seed potato

i am doing something different this yr and making a potato big bin made out of fencing and filling it with leaves and hay and fill it as they grow. the seed potato i picked up are large should i cut them or can i just plant them whole in the bin. i am fairly new at this i have been cutting them up and planting them in the ground every yr but thought i would get better production out of the dirt. what do ya'll think?

My experience with seed potatoes is limited to when I was a kid,but Dad always cut his.He planted them on the farm in rows,but I think I'd still cut them for the type of planting you describe.Just make sure you have at least one 'eye' on each piece.

Anybody else out there have another opinion?

i always make sure i have 2 "eyes" per tator lol but that is just me.and i do cut them.you get more that way and saves money i think maybe someone else can help too?????

The recommendation is to use them whole if they are small, but cut them if large, leaving at least two eyes. Cut pieces should be at least 1 1/2 inches.

farmgirl, how big is your bin? I'm asking because you may not need too many taters to fill up a decent-sized bin :)

I didn't cut mine last year because I didn't need to. If you cut them be sure to let the cut ends heal over for a few days before you plant.

A lot of sources say to chit them, too - which basically means to expose them to light and warmth so they begin to green up and sprout before you plant them.

great advice :) thank you everyone. the bin is still in my mind lol. but i was thinking 12'x4' at least. i will spread out the potatoes tomorrow and cut as needed that will give them time to heal until dh can build the bin this weekend.

We always cut them. Depends on size of the tuber, some whole, some in half, some quarters, & even in six. Like Brook said, about 1½" pieces. We don't have time to count eyes though. Cut 2100 pounds last year.
ßernie
Forgot to mention, no need to cut them ahead. We have cut & planted immedately. Other times they sit around for a few days.

This message was edited Thursday, Feb 20th 12:24 AM

i can't imagine 2100lbs lol. but now you have the old brain thinking. these bins are going to be so easy to construct we can make a few. so the hay and leaves are good? do i have to add anything else to the mix?

New potatoes at our Farmers Market are a mainstay for us.
Fresh dug every market day all summer & fall. About a 100# on a Saturday in summer, more later in the year. Sell for about 70¢ a #.
ßernie

very nice, thanks for sharing. dh and i are talking about this right now. i am so happy he discovered a love for gardening even if it is just to make money.

Our potato expert from the State experimental farm in Wassilla, Alaska told me that putting seed potatoes in the dark promotes the buds. I'd always heard the opposite. He also said that potatoes have a predetermined time they want to form eyes, so controling the light they receive can alter that. When you think about it, once they are buried, they are in the dark.

Bernie, when do you plant yours, and what kind of soil? (I can't imagine not letting them heal over with our nasty clay soil - I suspect I'd have a rotten mess in a hurry.)

farmgirl, I meant to tell you that I planted mine under straw last year, and it worked fairly well - they still tended to burrow down into the soil, so it's not quite as simple as simply reaching into the straw to find them. But at least I didn't need to dig to China to get 'em either :)

I dunno about the light/dark thing. It seems like when mine are exposed to light, they start turning green and growing sprouts; as long as its dark, they don't. But I'm not a potato expert, so I'll defer :)

We have sand. Try to plant mid April here. Our last frost is about May 15. They usually take 3 or 4 weeks to come up. Ready to dig by end June.
ßernie

this month is potato month here. we are a little late because of all the rain.
to build the bins we are going to use either chicken wire or chain link line the bottom with paper add leaves and straw with some compost and keep filling it that way. when it comes time for harvesting we will open the fence and dig them out. this is my plan.
yes while the potatoes are growing you don't want light to hit them or they will turn green i guess that is why the layer of compost to make it dark. i get so tired of the stores potatoes i end up throwing 1/2 the potato away because of all the green. i guess i am getting picky the more veggies i grow the less i want to buy anything from the store and do without if it's not from my garden. this was a hard winter for us and lucky i had veggies frozen because some of my chickens got in my yard and ate everything except the lettuce. now i have those chickens in the freezer. the others are on their best behavior lol.

Dear Farmgirl,
I will be growing for market this year, and my plan is to do basically what you are doing. I bought rolls of welded wire (14 gauge) and will make 2' high cages, with a 4' diameter. I will plant my seed pieces with roughly 2 eyes per piece (already sprouted-see other replies) 3"-4" deep. You can bascially plant them in the circular cage about 8" in from the side, 8" apart in a ring with a piece at every position like the face of a clock. Then move in another 8" and make another ring of pieces 8" apart in another circle. I got this idea from John Jeavons' book "How to grow more vegetables...." book where he double digs, plants 9" deep and 9" apart. You should be able to eliminate the double digging by using leaf mulch and straw, compost, etc. all in combination. After I plant the taters, I will put down a couple of inches of compost and then 5-6" of leaves. As the season progresses, just add more mulch. It should also cut down on the watering you need to do, and of course, no hilling. I also recommend some or the Rodale books that have "1000" solutions or are the problem solver type books. People in those books have done the same "cage culture" with taters and seem to have very good results. I am confident it will work here in NC zone 7b-8a where I am south of Raleigh. Good luck, I'm going to be keeping notes on my yields etc. I also calculate that each of my cages needs roughly 2 1/2 lbs of pieces, so a little may go a long way.
tbolt76

Glad you showed up here, Tom. I thought you could add to this thread~!
This guy is gonna go whole hog on taters this year folks. We best keep an eye on him.

thank you thank you!! i think i am on my way to a great season too:)

Hi Tbolt76,

Quite a bit of time has elasped since your posting about your method of growing potatoes. Can we have an update, very interested.

Sparks