Square Foot Gardening Forum
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Square Foot Gardening Forum
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First post, first time SFG, potato question - Page 2 Toplef10First post, first time SFG, potato question - Page 2 1zd3ho10

Hello Guest!
Welcome to the official Square Foot Gardening Forum.
There's lots to learn here by reading as a guest. However, if you become a member (it's free, ad free and spam-free) you'll have access to our large vermiculite databases, our seed exchange spreadsheets, Mel's Mix calculator, and many more members' pictures in the Gallery. Enjoy.

First post, first time SFG, potato question - Page 2 I22gcj10First post, first time SFG, potato question - Page 2 14dhcg10

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First post, first time SFG, potato question

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Idahospud
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Odd Duck
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First post, first time SFG, potato question - Page 2 Empty Re: First post, first time SFG, potato question

Post  northerngardens 5/3/2010, 7:34 pm

wow! Thanks for all of the great tips! I feel much more confident as I prepare to plant my seed potatoes Smile
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Post  Idahospud 5/4/2010, 12:22 am

Don't let the the name fool you. I do live in Idaho but last year was my first year growing potatoes or any veggie other then a couple tomatoes every summer.

I removed the soil from a couple squares and planted 4 Russets per square. I continued to bury the plants as they popped out of the soil and used another 1'x2'x6" box on top of the squares. A large portion of the potatoes I harvested were around the size of a lime or smaller. My thought was maybe I over planted the squares. Is four per square too many?

It's also news to me to not plant spuds in the same spot which is what I did but before planting I completely turned my boxes after adding more compost. Is that good enough to plant in those same squares again?
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Post  jerzyjen 5/4/2010, 7:34 am

This year I'm doing trash can potatos (you can google that exact phrase and get a ton of helpful results). Last year I had a few squares where I put in fingerlings. I harvested them all (or at least I thought) and this year when i started my beds and added in some fresh compost, and mixed up the bed. Now you guys got me paranoid about the disease issue. The other thing, I noticed a few little green sprouts coming out of the boxes in the area i had these last year that look like potato sprouts and not just a random weed. I'm growing broccoli in those squares now, should I be worried?
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Post  boffer 5/4/2010, 10:30 am

I grow a couple hundred pounds of potatoes every year for winter storage. I'm not conscientious about rotation. Some years I do; some I don't. I haven't had any problems.

I have a few areas where the potatoes have been growing for 5 years. I can't get rid of them! Invariably, at harvest time, I leave a few orphans behind. They over-winter and peek out early. I could pull them then, but they're survivors so I let them be. I have spuds in with flowers, compost, other veggies, and the edge of the woods where I've thrown spuds that I nicked while harvesting that wouldn't store well. For me, they grow like weeds. If only I were so lucky with getting red tomatoes!
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First post, first time SFG, potato question - Page 2 Empty like to know odd ducks yield from her post

Post  thecanuck22 5/22/2011, 10:40 pm

Odd Duck wrote:I'm growing potatoes for the first time myself, but I did consult my favorite garden advisors for help and specific recommendations for my area (Zone 7b/8a). I will pass on all my second hand wisdom, now.

A rule of thumb I was told was "Grow 6, cover 3, grow 6 cover 3". In other words, every time the potato stem gets to 6 inches tall, cover 3 inches of stem. You keep doing this until the potatoes start to bloom. The deeper the potato stems are, the more potatoes they should produce along that stem.

Once the plants are blooming, you can dig some new potatoes within about 2 weeks, then whenever you like until the plants start to yellow. How big they get would depend on how patient you are. I doubt any of mine will get to the mature, full-size potato stage. I like new potatoes too much. First post, first time SFG, potato question - Page 2 Icon_biggrin

It is definitely recommended that you rotate crops, ideally not growing another nightshade family member in the same spot for 3-4 years. Potatoes and tomatoes can give each other early blight and late blight and these are organisms that tend to build up in the soil.

I'm growing mine in big, plastic pots (only $14 for pots about 24" across) and I planted 6 or 7 seed potatoes in each, but not all grew since we had an exceptionally cool and wet early spring. I plan on rotating into the big pots just like it is a section of square foot garden, so the "potato spot" will rotate around and eventually back into pots in about 4 years. I planted the seed potatoes on top of about 4 inches of soil and covered with pinestraw and Mix, then waited, seemingly forever.

Once the sprouts got to 6" tall, I added more pinestraw and Mix to cover 3" of stem, then repeat, repeat, repeat as needed. My plants are so tall now, that the Mix is going to leak off the edges if I mound it anymore and the plants are at least 15" taller than that. If I had been on regular ground, I would have mounded higher, but I couldn't (and the pots are tall, I've got at least 18" of stem covered).

The plants finally have buds and will probably bloom sometime this week. I planted them January 23rd (perhaps jumped the gun a little, but that's what the local folks recommended). Next year I will likely wait at least a week longer.

So, that's my full experience with Irish potatoes and the sum total of my expertise of a whole 5 months of growing potatoes. But the "Grow 6, cover 3" rule I think was very helpful for me.

Sharon

Just a bump. I would love to know your what your results were like Sharon? And what are you doing this year, Great post btw.

Boffer what method of planting are you primarily using?
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Post  FamilyGardening 5/23/2011, 8:53 pm

Im also curious how the harvest was Very Happy

Im growing mine in garbage cans and wine barrels...... so far i have been using MM mix...but have run out.....i was wondering how they did using the straw?...i have a bunch of left over straw and would love to try it.....

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