Small space potato growing

[headfullofbees]

We're having temperatures in late 50s early 60s, and a good deal of rain.
My spuds are growing at least an inch a day.

 

[Chuck]

We're having temperatures in late 50s early 60s, and a good deal of rain.
My spuds are growing at least an inch a day.

Mine are too, now, but about 2 weeks ago I had over a week of high 90's and 2 days of at least 99 in a row. That pretty much stopped the newer growth. The older growth with larger leaves was unaffected. Normally the temps here start to soar at the end of May. This year though who knows? We have had abnormal lows and abnormal highs all in the same week. There is a saying here in Texas "if you don't like the weather wait a minute and it will change." Oh, and I had measureable rainfall here yesterday, the first since Feb.

 

[thebeardlesswonder]

Very cool! Thank you for sharing this info!

 

[SamClemensMT]

WOW!! I have never heard using the tire method in growing potato. Indeed a very cool idea.

You can even grow garlic in a tire. You can get about 50 bulbs out of a single tire. The whole project barely takes up any space.

 

[ChanellG]

Next year start your potatoes earlier in the year. I started mine on March first and should have started about Feb 1. They will not die during a hard freeze but the foliage will burn back. Growing them in containers makes it easy to protect them.

I have some sweet potato slips I was planning to grow for the leaves, but it's been so warm so far this year - mostly in 50s and 60s and sometimes in 40s overnight - that I'm thinking of growing the potatoes now, especially if a freeze won't kill them. I have some other potato varieties that have sprouted as well, and I could just cover them if the temperature gets down in the 30s as I plan to grow them in laundry hampers.

The ones I grew last spring turned out okay, though they were small. I started too late and summer soon put an end to them, but it was fun harvesting and eating them.

 

[Chuck]

I have some sweet potato slips I was planning to grow for the leaves, but it's been so warm so far this year - mostly in 50s and 60s and sometimes in 40s overnight - that I'm thinking of growing the potatoes now, especially if a freeze won't kill them. I have some other potato varieties that have sprouted as well, and I could just cover them if the temperature gets down in the 30s as I plan to grow them in laundry hampers.

The ones I grew last spring turned out okay, though they were small. I started too late and summer soon put an end to them, but it was fun harvesting and eating them.

Don't plant sweet potatoes yet. Regular potatoes yes. Sweet potatoes are a hot weather plant. Wait until mid April

 

[ChanellG]

Don't plant sweet potatoes yet. Regular potatoes yes. Sweet potatoes are a hot weather plant. Wait until mid April

Well, I was just going to grow the vines for the edible leaves originally. Maybe i can just stick to that for now and try to grow the potatoes later. I have a few red and gold potatoes set aside in the fridge for planting. I can still get a couple hampers for those.

When the green stems come up do you bury yours in soil or do you use straw?

 

[Chuck]

Well, I was just going to grow the vines for the edible leaves originally. Maybe i can just stick to that for now and try to grow the potatoes later. I have a few red and gold potatoes set aside in the fridge for planting. I can still get a couple hampers for those.

When the green stems come up do you bury yours in soil or do you use straw?

I let them get about a foot tall and then rake up 5 or 6 inches of soil

 

[ChanellG]

I let them get about a foot tall and then rake up 5 or 6 inches of soil

I read that you should let them grown six inches and then cover them in soil, let them get 6 inches again and cover again, and then repeat that once more. I did that, but only had potatoes at the very bottom, In fact, I was starting to think the whole experiment was a big fail until I finally saw the first little potatoes at the very bottom of the basket.

 

[Chuck]

I read that you should let them grown six inches and then cover them in soil, let them get 6 inches again and cover again, and then repeat that once more. I did that, but only had potatoes at the very bottom, In fact, I was starting to think the whole experiment was a big fail until I finally saw the first little potatoes at the very bottom of the basket.

When you totally cover them it slows growth because of lack of sunlight, stopping photosynthesis and the manufacturing of sugars

 

[Durgan]

This is new pictures to make viewing easier. http://www.durgan.org/URL/?ZFZLX
http://www.durgan.org/URL/?QHBIN 21 August 2009 How a Potato Plant Grows
There is a great deal of information on the Internet about growing potatoes in tires, boxes and indicating that large quantities of new tubers can be produced with high vertical hilling. The view propagated is that potatoes grow from branches all along the main stalk. This is utter nonsense, as the pictures indicate. New tubers are formed around the seed potato and always slightly above it.

My potato growing test box was opened today. The pictures speak for themselves. Clearly there is no advantage in carrying out excessive hilling when growing potatoes. The purpose of hilling is to insure the tubers are covered, since light affects potatoes producing a green appearance, which is an indication of solanine, which is harmful if ingested in large quantities.. For comparison one Pontiac Red was dug in the same row, which was almost identical to the test box potato in appearance.

 

[Durgan]

http://www.durgan.org/URL/?BKWAI 11 September 2010 Yukon Gold Test Box Potatoes
Yukon Gold Potatoes were harvested today. A total weight of 23.5 pounds was harvested from the 4 by 4 foot test area. The quality is excellent. Another plant could probably be placed in the center of the area without crowding. The average weight per plant was 5.9 pounds. From my experience anything over 4 pounds is acceptable.

For reference.
http://www.durgan.org/URL/?XWWLI 19 May 2010. Test to determine quantity by weight of four Yukon Gold potatoes.
A box 4 by 4 feet by 11 inches high was made in ideal soil and location to determine the quantity of potatoes by weight that can be produced. Each plant has about a foot on each side to insure minimum crowding of the root system. The seed potato was planted just below ground level and covered with soil about two inches on top.
Soil was placed in the corners for the first hilling. After the first hilling the growing plant will be covered adequately with bedding wood chips until the end of the season.
This test is to establish by weight the quantity, and size quality of potatoes that can be grown in a small space.

http://www.durgan.org/URL/?CZJZE 26 June 2010 Yukon Gold Potato Growth in 4 by 4 foot Test Box
The potatoes were hilled once and heavily mulched. A string was tied around the vegetation to keep upright. The premise being that the more vegetation exposed to the sun feeds the new tubers. This opposed to deep hilling and hiding the vegetation.

 

[ChanellG]

When you totally cover them it slows growth because of lack of sunlight, stopping photosynthesis and the manufacturing of sugars

So does that mean I should wait to add the next six inches of soil each time or should I just use soil at the bottom and then occasionally top off the plants with straw? It's my understanding that if potatoes are exposed to sunlight they turn green (like carrots) and then become inedible.

@zigs?

 

[zigs]

You can grow spuds totally without light, but they don't get very big from just the soil nutrients.

You want the Haulms exposed to sunlight, as long as you keep the tubers covered

 

[headfullofbees]

When you totally cover them it slows growth because of lack of sunlight, stopping photosynthesis and the manufacturing of sugars

It also keeps the frost off the haulms.