Potato progress
All I know is I have potato plants growing. At this point I don't know if I'll have edible potatoes (big enough and not green) to eat at the end of the season or not. Here's where we are.
The coolers I planted potatoes in are above. The white things are egg shells from the compost; yes, I was too lazy to screen it.
Here's the first thing I'm not sure about. I originally planted a "Chieftain" (red) potato chunk in the center of each cooler. I waited for weeks but nothing grew (even though the potato chunks had sprouts on them when I planted them), so I planted leftover Yukon golds from the raised bed (see below) on each end of the coolers.
I think the leaves in the cooler on the left are not a potato plant at all but a melon from a seed in the compost. The leaves of the potato on the right look like the potatoes in the raised beds (Yukon golds), but I'm not sure. I "hilled" soil around it after I took the photo, but I'm afraid I buried a small, new Chieftain leaf when I did it (Chieftain leaves are rounded).
The photo above is of potatoes growing in cardboard boxes. I originally planted two chunks of Chieftain potatoes in each box. It took forever for them to come up, so I planted more leftover Yukon golds in the centers. Therefore, the plants in the two boxes on the left are Yukon golds and the ones in the two boxes on the right are Chieftains. I'm expecting to have both kinds in at least one box before it's all over.
Finally, here is the raised bed:
These are all Yukon golds. To plant them, I dug trenches almost to the bottom of the bed. I have "hilled" them up twice now. My problem is they look like they need to be "hilled" again and I don't have much soil to keep adding to them; even if I did, it would start spilling over the sides of the bed. As you can see, I've taken most of the soil out of a trench in the middle; I'm a little worried that doing that will expose the potatoes to sunlight and turn them green. I haven't seen any blossoms so far. But surely with all that foliage I'll get something edible out of this bed!
The coolers I planted potatoes in are above. The white things are egg shells from the compost; yes, I was too lazy to screen it.
Here's the first thing I'm not sure about. I originally planted a "Chieftain" (red) potato chunk in the center of each cooler. I waited for weeks but nothing grew (even though the potato chunks had sprouts on them when I planted them), so I planted leftover Yukon golds from the raised bed (see below) on each end of the coolers.
I think the leaves in the cooler on the left are not a potato plant at all but a melon from a seed in the compost. The leaves of the potato on the right look like the potatoes in the raised beds (Yukon golds), but I'm not sure. I "hilled" soil around it after I took the photo, but I'm afraid I buried a small, new Chieftain leaf when I did it (Chieftain leaves are rounded).
The photo above is of potatoes growing in cardboard boxes. I originally planted two chunks of Chieftain potatoes in each box. It took forever for them to come up, so I planted more leftover Yukon golds in the centers. Therefore, the plants in the two boxes on the left are Yukon golds and the ones in the two boxes on the right are Chieftains. I'm expecting to have both kinds in at least one box before it's all over.
Finally, here is the raised bed:
These are all Yukon golds. To plant them, I dug trenches almost to the bottom of the bed. I have "hilled" them up twice now. My problem is they look like they need to be "hilled" again and I don't have much soil to keep adding to them; even if I did, it would start spilling over the sides of the bed. As you can see, I've taken most of the soil out of a trench in the middle; I'm a little worried that doing that will expose the potatoes to sunlight and turn them green. I haven't seen any blossoms so far. But surely with all that foliage I'll get something edible out of this bed!
Posted by Laurel at 6/22/2009 9:51 PM 
Categories: Cheapskate Gardening,Growing Food
Tags: Chieftain potatoes Yukon gold potatoes growing potatoes cardboard boxes
Categories: Cheapskate Gardening,Growing Food
Tags: Chieftain potatoes Yukon gold potatoes growing potatoes cardboard boxes
Laurel,
I was told, in my gardening class, that the potatoes we purchase in the grocery stores are "radiated" or something so that they will NOT spout fast. They said that those potatoes may not grow new potatoes at all. I don't know if that's what you were using, but if so, that could be why they are taking so long. The potatoes you buy in the nursary are not treated and will do better.
Good luck,
Shirene
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Hi! Thanks for passing that on.
These were kind of in between, at least the "Chieftains." I bought them last year as seed potatoes and saved some of the crop to try planting this year. They sprouted all over the place in the garage over the winter, so I expected them to be ready to go as soon as they got some soil, water, and sunlight. However, I've also heard it's not a good idea to try to plant last year's potatoes because there's so much potato disease. So that might have neen the problem, too.
As for the "leftover" Yukon golds, by that I meant that I left the cut-up chunks sitting on my hearth for several weeks while I decided what to do with them. They actually did start growing as soon as they had soil, water, and sunlight. They were seed potatoes I bought this spring.
It's a good thing we don't have to depend on growing our own vegetables to eat!
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Well, this is just proof that we all need to keep spreading our knowledge. I love the sharing.
Thanks,
Shirene
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I have the same problem with hilling my potatoes! I need to run to Full Circle Compost and get some more soil for hilling. I can't hoe much more up from the sides, because I snuck in some kohlrabi and beets on the edge of the bed.
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