Seed Potato Question

Hi All:

I am in Zone 7B. I planted a variety of Irish potatoes this spring but I may have put some of them in too late. Some varieties had their topes die off. I dug them up and while I did get potatoes, it was nowhere near the yield and size I was expecting.

Question: Can I use the potatoes I dug up as seed potatoes and plant re-plant them for a fall crop? When should I do it for my zone?

Thanks
BB

Yes you can but they need to rest a while before you replant them. Wood Prairie Farm has some good information on their website. I'm not familiar with your zone though. Here in sunny California I'm growing potatoes in barrels and can do it almost all year round. Good luck.

http://davesgarden.com/gwd/c/107/

Thanks:

How deep a barrel do you use? How many seeds do you put in each barrel?

BB

I used a garbage bin from OSH Hardware, not sure how many gallons it contains but it cost about 10$. I drilled inch size holes all around the base and sides so there was really good drainage and then, to keep the soil in, covered them with some sticky mesh tape my husband had in the garage. I kept the lid on it until I saw the first sprouts. The first time I grew them I think I put in too many seeds - about 12 - so there wasn't alot of space between each seed. I can't be sure but this may have contributed to a low yield, although the potatoes were a good size. Now I've reduced it to about 7 seeds.

The main reasons I started using containers is because I moved to a new house and the soil in the garden was atrocious, plus I thought that there would be better protection from pests. Also I can move them around to get more or less sun/heat as they need it. One more added bonus - it sure was easy to harvest them. Just tip the whole thing out onto a tarp and start digging :-)

kiwi

Thanks:

Do you fill it up first or just put in some dirt and fill as the plants grow?

BB

Piping in here. We fill as the plants grow. When they're a foot tall or so we start "hilling" the plants. Some folks even use straw to fill/hill, but I've heard best results w/ shredded leaves. Next year I'll try that.

I put in about 1 foot of dirt and fill/hill as the plants grow. I tried straw but didn't feel like the plants got good coverage so used more soil. Shredded leaves sounds interesting - I think I'll give that a go later in the year. I LOVE LOVE LOVE home grown spuds!

I agree the straw doesn't cover well enough. Maybe if I chopped it... but who's got time to sit around chopping straw? :)

What exactly does"hilling" the plants mean?

BB

Zeppy - couldn't agree more.

BB - When you grow them in the ground as the plants grow taller you push dirt around the stems to cover them up. This creates a hill. The potatoes grow in the hill. I read something recently that said if the stalks of the potatoe plant go green then they will not produce as many potatoes. Did you do this for your plants? If you didn't it could explain the reduced yield. Sorry my explanation is not very clear, but I will try and find the link to the information I read. Maybe some of the experts can chime in here.

Hi Kiwi:

What I did was to dig a hole about 4 inches deep and drop the seed into it. I filled in the hole as the sprout grew and stopped adding dirt when the hole reached the level of the surrounding soil.

I basically follwed the instructions that were on the seed packet.

Thanks
BB

http://gardenaction.co.uk/images/potato_earth_up.jpg

Maybe that had something to do with it then. The link above shows a picture of what a potatoe 'hill' looks like, although I don't know how acheivable that is in your back yard. Maybe if you've got an acre or more :) I tried it this summer and had soil spilling over the edge of the garden and onto the lawn. Containers are much easier for me. I would do some research online - there are planty of good sites. I googled 'grow potatoes'. The companies listed in the watchdog have lots of good information as well.

Thanks

I have plenty of space but I like your "can of potatoes" idea.

My stalks are green as soon as they break soil. I hilled my potato plants tonight. A couple were a foot high, but several were only 4-6 inches. I just raked garden soil around the stems.

I can't wait to have real "home" fries.

BB, hilling or mulching the plants will help increase the harvest. The spuds are produced above the seed tater you planted, so the more dirt above it the more area for the spuds to grow. Hilling and/or mulching (with leaves or straw or the like) will also protect the taters from being exposed to the sun.

And for a great harvest they really love potassium so it would be a good idea to offer that to them as well.
Hope this helps.
Shoe.

Thanks Shoe