut the vines. It's the energy produced by the leaves that is stored in the tubers. Anyway...
Here's an interesting look at commercial potato growing from "The Potato Assoc. of America Handbook." Scroll down to "Harvesting the Crop - Vine Killing"
http://cropandsoil.oregonstate.edu/classes/CSS322/Cppina.htm
(Edit: I had trouble getting this link to work, but if you turn off your pop-up blocker it will connect; or, you can Google: "Commercial Potato Production In North America" and get this page)
They kill the vines to artificially hasten tuber maturity when they must harvest before the vines die down naturally.
All sounds kind of horrific, but that's food growing on a commercial scale.
This message was edited Jul 8, 2008 5:53 PM
This message was edited Jul 8, 2008 5:54 PM
This message was edited Jul 8, 2008 6:22 PM
I think the question is, at what time can you do this? I assume it would have to be some time after the plants have flowered.
Interesting. The concept sounds somewhat similar to the thread I was reading yesterday about tomato races. Trick your potatoes into thinking it's the end of the growing season and they better hurry up and mature. You'd have to be sure that the potatoes were already developed but not yet ripe. Sounds a little iffy to me on a small scale. If you did it too soon you'd be out of luck.
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/869769/
But, as far as I can tell, it doesn't cause the potatoes to grow any bigger, but just "sets" the skin - I assume this means hardens them off a little so they harvest, store, and ship easier. We usually cure ours just by letting them sit out in the air a while before storing.
I thought the tubers begin forming in earnest when the plants bloom. This is a good time to give a little extra fertilizer. But, who knows. Who's going to be the first to sacrifice a plant and see? : / Not me! : )
One thought, how long ago did you plant the potatoes? It may be that your vines are falling over as they naturally wither and die back, meaning your potatoes are reaching maturity. Maybe you can dig in a hill or two and see what's in there.
I have heard of removing the flower tops so they don't waste engergy on that, but not the vines.
Yes, we learned the hard way one year - our vines were dying back and I thought they had disease so I sprayed and sprayed with homemade fungacide.
Our neighbor suggested the vines were dying back naturally and the potatoes were probably ready. But we let them sit in the ground, thinking they would "store" there. Big mistake. They turned soft and sprouted! So, don't wait too long. Good idea to dig in a little and check them!
Thanks for the viewpoints. I think I will let them be and take my chances. I planted the potatoes in the middle of April. I will try to take some pics to show you all how the taters turn out.
Once again thanks for the advice.
Ben