Potatoes Under Straw/Leaves #3

Ok!

I just got back with my LADYBUGS! Sometimes you gotta bring out the big guns!

Good news. Ladybugs worked overtime and have successfully reduced my Aphid population 2 manageable levels.

And now for the GREAT news.

Can ya'll say "Potato Blossom" three times in a row really, really, really fast??!!

At first I thought it was a little wad of cotton stuck in there! Nope -- it's the first blossom!

Say it quickly, 'cause "now you see it, now you don't." I'm going to clip it off and try to fool the vine into thinking it still needs to grow more to put out blossoms. Sneak attack...



This message was edited Apr 10, 2010 5:41 PM

Here's a better pic!

One more blossom that's getting clipped off.

This message was edited Apr 10, 2010 6:02 PM

I had a big ole' bloom on one of my potato plants, too. Pretty yellow and white bloom. I also pinched mine off. But I don't think I'll be doing that again because they are up to the top of my grow-bags. Ten and five gallon bags. Next year I will go with 15-20 gallon bags, I think. Or maybe find something else to grow them in. It will be interesting to see if I actually get potatoes this year.

I had to laugh ... I bought a big ole bag of Russet potatoes for Easter dinner and had about half a bag left. I had it in my pantry closet and when I went to get a couple of potatoes to bake today, all the potatoes in the bag were sprouting. So I guess I let them all be and try growing some of them too. LOL! Usually they don't sprout because they treat them with a growth retardant. But apparently these potatoes weren't treated.

Linda congratulations! you'll be enjoying some taters soon. So are you planning to pinch all of your blossoms off? I was thinking of doing the same since I read somewhere that that way you get more taters. I have 2 containers so I am wondering whether I should just pinch the flowers of 1 container and leave the other intact to see if it does many any difference.

I really need to go and get more leaves soon they are really getting very leggy, I will probably go this week.

Becky I thought the same as you that the taters would not sprout either but I am really wondering now whether the growth retardant is just a myth. I have had even garlic sprout on me from the store as well.

Maybe they cut back on the anti-sprout to save money in these tough economic times.

I'm a little worried about the tators. I planted them more than a week ago, and I'm not seeing any growth above ground. And we had 2 1/4 inches of rain in the past week.

Thanks, Carminator1!

I have to backtrack on the threads to see when I planted out, and start counting the days.

I'm gonna pinch the blossoms to keep going up. But, I seriously need to get a wire cage around the vines. They're starting to lay down.

Anybody have any yellowing going on with your leaves? I have a couple at the bottom. Couldn't figure if it was lack of phosphorous or too much watering...

Linda

Sky,
How tight is that straw? I'd remove some and let the sprouts grow up. How tall are they underneath the straw?

It took mine about 2 weeks or so to poke their little sprouts out. I was beginning to worry, but then they started taking off. If it's been cool, it doesn't help.

I'm having a different problem. If anyone wants to check out the post I made and let me know what's going on, I'd appreciate it. http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1086980/





This message was edited Apr 11, 2010 5:33 PM

Steph,
Looks like something is definitely going on...

How do you keep the vines moist? My leaves are totally saturated...

Mine have done that when they get too dried out. Perhaps that area is not getting enough moisture when you water?

Hmmm....looks like some kind of fungus or something is on it. I water with the hose, but it has a deep layer of leaves on top, so I wonder if the leaves are prohibiting the water from getting all the way down into the dirt.

Did something (like a snail) gnaw at the base of the stem? It would be weird if just that one plant weren't getting enough water in such a close bed.

I checked on that and it doesn't look like anything's been nibbling on it. This isn't the first problem we've had in this bed. However, this is a different problem than what we had before.

Great job everyone. Here's what I've got going on. I finally put the chicken wire fence around my potato bed. What a relief!!!

I have yellow crookneck squash, zuchini, muskmelons, costoluto genovese tomatoes, and acorn squash in the black smart pots. There "arrangement" is not final.

The straw isn't as thick as it looks. I went ahead and pulled some of it back just in case, though.

Glad to know that it can take two weeks. I'll calm down for a minute. Stephanie, I don't know what that is, but I'm sure someone will.

Stephanie I really hope I am wrong on this but it could very well be potato blight. Here is a web page to help you identify it just in case. http://www.gardenaction.co.uk/fruit_veg_diary/fruit_veg_mini_project_november_1ba_potato.asp

I don't know. It could be blight or maybe not. http://www.ag.ndsu.edu/pubs/plantsci/hortcrop/pp1084w.htm

John: Did the cute lil boy and huge dog come with the fencing? LOL
joy

Got home to find a huge, tall stem snapped. No mas!

Oh no! Any idea what happened?

Steph,
The cage came AFTER the tall vine layed over and snapped cause of the weight. It had no support!

My bad....

Oh dear! Mine aren't anywhere near that tall. I told the DH that tomorrow, he works on the cages.

OK, I'm way behind you southerners with your too-tall potato plants, but I have a question. My seed potatoes arrived about a week ago and I've been sprouting them inside. Yesterday I cut the largest ones in half to grow a "skin" before planting them today, but this morning I see the ones that were cut have quite a bit of white mold/fungus growing where I cut them. Should I worry about that or just stick them in the ground and hope for the best??

Linda I meant to ask you, did you purchase the ladybugs or are they just naturaly in your garden? I found tons of aphids in my pepper plants yesterday, they were in the underside of the leaves so that is why I never noticed them before, I shook off as many as I could with my hand. Any ideas on how to attract them to my garden so they can deal with the aphid problem?

I'm not sure, midwest. Maybe you could call the company you bought them from or the county extension office?

My guess would be that you could slice that area off, but I don't know for certain.

I'd like to know how to attract ladybugs, too. I'm seeing yarrow on a couple of sites, as well as about a gazillion other things. You'd think that they'd just show up for the buffet, but I saw only one last year and it was a pinkish purple color.

I "import" ladybugs from the feed store! LOL After doing this about 4 times a year for the past 3 years, I now find "volunteer" ladybugs living in my gardens, but not enough to keep up with the aphids. You really need the nymphs as they're really the ones that attack the aphids. The mature ladybugs eat some, but not nearly as many as the babies.

Honestly, I just spray my plants with Murphy Oil Soap and liquid seaweed or fish emulsion to help control the spider mites and aphids.

Has anyone used that bamboo type house from Gardeners Supply to attract mason bees? I've been thinking about getting that one.
joy

Joy I've been looking at the same thing ( mason bees), it really looks like a great concept but I am also wondering if it works, it is a little pricey.

Gardens alive has the green lacewings for sale and I thought about buying some, the problem is as you say Stephanie, I am wondering whether or not they'll stay in my garden for at least this season, I am wondering if it is worth it, I would hate to spend the $ and then find out that they left.

I think as with any organic gardening effort, it takes time to build up the population to control insects. You have to start somewhere at sometime, and even if it helps right now, then it's worth it, in my opinion.

carminator: With my luck, I'd be afraid of attracting wasps instead of bees, and it's bees I want, they are down 44% I hear this year and I got lot s of work for them to do here in my yard.
joy

It's amazing how many more bees I've already seen this spring. I heard on the news that we're having a bumper spring for bees due to the wet winter we had. I remember last year wondering if the bees were ever going to show up!

Fwiw, I spent several hours one afternoon this winter drilling holes in blocks of wood and also in a tree snag for the solitary bees (rather than buying the expensive "houses"). They're using those somewhat, but seem much more attracted to the piled up deadfall.

I think to _attract_ the bees, maybe masses of flowers are better. The nest holes and the water source I think are more what convince them to stay.


Anyways, speaking of potatoes... I'm out of leaves. The plants are getting less water and sun now than earlier in the spring, so their growth rate is slowing down, but they're still silly big.

I have aphids, thus I have plenty of lady bugs and lacewings. I saw one of those purplish-pink lady bugs last night - lol... The nymphs should be hatching out anytime and will go to work devouring aphids. Before I knew what they were I was killing them;o( They just looked like they should be a bad bug - lol.

Carmen - a good spray with the hose will knock those aphids off. Once they fall off the plant they can't get back on and they will die. They congregate on the undersides of leaves, so make sure that is where you're checking. If you see any leaves looking a little yellow you probably got aphids on them.

Hey, Ya'll!
Popping in and out today. Home taking an online Driver Safety Course. Got a coupla hours left on this SIX hour course! Did 3 hour's last night, but hey, it's better than sitting in some classroom away from home.

Cooking oatmeal for Aunt Beatrix right now...

Regarding the ladybugs, I found a coupla volunteers, but I truly needed to go and buy a herd. Blasting the aphids with the hose is a good maintenance, too. Problem is when they're on tender/baby leaves. Didn't want them snapping off in my hand as I was blasting away, so went for the ladies.

I've noticed a bug in the yard and need to know if it's a friend or foe. It's a short little black bug, with a line of brilliant orange markings down the center of it's back. Is this some sort of nymph? I've been squishing it, but I need friendlies, and don't want to hurt what can help me as a natural predator. Please advise.

P.S. I got the plastic poultry fencing at Home Depot. 40"48"? x 25' for $8.95/roll. I wrapped the three tubs and one SmPt before I ran out. I did buy two rolls. And, you'll need help wrapping -- one to wrap and one to hold the stems outta the way of getting crushed/snapped!

Ask me how I know this....

Next time I see that bug, I'm gonna try to get a clear picture to post.

Hugs!

JOY:
Bought a "Y" connector at HD, too. $8.99. They had a brass 4-way manifold like you showed for $16+. I decided it was overkill as we'll only have two hoses hooked up on the faucet I need. Making progress toward my drip system...need to decide how long a hose to run. I know length decreases water pressure, but I'm not doing any high-powered blasting with the drip system, so long as the timer gets me some water in all the eBuckets & EBs, and sprays the raised beds several times a day, I'll be good to go for the summer!

Thanks for the info!

Linda, does it look like this pic on the link? If so it's a lady bug nymph - good guy!

http://gardening.about.com/od/insectpestid/qt/LadyBugNymph.htm

uh, oh, oh...Ladybug nymphs, huh? sheesh...

It was only one....I promise....

FINALLY, I finished the Safety Course from ##@%%^!!! At least I was comfortable at home...

Don't worry my friend - I killed, uh, a few more than one before I figured out what they were...

Lemme see how I should answer that? "Did I get a ticket?"

Yes...