Potatos?

I tossed some tater skins in a flower bed to help fertilize-
well- one sprouted. What do I do with it?
It's really dark green and so pretty.
Is it a bush or will it vine?
How big does it get?
Full sun?
Its a normal tater we got in a bag to eat. Idaho maybe? I dunno, LOL.
It looks like it might be bushy. Would make a really neat summer hedge maybe?

Oh yeah- what do tater blooms look like?

crimsontsavo- lucky you, a potato plant with no effort. If you have good soil, (I'm sure you do), the plant could get a large as waist high or even taller. Maybe 2' to 3' across at it's fullest growth. The flowers are small and rather inconsequential, usually white, but sometimes purple, depending on what you planted. Idahos have white blooms. Don't forget your reward at the end when the "vines" die back, a nice pile of potato tubers under the ground. Go for it!

Lots of questions there.

Let's see if I can help.

It will form a bush. If you add straw or mulch to the top of the soil where the stem is growing, it will produce more potatoes. The more stem that is covered, the more potatoes it will produce.

Full sun is best. Anything less will lower your production. Potatoes have no special care requirements other than to keep the tubers sheilded from the sunlight as they are growing otherwise they will turn green (and poisonous) in the sunlight.

The bush will be approx. 2 feet high and the potatoes will be ready to harvest when the plant is in full flower. The flowers are a deep bluish-purple, not bad looking at all.

Once the plant is in full flower, you can pull the potatoes out at that point (they will be smaller than normal) or you can leave the plant in the ground and harvest your potatoes when the plant begins to die back. Be sure to dig your potatoes before the first frost.

Good Gardening!

Aubrey

Thank you guys!!!

Good advice...especially the mulching part. Some of the best spuds I've grown were heavily mulched with leaves...it was so nice cus they came out nice and clean! Also, as they produced, you could reach into the mulch and pick a few without disturbing the rest of the plant, allowing it to continue producing more, or bigger, spuds.

You'll have spuds on the plant long before you see any flowering; matter of fact many times tater plants won't flower at all (don't worry, it's not necessary for them to flower in order for them to produce taters).

I luv growing taters! Fun, pretty plants, low-maintenance, and a healthy harvest in the end. Yay!

Tater has been mulched very well now!
I've named him ' `Mr.Tater Spud'. Tehee!

Now, if I can keep mum away from Mr Tater- she likes her potato salad too well!

Thanks HS! Thanks guys!

-Jocie.