Fingerling Potatoes

bonnie0128 3/27/2014, 8:55 am

One year when I was little, I was fascinated with the idea of growing potatoes so my mom gave up one of her garden beds and helped me plant potatoes. We really didn't do anything special but still got a great yield and it was a fun process. I've never grown potatoes again but would like to try some this year. We simply used red potatoes that sprouted whatever you call those shoots that come off the eyes - cutting the potato so that each eye would be a plant.

I would like to grow fingerling potatoes since I have never actually tried them (they are expensive here). Can I do the same thing and just allow them to grow shoots and then plant them? Does the shoot point up or down (does it even matter)?

I've seen some of the great ideas for growing potatoes in cages, etc and may try that but wasn't sure about the actual potato.

Thanks!

**camprn** 3/27/2014, 9:35 am

Bonnie there are quite a few back threads and a Rookie Topic about growing potatoes. The answers to your questions may be found there. Do come back if you still have any questions.

bonnie0128 3/27/2014, 9:56 am

Ok, Ill look around. I did a search and it didn't pull anything up.

boffer 3/27/2014, 10:36 am

bonnie0128 wrote:...I would like to grow fingerling potatoes since I have never actually tried them (they are expensive here). Can I do the same thing and just allow them to grow shoots and then plant them? Does the shoot point up or down (does it even matter)?...

Treat them like any other potato. When possible, point the shoot up because it becomes the main stem. When a shoot gets pointed down, it takes longer to make the U turn back up and get growing.

FamilyGardening 3/27/2014, 12:22 pm

Bonnie from what I have read fingerlings are a good choice to use in a potato cage or like we are doing a garbage can....they are suppose to make multiple layers of potatoes.....so make sure you *hill* them by adding more MM as they grow ....leaving just a few inch's at a time of green leaves....once they start to flower, the potatoes are then maturing, and you can start to harvest baby size potatoes...once the foliage dries out and dies back....its harvest time!

keep us posted if you do decide to use a potato cage....and how your harvest is....we can compare notes Very Happy

happy gardening
rose

**sanderson** 3/27/2014, 3:42 pm

FG, I see you use a garbage can. I'm using 5-gal buckets. Should I have drilled a few holes in the sides? I did drill bottom.

FamilyGardening 3/27/2014, 4:33 pm

sanderson wrote:FG, I see you use a garbage can. I'm using 5-gal buckets. Should I have drilled a few holes in the sides? I did drill bottom.

my husband drilled holes on the bottom, and on the sides....but only about maybe 4 inch's for the bottom.....the way our garbage can is built....it kind of had a weird lip inside on the bottom of the can.......so we wanted to make sure there wasn't any water being trapped in that area......

I would think with a 5 gal bucket having holes on the bottom should be good....the only thing I would make sure of is that you put something over the bottom so that dirt doesn't compact into the holes, causing it not to drain well....I have had to do this with planting into buckets......I used a few rocks over the holes and it seemed to work fine....I have also heard that using news paper works well....but haven't tried that method.....

hope this helps
rose

**sanderson** 3/27/2014, 5:15 pm

FG, Thanks. I feel better. The buckets are on beveled bricks so they drain freely.

Rahab222 3/28/2014, 12:18 am

If you are growing potatoes in 4' x 4' boxes, do you still cover up most of the leaves when it's time to hill them?

FamilyGardening 3/28/2014, 2:04 am

Rahab222 wrote:If you are growing potatoes in 4' x 4' boxes, do you still cover up most of the leaves when it's time to hill them?

it depends on what type of potato you are going to plant....

since this is a thread on fingerlings,

if you are planning on planting a fingerling potato and you want to get more potatoes then just one layer....then yes you will want to hill up your potatoes and add a top hat to keep them producing tubers up the vine.....

there are 2 reason for hilling....that I have found

1. to produce more potatoes ( but only certain types will do this....see Rookie topic thread)

2. to keep the potatoes that may push them selves up thru the surface of the soil/MM from turning green from the sun getting to them. Green potatoes are poisonous and you should not to eat them....

hope this helps
rose

FamilyGardening 6/13/2014, 11:11 pm

garbage can fingerlings doing well Very Happy

they are to the top now, but still no flowers yet.......cant wait for harvest time!

Fingerling Potatoes Dscf1021

happy gardening
rose

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