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This is an easy way to get great yields, clean potatoes, and save your back and knees from the "side effects" of planting your seed potatoes in the ground.
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The picture is courtesy of the Seed Saver Exchange-an example of their potato seed sampler.
Let's start with a quick recap on preparing your seed potatoes for planting. By using the term planting in, I'm actually referring to planting on top of the ground. A week or two before your planting date, set your seed potatoes in an area where they will be exposed to light and temperatures between 60-70 degrees F., this will begin the sprouting process. A day or two before planting, use a sharp, clean knife to slice the larger seed potatoes into smaller pieces. Each piece should contain at least 1 or 2 eyes or buds. Smaller potatoes may be planted whole, a good rule of thumb is to plant them whole if they are smaller in size than a golf ball. In the next day or so, your seed will form a thick callous over the cuts, which will help to prevent it from rotting. Potatoes that you buy in the grocery store will sprout, but most have been treated with chemicals to help retard the growth process and I do not recommend using them.
Potatoes do best in full sun and prefer well drained slighty acidic soil. Potatoes are highly adaptable and will usually give you a good crop even if the soil and weather conditions are less than perfect. For the best harvest, though, it's good to provide well drained soil, rich in organic matter. "Work" or shallow till your planting area. We use 3 ft beds to make it easier to plant and reach around the bed without stepping on the prepared soil. You can at this point add commercial fertilizer if your soil is less than ideal and work that in as well. Water throughly.
Start laying your potatoes on the ground. Once they are all "planted" water them well and then add a 2 inch layer of leaves, oak is best, but any leaves will do. We also use recycled screens weighted down to keep the leaves from blowing away. As the potatoes begin to flower add another layer of leaves, water well. Continue to add leaves as the potatoes continue to bloom. You want to be sure and cover the blooms completely and water regularly.
After the potatoes have stopped blooming, you can start "robbing" the pile a bit. Before you do, I do suggest "whacking" the leaf pile with the flat side of a rake, just in case you have had crawly friends using the area for a shelter. Baby potatoes can be "robbed" about 2-3 weeks after the potatoes have finished flowering. They should be used the day they are dug. Yummy!
Potatoes that are going to be used for storage should not be harvested until 2-3 weeks after the foliage dies back. Gently lift off some of the leaves to check the foliage. Once you have determined that the foliage has died back, remove all the leaves with a rake and DH uses a snow shovel as well. The leaves go to the compost bin. Leave those lovely, clean potatoes to cure for 2-3 days. This curing step allows the skins to mature and is essential for good storage. If the weather during harvest is wet and rainy, allow the potatoes to cure in a dry protected area like a garage or covered porch. Do make sure your wheelbarrow is empty, you'll need it.
STORAGE:
The ideal storage area should be well ventilated, dark, and cool. The ideal temperature is between 35 and 40 degrees/F. Some varieties are better keepers that others. Varieties like Red Gold and Rose Gold are best used in the fall, and others like Carola and Russets are exceptional keepers. Google root cellars for great tips on creating a storage area for these types of crops.
SAVING SEED STOCK: We normally plant some of each variety, simply because we like to experiment with different varieties and tastes. Using this method it's easy to select several different varieties and get great results. You will be surprise at the increased size of the potatoes that you harvest. We had one Idaho that weighted n at slightly over 4 lbs. Sorry I didn't get a picture, but it sure tasted good.
It's very important to rotate the location of your potatoes yearly. Potatoes should be rotated in the garden, never being grown in the same spot until there has been a 3-4 year absence of potatoes.
Your potato seed can be saved and replanted for several generations. Save the very best potatoes for planting. You may find that after several years the size begins to decrease; this is typical. Potatoes are very susceptible to viruses. If you are looking for maximum yields it is best to start with fresh, USDA Certified Seed Stock every year.
We have found this to be a quick and easy way to plant and harvest a great crop of potatoes. Little to no weeding and we've discovered potato beetles, a real problem in this area, are repelled by oak leaves, so we have little problem with insect pests. No fork thru the tater, oops, either. And no back and knee pain! We did have a problem with mice, hence the snake. A regular rack "whacking" of the top of the pile seems to have solved that problem.
 | Hubby and I have been doing Organic Gardening off and on for over 25 years. Just finishing the Virginia Master Gardening classes at the end of Nov 07. I love talking and teaching gardening to anybody that will listen. |
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Subject: I've got sprouts!
Posted by cathy4 (from St. Louis County, MO) on April 20, 2008 at 6:36 PM:Hey, I've got sprouts coming out of my leaf pile, woo hoo! ... Posted by doccat5 (from Fredericksburg, VA) on April 20, 2008 at 9:31 PM: Glad to hear it! ;) ...
Subject: grow potatoes in a garbage can?
Posted by unajardinera (from Spokane, WA) on April 1, 2008 at 8:24 PM:I read doccat5's article on growing potatoes, and many of the responses. My friend says that her sister grows potatoes in a clean, bottom cut off, trash can every year. Sounds much like the same idea. Has anyone heard of this? I just wonder how the little plant deep down in there would get enough light? I don't have much space in my yard, so if this worked, it would be such a space saver. ... Posted by doccat5 (from Fredericksburg, VA) on April 1, 2008 at 8:27 PM: It should work like a charm, just make sure you punch some drainage holes in the sides, if you choose to bury it. Tater's don't like wet footies. Good luck, I hope you have productive crop of taters. :) ... Posted by unajardinera (from Spokane, WA) on April 2, 2008 at 10:23 AM: Hi Doccat5,
Thanks for your great article. I'm worried about two things with the trash can method: the plant being too hot, and not getting enough light. I was thinking maybe to try the same thing with a ring of chicken wire to "fence" in the leaves. I also don't know if I can find leaves, can you use soil, or peat moss? Guess those would be much more pricey, but I know I could buy them. How much light does a potato need in a day? Preciate the years you've been doing this, especially organic gardening. Can't say that I've made it to the organic scene, though I would love to. I'm new at vegies and have mostly grown roses/flowers and used chemicals to provide for their health. I'm thinking to try Messenger this year - I think this is acceptable in the organic realm. Thanks. ... Posted by doccat5 (from Fredericksburg, VA) on April 2, 2008 at 10:38 AM: The can is not going to get too hot as long as you put it in area that has partial shade. Leave the lid off and make sure it's got lots of drainage holes. Use some straw if you have no leaves. I bale of straw ought do a 30 gal trash can with no problem. No point in spending lots of money on this. Once your taters are harvested, you can add the straw to your compost :) Then next year you can going to rest of us on a bagged leave search! I've heard about the Messenger, but haven't tried it. I'm using Bokashi on my veggies, roses and actually the whole yard this year. If you want to learn more about Bokashi check the soil and composting thread. Lots of good info on there, and good luck and I hope you have a great harvest! ... Posted by unajardinera (from Spokane, WA) on April 2, 2008 at 5:37 PM: Thanks for all the tips. I will look at the Bokashi thread. I've two rambunctious toddlers and the benefits of going organic go without saying. ... Posted by doccat5 (from Fredericksburg, VA) on April 2, 2008 at 5:46 PM: Yes indeed and a great choice you are making for all of you. :) ...
Subject: Hey doccat !!!!
Posted by taynors (from back in St Paris, OH) on March 21, 2008 at 7:11 PM: weeee
i m very excited on growing spuds this season :)
i have all them oak trees on our property , lol :)
and the woods floor is covered iwth oak leaves ,maple and black walnut
only one question so far . You said any leaves will do ?
would that include black walnut and maple too ?
thanks
sue ... Posted by doccat5 (from Fredericksburg, VA) on March 21, 2008 at 8:11 PM: I'd be a bit careful with the black walnut leaves. I'm not sure if the leaves contain jugrones or not. But either or both of the others will do just fine. I'm thrilled for you, hope it goes well and you get lots of taters. :) ... Posted by taynors (from back in St Paris, OH) on March 21, 2008 at 8:15 PM: good to know
i do remember someone telling me of the black walnuts . Of course i wouldn't know a black walnut leaf from a oak leaf lol
good think we only have two black walnuts lol
thanks again
hopefull with any luck i will be able to get pics as soon as they are ready
... Posted by doccat5 (from Fredericksburg, VA) on March 21, 2008 at 8:20 PM: Well, if you're planning on planting anything under those black walnuts, do some research first. They don't play nicely with other plants. ... Posted by taynors (from back in St Paris, OH) on March 22, 2008 at 9:30 AM: Oh no im not planning on planting anything under them. Just raking up the leaves from the oaks, next to them. does that makes sense?
sorry if i didn't make sense , been on a diet and i think i m not eating enough protein ? a bit fuzzy lately lol :)
going to get some extra eggs today from the farmer down the road. :)
:) ... Posted by doccat5 (from Fredericksburg, VA) on March 22, 2008 at 4:14 PM: I must be on the same diet, cause I understood you.......LOL I have daffodils and iris planted under mine. I want to add crocus out there next year. :) ... Posted by taynors (from back in St Paris, OH) on March 22, 2008 at 5:19 PM: OOhhhh sounds pretty
Hey did you check out the hosta co - op ?
didn't know if you like them or not ?
great prices :)
I had to leave all my daff's and bulbs at our old house :( but i swiped my peonies. LOL :) wasn't leaving with out them babies.
[HYPERLINK@davesgarden.com]
... Posted by doccat5 (from Fredericksburg, VA) on March 22, 2008 at 5:35 PM: Unfortunately, black walnuts appear to not play nicely with hostas. These are old mature black walnuts that bear fruit, so the jugone off them is some kind of righteous. Have to be very careful what I put under and around them. ... Posted by taynors (from back in St Paris, OH) on March 22, 2008 at 7:01 PM: good to know
i know that when handleing them they can be a mess ? black stuff all over your hands.
I have ordered a bunch of hostas for our back porch are that oulooks the woods So we will have a shade garden out there or we will have a buffet for the deer. LOL which ever it is , at least i didn't pay full price for them lol
... Posted by taynors (from back in St Paris, OH) on March 29, 2008 at 9:39 AM: Ok i ordered my first spuds from Johnnys. I went with a hybrid ? i m assuming . Since it is my first yr doing this .
I got Yukon Gold
i wanted a fingerling but seems they are all sold out at SSE :(
so i will follow your guideline and see what happens. I m looking forward to it.
i also got some onion sets from them. gonna try that too. :)
thanks again for your inspiration
sue
... Posted by doccat5 (from Fredericksburg, VA) on March 29, 2008 at 9:49 AM: Sue, yukon gold are yummy, yummy. I wish you wonderful success. I hope everyone has a great harvest, otherwise I'll probably have to move.....LOL I don't do onions. We just don't use enough of them to justify using the ground for those.
We're planting ours this weekend, I hope. I had delays in shipments I was not to pleased about. I normally have them in by March 17. The bed is all set up and ready to go. ... Posted by taynors (from back in St Paris, OH) on March 29, 2008 at 10:37 AM: A raised bed is a good idea for the potatos ?
since i have so many trees that came down i thought i would use the large branches as a frame.
I wish you luck in your planting. Hopefully we get a good spring. ! :)
Sorry if this is out of topic but was wondering and have asked in other forums but ....
could i ask you here ?
" is there any bacteria in spring waters that would damage seedlings ? "
I m collecting water from our spring streams to use as a water source for my GH and was just thinking of that ?
thanks for any help you can give sorry if i m off topic :) *wink*
sue ... Posted by doccat5 (from Fredericksburg, VA) on March 29, 2008 at 10:48 AM: Sure raised bed would work fine for taters, just make sure you have good drainage, they don't like wet footies. Same deal covering the blooms.
I would boil that water, honey. And maybe have a test done on the water, unless you are sure of it's source. You can however, collect rainwater to use, that works very well. ... Posted by taynors (from back in St Paris, OH) on March 29, 2008 at 5:03 PM: my plan B is to hook up some gutter on our Gh i think dreaves gave a good idea on another site
the spring is just from our overflow of rain water that goes into our vernal ponds.
No other farms around that have run off that would lead into ours . ITs purely rain water .
but good to know on boiling it
sounds like an idea i can use .
when all else fails ? keep on moving foreward. :)
ok so good drainage on our spuds
thanks again
sue ... Posted by doccat5 (from Fredericksburg, VA) on March 29, 2008 at 6:19 PM: No problem, I as so envious of your property. Makes me wish I was 20 years younger. LOL ... Posted by taynors (from back in St Paris, OH) on March 29, 2008 at 7:32 PM: I will send lots of pics. :)
... Posted by doccat5 (from Fredericksburg, VA) on March 30, 2008 at 9:05 AM: Oh, please do. That would great.........and btw would you like to share your e-mail address, just d-mail me? I've been having some problems both viewing and downloading pictures on Dave's. I've got a friend who knows computers who hopefully will come over next week and see if he can figure out what's wrong.
As ever doccat ... Posted by taynors (from back in St Paris, OH) on March 30, 2008 at 9:33 AM: Here i have a website too if you like
[HYPERLINK@web.mac.com]
username is taynormom
password is savannahrose
I hope this works for you :)
my email is [e-mail:taynors@mac.com]
sincerely
sue ...
Subject: Yet another question
Posted by wgnkiwi (from Burlingame, CA) on March 4, 2008 at 12:41 PM:I've been growing spuds in trash cans for the last couple of years and its probably the one vegetable that I really look forward to growing (& eating) the most. I have one question though that I cannot find an answer to. When adding the new layers of compost/leaves/straw do I cover up all the leaves and just leave a couple poking out of the top, or only layer to the first set of leaves? ... Posted by doccat5 (from Fredericksburg, VA) on March 5, 2008 at 5:08 AM: Cover up all of the new leaves. With straw/leaves, some bits will stick out but it's no big deal. If you take a closer look at the new leaves, you'll notice nodules at the intersections. Those are the new taters. :) Good luck! ... Posted by wgnkiwi (from Burlingame, CA) on March 5, 2008 at 5:42 PM: Thank You!!! :-) ...
Subject: More potato questions :)
Posted by tucsonjill (from Tucson, AZ) on February 10, 2008 at 6:59 PM:Hi doccat5,
Your article inspired at least one more person--me!--to give this a try, and now that my seed taters are on their way, I'm trying to iron out the kinks in what I plan to do. I have an area between my 2 raised beds that's about 3' wide, 3' deep and 3' high (these are BIG beds) that I plan to use. Leaves are in short supply around here, so I'll be using straw, and using some rabbit fence to keep the whole works (sort of) in place. I'm very excited about giving this a shot!
I do have a couple questions that have come up while I made my plan.
First, do the potatoes grow into the ground at all, or does the whole thing stay on top? The area I plan to use is covered with crushed, compressed granite, so there's no immediate access to dirt. I can fix this if I have to, but would rather not since it'll never look quite the same again once I dig it up.
Second, do I mix anything into the straw? Bagged compost, or anything? Or just keep it nice and wet?
Third, is there a way to keep extra seed taters around for a fall crop? I'm thinking I'll have more than I need for spring, and I'm also thinking taters might really prefer to be grown in the fall here anyway, so I'd ideally like to be able to try both.
Thanks for your help--as well as another wonderful article!
... Posted by doccat5 (from Fredericksburg, VA) on February 11, 2008 at 6:08 AM: The potatoes will stay on the ground, they grow up and send out laterals. That's where you get the extra production. If your going to add compost, put that in first and put your taters on top of that. Tater's do NOT like it wet, so go easy on the water. You just cover the potato shoots with straw and let them grow. As long as you have a cool dry place, I would think you could save some of those seedlings. Or just pick out some of your best you've just grown and plant those. Good luck and please let me know how it goes. I hope everyone has some fun and is successful with this method. ... Posted by tucsonjill (from Tucson, AZ) on February 11, 2008 at 1:16 PM: Thanks, doccat5! I appreciate the input. Out here, it's so dry in the summer, EVERYTHING needs a little extra water--otherwise, I'll be growin' baked fries right there in the ground! :) But I will be careful to keep it lightly damp but not wet. And thanks for the advice about saving the extras--I'll probably wrap them and tuck them into the back of the fridge, to give a fall crop a shot.
I'll keep you posted--I'm very excited to give this a try! :) ... Posted by doccat5 (from Fredericksburg, VA) on February 11, 2008 at 1:24 PM: Please do :) ... Posted by tucsonjill (from Tucson, AZ) on March 19, 2008 at 4:04 PM: Okay, next question, if you don't mind...
How long should it take to see signs of life in those seed potatoes? I peeked under the hay they've been under for about 2 weeks now, and they look just the same as they did when I set them out, only a little more shriveled-ier. Is this normal, or should they be starting to grow by now? ... Posted by doccat5 (from Fredericksburg, VA) on March 19, 2008 at 5:49 PM: Patience, they'll sprout. It takes a while for them to get going. ... Posted by tucsonjill (from Tucson, AZ) on March 19, 2008 at 6:22 PM: Okay, thanks! I was wondering if I'd messed them up somehow already... being the newbie potato mom that I am. I appreciate the reassurance! :) ... Posted by doccat5 (from Fredericksburg, VA) on March 19, 2008 at 6:28 PM: I'm still waiting for mine to be delivered and am beginning to get a bit irritated, since mine are normally on the ground by March 17. ... Posted by Bookerc1 (from Mackinaw, IL) on March 26, 2008 at 7:35 PM: Looks like you all are farther south than I (zone 5), so I'm wondering when I should plant mine. I've never done potatoes before, but Jungs did ship mine already, so supposedly it is the proper time for planting. . .
Let me be sure I am understanding this right. I know potatoes are a root vegetable, but I guess I always pictured them kind of like a turnip or radish--you pull the plant up, and there is a potato at the end. I am gathering that is not so. By continuing to bury it deeper, and force it to keep reaching for the light, does it form potatoes all along the length of it?
Somebody please post a picture of a "dug up" plant when you harvest, for all of us inexperienced folks! LOL
Booker
... Posted by Bookerc1 (from Mackinaw, IL) on March 26, 2008 at 7:53 PM: OK, did some googling (is that a word?) and came up with a picture of a whole potato plant. Let me see if I understand this right. By continuing to bury the plant, it keeps sending out more of the lateral stems, which form more potatoes?
Drat, can't see where to attach a picture, but here is the link where I found the picture:
[HYPERLINK@www.potatoes.com]
I'm such a visual person. . . LOL
Booker
... Posted by tucsonjill (from Tucson, AZ) on March 26, 2008 at 8:26 PM: Booker, I"m as new at this as anyone, but that sure looks like my understanding of what's going on here! I'm sure doccat will chime in soon and let us know if we're not on the right track here.
And if "googling" isn't a word yet, it should be! ... Posted by doccat5 (from Fredericksburg, VA) on March 27, 2008 at 12:30 AM: Nice picture and yep, I'm a real visual type myself. Where you see the flower and terminal leaf buds, you get taters if using this method. If you are growing under ground you get the flower part and that's about it. ... Posted by Bookerc1 (from Mackinaw, IL) on March 28, 2008 at 2:38 PM: OK, I'm in. I'm going to have to try this, and see how my potatoes turn out! We do have a fair number of garden snakes, so I'll definitely be doing some pile-whacking! LOL
Booker
... Posted by doccat5 (from Fredericksburg, VA) on March 28, 2008 at 2:42 PM: I strongly urge pile whacking as I don't do snakes at all well! ...
Subject: ON THE GROUND PLANTING
Posted by CCLLYYDDEE (from Lanark Village, FL) on January 15, 2008 at 1:28 PM:About the potatoes: Do NOT plant any store bought potatoes, because all commercially grown potatoes, including many organic ones, have various viruses, fungi, and 'germs' that you can render your soil useless for many crops permanently. Likewise, it is a good idea to peel any non-organically raised potatoes before cooking them because of the number of poisons used to bring them to market. The difficulty with whole litter, especially big leaves, is that it makes it difficult for water to penetrate to the soil. In fact, a thick layer of leaves can used to keep the ground dry where desired. The best results I have had with 'above the ground' potatoes was with sawdust from a sawmill pile in the woods that had been moldering for 15 years. If you are fortunate enough to find one, keep it a secret, or else it will disapppear as soon as others find out about it.
If you can find any copies, I would highly recommend 'One Straw Gardening', and any and all books by Ruth Stout if you are interested in gardening with little or no dirt 'moving'. Both contain valuable information about 'minimal' gardening and gardening with the least disturbance of the natural process possible. ... Posted by doccat5 (from Fredericksburg, VA) on January 15, 2008 at 1:45 PM: Sorry, but I think that's way extreme, I rarely use store bought potatoes from seed, they just don't produce at the level I'm looking for. They certainly do NOT poison the ground. You need to rotate potatoes because they are predisposed to fungi. It just goes with the species. Even organically grown seed will get fungi. The key is improving your soil, which happens to be loaded with those fungi, "germs", microbes, you want to have those! Soil is a living thing and if you want good results you need to encourage that with compost, anerobic teas to give it a boost. The more worms the better!
I've read Ruth Stout and have several of her books. I've incorporated a lot of her ideas in my gardening areas. Because I happen to live in a area where I have some "picky" neighbors regular straw gardening is not an option. I'm a big fan of Mother's and have been for many years. I've been gardening organically for over 25 years. I don't use herbicides, pesticides period! I see good changes coming with this "go green" movement. It's the first step in re-educating ourselves about the natural cycle of things. I think as people become more aware, we'll see changes in the use of all these toxic materials in our food chain. If we do that it means you don't get strawberries and melons in January. There is nothing wrong with a blemish on fruit, that sort of thing. People have got to learn to think it out, sometimes I wonder if some of the younger ones are capable of figuring that out and then I get on here and it renews my faith. :)
... Posted by CCLLYYDDEE (from Lanark Village, FL) on January 26, 2008 at 4:08 PM: I am not sure what was extreme. I have been tending vegetable gardens for over 60 years and have seen many schemes come and go. Much depends on the region you are growing in. To elaborate further, I bought potatoes from a reputable organic gardening supplier, and the vines withered. The ag agent told me that they had a virus that came from the supplier, but that it was nearly impossible for them to catch all diseases, so I never informed them of my problem. I have planted grocery store potatoes, and have had a good harvest with no disease problems even though the taters were not 'suitable' for my region (middle Georgia). I also planted some purple all the way through potatoes from the organic foods co-op, and they continued to volunteer for years here and there in my garden. The best results I have had growing potatoes is by pre-sprouting them half buried in a flat of pearlite mixed with vermiculite; put out in the sun, and taken in at night. When they were ready to plant, I removed all the vines except the dominant one and planted the tuber whole in the ground using the traditional hilling up method with good loose garden soil. And in the hillbilly tradition, I have also replanted potatoes as I harvested them; they got a good fall growing in before being bitten by frost; when they recovered early in the spring I had good 'new' potatoes long before any appeared in the local markets. I also had good results planting SEEDS in peat pots before putting the plants in the ground. The problem with above the ground growing schemes, including raised beds, is that they require a lot more water. I have had a number of barren experiments using too much mulch on the surface. ... Posted by doccat5 (from Fredericksburg, VA) on January 26, 2008 at 4:25 PM: I've had no problems what so ever and I've been using this method for over 20 years. It very may be differences in soil, light and climatic conditions. The harvest is normally large enough I don't want to replant anymore, cause I got plenty. I don't find using raised beds or this method uses more water than any other type of planting.
You should really have taken the time to let that potato grower know you were having a problem with a virus. It would have alerted the grower that they had a serious problem and given them a chance to institute controls. ...
Subject: Very Informative
Posted by Katye (from Sammamish, WA) on January 15, 2008 at 12:59 AM:Hey Doc - this was superb! Not only have you provided folks with an easy means to grow taters, but in viewing the responses, it looks like you've sparked an interest. Excellent!
I had not heard of doing this with leaves only, but since I still have plenty left, I will conduct yet another one of my experiments and see if there is a difference in yield. Normally, I use a mix of leaves/compost/bark fines.
As far as "containing" them, I have used hogwire wrapped with pieces of landscape fabric (fasten with binder clips),
1/2" hardware mesh, & a specially made storable potato bin made from black heavy but flexible plastic (?) - got it on one of the garden supply sites. These are all easy to obtain & store.
Thanks again for your efforts. I wish I lived closer: I'd swing by so you could yap at me! Katye ... Posted by doccat5 (from Fredericksburg, VA) on January 15, 2008 at 1:43 AM: Thanks so much for the compliments. Please let me know the results of your experiments. :) ... Posted by Katye (from Sammamish, WA) on January 15, 2008 at 1:55 PM: Absolutely. This will be a fun experiment. But it got me to thinking: if folks do not have a quantity of available resources, such as leaves, what other mediums could be used to grow taters? I don't recall ever seeing anything written on this subject in any gardening mag, other than taters can be grown in poor soil. If one could lay the tubers on top of soil, could shredded paper be layered on top of it instead of leaves? Any ideas?
I'm just too curious for my own good...
thanks again, Doc. ... Posted by doccat5 (from Fredericksburg, VA) on January 15, 2008 at 3:06 PM: Hmm, that's a very interesting idea. Taters will do pretty good even in poor soil. Its the drainage that's an issue, they do not like wet! I don't know why shredded newspapers wouldn't work. Straw works, you could use wheat straw, little weed seed in that.
The main difference in growing them this way, and I probably didn't make that real clear. The potatoes grow straight up and produce multiple lateral growth. They normally only do one or two laterals under ground. I hate to break it to Horseshoe, but my potatos did have "blooms". They reminded me of the petals on a snapdragon. LOL Far be it from me to argue with one of the resident experts..........meow.........LOL
You want to cover them from the light source so they'll grow up seeking the light, so I don't see why other materials wouldn't work.
I got the idea from an old Mother Earth magazine about 20 years ago and never went back. I like the oak leaves because they do repel the potato beetles. The neighbors cannot get potatoes in the ground because of these pests, or at least not many. Nothing like doing a little one upmanship from the neighborhood nutsos..........LOL ... Posted by girlgroupgirl (from Atlanta, GA) on January 15, 2008 at 5:16 PM: Oh, my goodness! I want to try this so much this year!!
I broke my foot, haven't been able to make any "leaf mold" (annual ritual in fall here) this year...leaves are still on the ground! But by the time it will be potato planting season I'll be all raked and have a load of leaves I won't know what to do with!
PLANT POTATOES!
I'm gonna try it!
Thanks a bunch for the idea!
girlgroupgirl ... Posted by doccat5 (from Fredericksburg, VA) on January 15, 2008 at 6:15 PM: girl, thank you so much, you made my day :) ... Posted by Katye (from Sammamish, WA) on January 16, 2008 at 12:44 AM: aha! I was wondering about the oak leaves.....now I am informed.
I always planted potatoes in the ground, as well as the above ground method. I have a raised bed with particularly sandy compost (yes-I bought it. a waste a $)
and no bugs or diseases whatsoever. But, digging them required more "careful" extraction methods than laying them on top of the soil & covering them. That's why I like this method, plus - no bruising or spearing occurs.
My thought process was towards those who garden in a more urban setting & not have access to available materials such as leaves, etc. Was there something that might be a suitable substitute, and if so, was it readily available;
would it hinder or promote growth, or be neutral...sorry. too many questions. Just be glad you're not in my brain! ... Posted by doccat5 (from Fredericksburg, VA) on January 16, 2008 at 9:27 AM: Don't be silly, honey chile, there is not such thing as too many questions, ever! You are obviously an innovator. That raised bed might be a great place to grow carrots and other root veggies. They like sandy loam. And you can leave them for the winter if you want. Spearing your new potatoes has always been a problem with the in ground method, it's not a major problem, its just one of those things.
Please feel free to d mail if you have questions or just want to chat. Most of the plp on this site are primarily interested in flowers. My area of expertise is veggie gardening, although I'm learning as much as I can about perennials. ... Posted by podster (from Deep East Texas, TX) on January 16, 2008 at 9:40 PM: As a matter of interest, in our area pine straw is a never ending supply. I know folks that have done something similar to this using the pinestraw.
A good advantage is clean taters ~ lol ... Posted by doccat5 (from Fredericksburg, VA) on January 16, 2008 at 10:44 PM: Excellent, you got to use what you got available. ... Posted by Katye (from Sammamish, WA) on January 18, 2008 at 2:51 AM: Doc - I grow anything & everything, including some of the NorthWest's finest Gargantuan Dandelions. I have planted lots of shrubs & trees (decid) as I find that they are less maintenance than the perennials. The peren. have to withstand dogtails & dogchases. They have decided that the new borders are ALWAYS to be included in their agility courses - agility consisting of runthroughtheplantsrealfastsoshedoesntseeus...
My property is located on the "edge" of a bowl: what i believe was once old lakebed, and the Lake receded over time. My soil is extremely rich, so everything gets big. Once I realized that composting allowed the nutrients to be more easily accessed by the plants, it was all over. Even if I plant in non-amended soil, the plants do fairly well. But with additional help from the micro-herd, they improve immensely. that is why I bought sandy compost - nutrients, but not too rich for the taters. I HATE SPEARING MY TATERS! So on top they went.
Carrots occupy the bed every other year, but i do rotate my crops. Every 7 years or so, i grow cover crops only - allow the soil to soak up the goodies. This has worked well, & I have less problems with diseases. Well, except for Blackspot....In fact, I just got my vegie seed order today! But I am ahead of myself in wanting to start planting - 6 - 8 weeks or so to go,lol.
Going to try a few things I've not grown before like long beans, and peppers from seed. Hoping this summer will be warmer than last - I'd like a decent return on my tomatoes...
What do you tend to grow, and what grows best for you? ... Posted by doccat5 (from Fredericksburg, VA) on January 18, 2008 at 11:23 AM: Oh, that sounds so lovely, yummy. we plant, tomatoes (I have 6 new heirloom varieties I want to try this year), peppers, cukes, beans (both bush and pole), carrots, broccoli, cauliflower( my success is iffy), melons, squash (winter and summer), Potatoes, regulars and sweet. I haven't had a big garden in many years, so I'm excited to do it again. We don't do corn, it's to hard to get the water to it. Although if we get the rain barrels as we planned we might be able to make it work.
We have black walnuts, pecans, 2 pears, I want to replant dwarf apples, we took down our big ones last year. They were tired out.
We have about 3/4 of and acre and want to trade the grass for flowers and veggies. DH is getting tired of mowing. I use cover crops regularly and rotate regularly as well.
My soil is black and loamy, from working it all these years. I still have a few spots of VA red clay but not much. :) I sure hope the potato thingy works well for everyone. It's just so much easier to do and deal with. The really big plus was the lack of potato beetles, they are a real pest around here. :) ... Posted by Katye (from Sammamish, WA) on January 19, 2008 at 2:29 AM: I think your article will encourage many people to try potatoes who otherwise would not bother. You presented a no-fuss way, & pretty hard to go wrong if followed correctly.
Funny how some folks will think certain crops are so difficult. I suppose that all depends on what they're willing to put up with, or, what they've had to endure!
Cauliflower is one that has had spotty results. I prefer Broccoli, so I don't bother with the Cauli any longer.
I was going to try celery this year, and wisdom overruled.
Also looking for NOT-SO-EXPENSIVE sweet potato starts.
Geez, they want $15 for slips! I think they are treated like regular potatoes with a growth-inhibitor, or am I wrong?
I have a Filbert, but no other nuts. Well - what's in my head...
Hope your weekend is warm & restful! K ... Posted by Awchid (from Gisborne
(New Zealand)) on February 9, 2008 at 7:06 PM: Hi there 5 and Katie, I'm not sure if I'm adding this in the right place or just butting in. Oh well just shoot me, figuritively of course. Loved the article on the oak leaves. Here in NZ growing spuds in a stack of tyres was all the rage. DH supplied tyres and away we went, we
were going to have the easiest crop ever. In past years we had a Huuuuuge potato and kumera[ sweet potato ] garden we grew enough
of both to last between seasons and never bought any. Hard hard work, but that was then and times change, thank goodness. Anyway
with only hubby and I tyres sounded great, and away we went . Soil was quite hard to come by so we used river bed dirt/sand and got our stacks about 5 tyres high then patted our selves on the back and waited!!! Harvesting our not so easy after all crop was almost impossible. The river bed soil had set almost like concrete and seperating the tyres needed a crow bar and all hubby's muscles.
And of course the crop was pathetic. We had agood laugh about it afterwards tho. Sooooo, oak leaves sounds like something I could manage on my own, and while typing this brain has been working overtime. Ive decided where to mske stack and also where to get the leaves, too late now but next year , watch this space . Katye if you are still looking for cheapsweet potato starts I may be able to help we used to do our own. to buy them was about $15 for 500.tipu's [starts]. Lesley / kiwi. ... Posted by doccat5 (from Fredericksburg, VA) on February 9, 2008 at 7:41 PM: Well you can use straw as well as leaves, I've heard of using the tires as well. The object is to get the potatoes to grow straight up and throw of more lateral side shoots, so you have a bigger yield. ... Posted by Katye (from Sammamish, WA) on February 10, 2008 at 2:36 AM:
Doc, thanks once again for the great article & all the ideas. I'll be planting poatoes in 3-4 weeks. I will let you know how it all goes, including yield. Potatoes grow so well here, wish that was true for the Sweet potatoes.
Lesley - if your source for starts is in NZ, that would explain the lower price. They were cheap in Hawaii, too, but I never grew them while living there. The other thing to fight here is the cool weather: SP's have a preference for heat, or so I am told. But, I do like to experiment, so I would like to try. I'm still looking, but wondering if I could produce my own starts from a store bought, organic. Or are they treated with a growth inhibitor, too? Thanks! ... Posted by doccat5 (from Fredericksburg, VA) on February 10, 2008 at 8:31 AM: I doubt those are treated with a growth inhibitor, but I would certainly ask. Even with one you'll get some production, not as much as seed grown slips, but still some taters. And yes, you can put in an container of water.......support it on the sides with toothpicks and get you're own slips. You may be too far North for good sweet potato production, they do like the heat.
Please do let me know how your taters do. I'm hoping everyone has a highly successful fun experience with this method. :) ... Posted by Awchid (from Gisborne
(New Zealand)) on February 10, 2008 at 7:48 PM: Hullo again Katye, you wanted to know how yo grow your own sweet potato shoots. Ifit's cold where you are set things up where they're
going to get maximum heat and as you aren't wanting to do enough for a market garden it should be fairly easy. As long as they get warmth all day and sheltered from cold at night. Get your medium sized tubers the organic ones should be ok. Use a mod deep box
half fill with sandy soil or sand, lay in longways your S P cover with sand to about 5cm, as the shoots come away add more sand to help roots form up the stem. When these shoots are about 15---20cm they are ready to plant out. As long as no frosts are expected they
should do well. If the shoots get a bit long,put a loop half way down the stem when planting it always worked for us. Water the individual plants daily to stop any wilting for about a week. Then away they will go. Good Luck. After the first trial experiment. After getting plants in the ground and you do get some cold happening cover over night with frost cloth or whatever your equivalent is.
doc suggested sitting in water, we used to do this to get a nice lush house plant/climber. Every one used to admire them then have a go when they found out it was just a sweet potato. as far ar I know you can't grow these from seed also in 30 years I have never seen one flower. Have fun. Lesley. ... Posted by Katye (from Sammamish, WA) on February 10, 2008 at 11:48 PM: Thanks for the tips, Lesley - I will be getting everything together over the next two weeks. Just could not bring myself to paying $17.45 (plus tax) for 12 slips.
And they don't ship until June to my area. But I have raised beds with warm, cozy covers for them to bed into, so i think I can plant them out earlier. We'll see!
... Posted by doccat5 (from Fredericksburg, VA) on February 11, 2008 at 6:00 AM: If you do decide to try the sweet potatoes, let us know how that goes, please? Very interesting. ... Posted by Katye (from Sammamish, WA) on February 12, 2008 at 10:10 PM: Well, I have to laugh - going to create a "Reemay Duvet" for the little slips...
gotta keep them toasty! ... Posted by doccat5 (from Fredericksburg, VA) on February 13, 2008 at 7:09 AM: LOL... Awchid, that's great information btw,thanks for sharing. :) ...
Subject: above ground taters
Posted by Lindawalkabout (from Holden, MO) on January 14, 2008 at 6:47 PM:This is great info doccat5 . I do the above ground to but use wheat straw. My yield this last season wasn't really something to brag about , alto I did get taters.
I will start using the bags of leaves I collected this fall. And move to a different spot.
You shared many things I didn't know and will change the way I start my potatoes this March. Thank you very much
Oh and I had one of those black snakes in my tater patch, I thought it was a piece of hose sticking up out of the ground and thought that was weird, went to grab it and well you know the rest of the story :0, I'll "rack wack" next time ;)
pic is a couple rows of Red Pontiac covered with straw
I might have put this in the wrong place : (
This message was edited Jan 14, 2008 4:51 PM ... Posted by doccat5 (from Fredericksburg, VA) on January 14, 2008 at 7:31 PM: They look wonderful, I'm surprised you didn't get better production. I see what appears to be standing water at the top of the picture. Do you have drainage issues? Taters do not like wet footies. ... Posted by Lindawalkabout (from Holden, MO) on January 14, 2008 at 7:40 PM: Oh ths for looking at picture,
LOL on what does look like standing water is really cardboard, white cardboard I start my new beds with that on bottom and then build up with compost. The soil gets wonderful under the cardboard and the earthworms many : )
The garden has a slight slope so it does good on drainage.
Ths again, I'm so excited about potatoe planting time. You have a great thread started and many people will be doing the above ground method I think this season.
tc ... Posted by doccat5 (from Fredericksburg, VA) on January 14, 2008 at 8:50 PM: Thanks again for the compliments. I can relate to the snake deal.......sheesh Why were you not happy with your production? I've not tried Red Ponitac variety, but doubt that should be an issue. ... Posted by Lindawalkabout (from Holden, MO) on January 14, 2008 at 9:29 PM: I had a lot of small potatoes, some were fist size but mostly golf ball size.
I had 50 LB gunney sack of Red P seed potatoes. I was told I could get a yeild of 2000lbs of potatoes. That seem alot!!!!!!
Not even close to that. I kept adding the straw as the plants grew, would dig out a few when I wanted some new potatoes.
I did not let them set out first in the sunny location to sprout like you mention, I will try that next year.
I think I will try another seed company. I did buy these potatoes in the super market , they were certified seed potatoes.
The same with two other type of potatoes to, so its either the company or my soil is lacking, but being on top of the ground should not have been to issue either. I'm real glad to try leaves and I have many bags of oak leaves to try this season.
... Posted by adoresaiken (from Clemmons, NC) on January 14, 2008 at 9:42 PM: Never heard of doing potatoes like this, but it sounds very interesting! I may try it this Spring!
Thanks! ... Posted by doccat5 (from Fredericksburg, VA) on January 14, 2008 at 10:24 PM: I think 2000 lbs from a 50 lb sack is unrealistic. I'll have to check on expected yields. Just hadn't thought about that, but someone is bound to ask. LOL If you were doing market growing you could have sold all those little guys at premium prices.......LOL
I've got seed coming from Johnny's Select seed, Gurneys and Seed Exchange. We're going to try several different varieties this year, including some fingerlings.
If you do try it, I wish you great success, adoresaiken! :) Certainly easier on the gardener! And I'm all for that! ... Posted by Bittybelly (from Hayes, VA) on January 14, 2008 at 11:41 PM: Hi, I'm new to this and really enjoyed your article...hope this isn't a silly question but can you grow other things this way? I have a very bad back and it sounds like something I could do with the least amount of pain. Do you think flowers would work, or other vegies?
Thanks, Bittybelly ... Posted by doccat5 (from Fredericksburg, VA) on January 15, 2008 at 12:45 AM: Don't know about flowers, but know you can also grow peanuts under leaves/straw or in tires. ... Posted by adoresaiken (from Clemmons, NC) on January 15, 2008 at 8:15 PM: Bitty,
Check out Bale Gardening. It may be more of what you would like to try!
Pat ... Posted by Bittybelly (from Hayes, VA) on March 29, 2008 at 9:36 PM: I did check out Bale Gardening....thanks Pat.... I think that will work ! As for growing in Tires , I remember my grandmother growing all kinds of things in them. It's funny how we forget things untill someone sparks a memory, thanks! Bitty ...
Subject: Good Info
Posted by BronxBoy (from Lawrenceville, GA) on January 14, 2008 at 7:44 AM:How far apart do you plant the eyes?
BB ... Posted by doccat5 (from Fredericksburg, VA) on January 14, 2008 at 7:52 AM: Usually about 10"-12" apart. I usually lay em out in a diamond pattern. 1 on each corner and one in the middle. You can crowd them a bit sowing this way. I've noticed the plants seem to grow taller and straighter under the leaves. ... Posted by dryad57 (from Indianapolis, IN) on January 14, 2008 at 8:02 AM: woo hooo! I've been waiting for this article - great information and instructions. Thanks!! ... Posted by MaryMcP (from Phoenix, AZ) on January 14, 2008 at 8:04 AM: Great article and very timely. Two friends and I have just placed an order for seed pototoes from Johnny's. Other friends in our regional forum scoffed at our not using standard grocery store potatoes, saying they had done so with excellent results. We are planning to run a test and see how the certified seed potato differs from a plain old russet from Safeway.
Thanks for the info.
Mary ... Posted by Laurie1 (from Burwash Weald
(United Kingdom)) on January 14, 2008 at 9:28 AM: Marvellous idea - thank you. ... Posted by podster (from Deep East Texas, TX) on January 14, 2008 at 9:29 AM: What a great idea ~ thank you. Makes me want to start planting right now as I have been raking. Valentines day here is the potato rule of planting thumb.
We have many crawlers here, I may still have fork holes in the taters just because I err on the side of caution ~ LOL
Please tell me how you place the screens?
| Quoted: | | We also use recycled screens weighted down to keep the leaves from blowing away. |
... Posted by doccat5 (from Fredericksburg, VA) on January 14, 2008 at 9:35 AM: These were old sliding door screens we er, liberated from the dumpster. Just lay them on top and weight them down so the leaves don't blow off.
Thanks guys, I'm so pleased with the responses and hope y'all have good luck with this method if you choose to try it. :) ... Posted by Sashagirl (from by the Muddy Miss., IA) on January 14, 2008 at 9:41 AM: What a great article, doccat!
I do have a question about the leaves.
Should they be shredded, before using on the potatoes- or is it better to use them whole?
I'll sure look forward to more Articles from you!
Sasha ... Posted by doccat5 (from Fredericksburg, VA) on January 14, 2008 at 10:01 AM: Doesn't really matter with the leaves, Sasha. You get more coverage if you leave them whole. Think of them as dirt, that's actually what you're doing. Your hilling your potatoes with leaves rather than dirt. You can also use straw if you don't have enough leaves. You want to have enough coverage so the light cannot get to the potato shoots. ... Posted by Sashagirl (from by the Muddy Miss., IA) on January 14, 2008 at 10:25 AM: Thanks so much!
That's great news, since I am "blessed" with truckloads of Oak Leaves off my neighbors huge oak trees, blowing into my yard Fall thru Spring. lol ... Posted by doccat5 (from Fredericksburg, VA) on January 14, 2008 at 10:42 AM: Shasha, if DH and I hadn't snagged mondo bagged leaves, I'd just have to come for a visit with leaf blower, rake and plenty of bags.......LOL ... Posted by gloria125 (from Greensboro, AL) on January 14, 2008 at 10:44 AM: Doccat: I found this way of growing potatoes really interesting and Im going to try it this year.
Thanks,
gloria ... Posted by starlight1153 (from Seale, AL) on January 14, 2008 at 11:17 AM: Doccat... Some truly amazing information. I have way, way to many leave s to putinto compost piles and a huge dirt driveway that covered with leave s that usually gets burned cuz there to many. we on a major burn ban and I was wonderign what to do with all my extra leave s this year. You have supplied a perfect use for them.
I order some seed potato for this year to give it a try. Can ya do this with sweet potaoes too?
I have sevral acreas that just loaded with a mix of hickory and Oak leaves. Can I use the hickory and oak mix together or just the oak only?
About how many inches tall at each stage do you keep adding the leaves higher.
Sure appreciate the tips about the snakes. I have lots of rattlers and diamond backs here and didn't even think about them hididng in mulch piles. The neighbors alredy think I crazy beating grasshoppers with a watr hose and fly swatter, now I can give them somethign to think I totally gone crazy when I out there beating leave s with a big stick.
Fanstatic article and appreciate your sharing your experiences.
... Posted by doccat5 (from Fredericksburg, VA) on January 14, 2008 at 11:24 AM: Starlight, thanks so much for the compliments. I've not tried this with sweet potatoes, but might be worth doing a little experiment. Good idea! I can relate to the neighbor "issue".. it's ok, you've got a lot company......LOL ... Posted by chickenrancher (from Nova, OH) on January 14, 2008 at 11:46 AM: When you say "cover the blooms completely" do you mean cover the entire plant or just the blooms? How would you cover just the blooms??? Also, how often do you cover? weekly, biweekly, monthly or depending on blooms (flowers?)
Megan ... Posted by cathy4 (from St. Louis County, MO) on January 14, 2008 at 12:02 PM: Can I start with a raised bed (6 inches or so) because my ground doesn't drain very well? The sunny spot is where the water runs from yard to yard. And can I put something like chicken wire around the pile of leaves to keep the dog out? ... Posted by podster (from Deep East Texas, TX) on January 14, 2008 at 12:09 PM: LOL ~ yes, a pile of leaves makes a wonderful dog bed here too. ... Posted by doccat5 (from Fredericksburg, VA) on January 14, 2008 at 12:13 PM: Megan, potato blooms resemble a tree. You need to cover everything. The "branches" have buds (eyes) that's what's going to make your new potatoes. They don't do well in the light. You will be able to see when you need to add more cover. The shoots with bloom will come right through the leaves. Just keep adding the leaves until they finish blooming.
Expect to have a large "pile" of cover before their done blooming. Our last bed was over 4' deep. You just gently rake the leaves off until you get to potatoes. Now if you want to "rob" the pile for some new ones, it's real easy to do with this method. Just gently pull back some of the leaves and help yourself. :) New taters, green beans and some onion, Yummy! ... Posted by doccat5 (from Fredericksburg, VA) on January 14, 2008 at 12:16 PM: Cathy4, that should work. Potatoes have got to have good drainage. They do not like wet footies..... ... Posted by wgnkiwi (from Burlingame, CA) on January 14, 2008 at 12:36 PM: Great article doccat, congrats to you. My seed potatoes are being shipped today from Ronnigers and I can't wait ot get them in the ground.
I was told by one of my hort professors never to use potatoes from the supermarket because you run the risk of introducing disease to your garden. The seed potatoes one buys from a grower like Ronnigers/Johnnys/Wood Prairie are certified disease free. ... Posted by gardenglory (from Gainesville, FL) on January 14, 2008 at 12:38 PM: I was just getting onto researching this. Perfect timing. Can you put a cage around the leaves do you think? I have dogs where I have the sun? Also, about how high is the pile of leaves when you can stop adding. Curious how many bags of leaves it might take for your 3x3 spot by the time you stop adding? ... Posted by grampapa (from Wheatfield, NY) on January 14, 2008 at 12:43 PM: wow, I love this idea. unfortunately, I don't have any leaves at all (new development with no large trees). I'll have to see if I can import some from my son's neighborhood. ... Posted by doccat5 (from Fredericksburg, VA) on January 14, 2008 at 12:44 PM: Thank you, I'm getting wonderful feedback and questions from this article. I'm so pleased. :) Potatoes are pre-disposed to problems with viruses. Maybe because they're grown in the ground? I don't know. Growers do use chemical growth retardants on supermarket potatoes to slow sprouting and keep them "fresher" longer. That does great affect the production. I personally would rather buy fresh seed and be sure I was going to get the bang for my buck in production, plus I buy organic with no chemicals. We usually get enough to feed us, our kids and families, the neighbors (who may or may not avoid me, depending on what's in season) and some left over which we contribute to the local food bank. I still have plenty to overwinter. DH is in the process of swapping some tilling service for an old horse trough. We want to bury it and use it as a root cellar, as this house is on slab. We've redone most of the garage and that is now going to be too warm to store root veggies.
You can also use straw, NOT hay, if you don't have the leaves. Sometimes we mix the 2, it all goes to the compost bins when we're done. :)
This message was edited Jan 14, 2008 12:46 PM ... Posted by Gourd (from Mesquite/Mesilla Par, NM) on January 14, 2008 at 1:28 PM: I just loved your article and had purchased two bags of potato seeds from one of the big box stores.. and had no idea how to plant them.
Do you think it would work on raised beds that are already three feet high? I'm afraid to use the leaves because there is no room to go really high, unless I can just plant in the center of the bed or the leaves will have no support on the sides to go up. Maybe I can use chicken wire to make side supports. Don't know.
Thank you again, for all the tips. I did not know to cut them and let them callus..
Antoinette ... Posted by doccat5 (from Fredericksburg, VA) on January 14, 2008 at 1:39 PM: I see no reason they wouldn't work in raised beds. You could always rig something like chicken wired if you needed to. The main issue is to make sure they have good drainage. They do not do well in the wet. ... Posted by DiggerDee (from Ffld County, CT) on January 14, 2008 at 1:41 PM: Very interesting article doccat - thanks! I've been thinking of trying potatoes for awhile and was always hesitant to try, but this may be the way to go. Goodness knows I have plenty of leaves!
By any chance, do you have a webpage/blog etc., where you have pictures? I tend to be a visual person and can get a lot more out of photographs than just written instructions. I'd love to see some photos of your potato beds if you have any.
Thanks!
Dee ... Posted by doccat5 (from Fredericksburg, VA) on January 14, 2008 at 1:43 PM: Sorry, Dee have no pictures. Never occurred to us that anybody would be that interested in the method. Most of the neighbors have "landscaping" and think we're nutso! LOL ... Posted by DiggerDee (from Ffld County, CT) on January 14, 2008 at 1:43 PM: Okay, thanks anyway! ... Posted by Horseshoe (from Efland, NC) on January 14, 2008 at 2:29 PM: doccat, nice to see your article finally arrived. I remember some folks in a particular thread were waiting for it for quite a while now.
As a side-note, what may be confusing some of the readers is the term "blooms" and their being covered up. (Blooms are opened flowers.) It is not the blooms or flowers where the potatoes come from but rather they are formed underground from stolens that grow from the stems (the stems coming from the eyes of the seed spud). So, to clarify, when ya'll see flowers forming (if they do at all) there is no need to cover them up. As a matter of fact, when piling on the leaves during plant growth you might want to always leave about 6 inches of topgrowth uncovered so the plant can absorb the sun's rays (necessary for photosynthesis). As the topgrowth increases add more leaves. Regarding "flowering", some potato varieties will seldom flower, if at all, but rest assured the plant will still produce your delicious spuds underground.
Everyone have fun! You're gonna love this easy way to grow potatoes.
Thanks, doccat for sharing!
Shoe ... Posted by cathy4 (from St. Louis County, MO) on January 14, 2008 at 2:37 PM: Just came in out of the cold after looking around the yard for a sunny dry spot for my new tater garden, and by george, I've found it in a back corner by the privacy fence. It has sun from mid morning until dark, hope that is enough! I'm going to put down newspaper to kill the grass as soon as it warms up just a tiny bit. I figure if it can grow grass there, it can grow taters. Can't wait! ... Posted by Indy (from Alexandria, IN) on January 14, 2008 at 3:07 PM:
| Quoted: | | We also use recycled screens weighted down to keep the leaves from blowing away. |
Doccat, Are you just leaving those screens on top for a few days until the taters show through? Also, are the potato stalks sturdy or spindly when they grow so tall?... Posted by starlight1153 (from Seale, AL) on January 14, 2008 at 3:16 PM: Doccat... Did ya say I can use a mix of hickory and oak leaves? Don't want to mess up if I can help it. ... Posted by Fitsy (from Hayesville, NC) on January 14, 2008 at 4:15 PM: Good info! Those lovely clean 'taters that are
curing in the garden for 2 or 3 days are surely
not lying in sun????
Fitsy ... Posted by doccat5 (from Fredericksburg, VA) on January 14, 2008 at 4:34 PM: Mix of the leaves doesn't matter, Starlight. We discovered that the oak leaves repelled the potato beetles. They are a real pest around here.
Fitsy, yes you're going to leave them out in the sun to cure. New potato skins are tender. You need to cure;/mature them in order to store for winter use. ... Posted by Gourd (from Mesquite/Mesilla Par, NM) on January 14, 2008 at 4:50 PM: I just cut some of the bigger potatoes and will wait for them to callus.. some are already sprouting buds, I don't know what to call them. Now, do I wait till all the sections start sprouting to plant, or can we plant them without the sprouts and they will sprout on their own? I have them inside and there about 2 doz total (is that enough for two people?) ... Posted by doccat5 (from Fredericksburg, VA) on January 14, 2008 at 4:58 PM: You can plant with or without the sprouts. And I'm quite sure you'll have plenty for 2 people. When you plant this way, the potatoes throw multiple lateral shoots and there is new tater growing on each one of those.
Good luck with your planting, I'm waiting for my seed to come in. Got the fever! LOL ... Posted by Gourd (from Mesquite/Mesilla Par, NM) on January 14, 2008 at 5:03 PM: I'm getting itchy too, the garlic is in, and most of the onions... I got brave and got some asparagus roots too. but, these potatoes will be a big hit if they do well for us. Thanks for all your help.
A. ... Posted by starlight1153 (from Seale, AL) on January 14, 2008 at 5:37 PM: Ya know what good about this article Doccat?
It filled with lots of info ( the meat) and potatoes!!!!! : ) ...
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