Anyone planting potatoes? Or whatnot?

strider3700

Last frost date was April 16th for us. I planted potatoes the weekend before that. Of course it snowed this last weekend so I was out covering everything fragile that was up with hoop houses.
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shame on us, doomed from the start
god have mercy on our dirty little hearts

eastbay

This is our 'learning' year with our beloved potato's. We have a small patch dedicated to them and we want to do much more, but what happens next year depends on how this test patch goes.

I understand they should be rotated.

I worked on a potato farm for about a month in the mid-80's and it was great!
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Everything is Impermanent. Shakyamuni Buddha

misterno

why is potato all of a sudden the issue? Is it the next thing poor people would eat if they can not afford rice?

So does it go like this. Wheat, corn, rice then potato

So if wheat price goes up people turn to corn and if corn price goes up people eat rice and if rice's price goes up people will eat potato?

Is this the logic here?

Ludi

Potatoes are easier to grow and process than grain, and yield many times the food per square foot of growing space.

Grain stores better.
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patience · Expert Joined: Jan 04, 2008 Posts: 1503

Our frost free date is April 21-today, here in south Indiana, but that varies with the vagaries of the jet stream and has been earlier the past few years.

We planted 30 lbs. of Kennebeck white potatoes on the 18th, 3 rows x 80 ft. long, and had one row of saved seed in the week before. Conventional wisdom here is to plant early potatoes on Good Friday. Hope to come up with a root cellar this year, since the basement is too warm and dry. If we don't get one built, I'll bury some barrels in the hillside, I guess, and cover them with straw bales.
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nocar · Intermediate Crude Joined: Nov 05, 2004 Posts: 675

Five potatoes have been planted in buckets in greenhouse so far, for a very early start, but have not yet emerged. Will be lifted out when regular night frosts are over.

Main planting will be done next weekend, which is two weeks earlier than usual, but the ground never froze this year (never happened before). We just have to hope for no frost after they emerge, probably in the latter half of May. Those potatoes now have light treatment to get green buds. They are ready.

Varieties: Ukama, Desiree, King Edward, Silla.

nocar

green_achers

bobaloo · Heavy Crude Joined: Oct 14, 2004 Posts: 476

When I lived in Missouri a lot of the real old-timers would always plant their whole garden in turnips last thing in the season after everything else was harvested. It was fast enough to provide a good crop late in the Fall and kept in the ground, even with freezing. Kind of an insurance crop to ensure some food for the winter.

Ludi

I wholeheartedly agree with turnips! Smile

I listed those others mainly because they don't need replanting every year.
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cestlavie · Tar Sands Joined: Feb 12, 2007 Posts: 79

bobaloo · Heavy Crude Joined: Oct 14, 2004 Posts: 476

You can either plant them deep, or plant them shallow and pull soil or mulch over them as they grow to make them "deeper".

The problem is that the new potatoes are only created above the original start. If the start is planted too shallow you'll end up with your new potatoes sticking out of the ground, which will cause them to green up and not be edible.

I split the difference. I till the ground, plant the starts about 6" deep, then gradually take the soil from between the rows and pull it up over the top of the rows. In June I'll put a thick layer of rotted straw over the soil to keep it cool and moist and keep the sun off any new potatoes that are exposed.

Jenab6

cestlavie · Tar Sands Joined: Feb 12, 2007 Posts: 79

cestlavie · Tar Sands Joined: Feb 12, 2007 Posts: 79