Potato Question

Hi All:

I planted a lot of potatoes this year. Most of them have been planted at the ends of some raised beds which they are sharing with other veggies, mostly tomatoes.

Most of my plants are nice and green and healthy but a few seem to be developing some problems. Some of the leaves are ywllowing and getting black spots. The alomost look like a tomato leaf when it has blight or something. The plants are strong, just discolored. The beds are well fertilized and I have been periodically adding bone meal to the potato beds.

I'll try to post a picture later.

Anyone know what may be wrong?

BB

It is getting pretty far along toward summer for Irish potatoes in Georgia. I dug mine two weeks ago. Irish potatoes do pick up many of the same types of foliar diseases as tomatoes, there is not very much you can do about it. Fungicides may help a little. Unless you are high on a mountain, tho, it is time for Irish potatoes to go down.

Thanks

I'm assuming that by Irsih Potatoes, you mean any type other than sweet potatoes or yams?

Yep s. tuberosum as opposed to the sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) or the yam (Dioscorea alata) All totally different critters. Typically, a southerner hearing the word potato thinks of a sweet potato.

This message was edited Jun 16, 2006 6:02 PM

Ok, speaking of sweet potatoes, when do we plant them and do they grow from "seed potatoes" like irish potatoes do?

GGG

A sweet potato is a root, not a tuber like an Irish potato. The root is sprouted in the early spring. ( I though every school kid had set one of these in a jar of water to watch this process). For large amounts of slips, we start them in hot beds or warm cold frames. Each root will produce dozens of slips. I grow my own, but most folks today, either run down to the feed and seed store and buy a bunch of slips or if they want a greater selection order them from a company. In Georgia, they do best transplanted in May, although they can be set from April though June. Usually the plants are available at the seed and feeds beginning in early April as folks do tend to push the season. They are a member of the Morning Glory family and are quite susceptible to frost. Quite different from an Irish Potato (member of the nightshade family) in growth, requirements and culture..

Thanks Farmerdill. As a Canadian kid, we experimented with bean seeds. Our shorter summers were not made for sweet potato growing.

I need to learn more about "sprouting slips".

My use of "seed potato" is loose. I buy potatoes from the farmers market and cut them up for "seed". I only need one potato of any different variety we want, there are just two of us who eat potatoes here (unless it would have cheese, then 4 cats would partake). The cats all LOVE sweet potatoes!

GGG