Red potatoes in 5 gallon bucket

**sanderson** 4/8/2014, 3:42 pm

The tops on one bucket of red potatoes were looking sickly so I dumped it this morning. 9 oz. of little red potatoes! Here are photos. Do the tops look diseased? Do red potatoes only grow at the bottom and not all the way up the stems like other varieties? I buried the stems as they grew. Maybe this grocery store kind can be planted on 4" of MM and then covered with 4", then leave them alone with a little mulch?

Can I plant more at this time of the year? It's almost 90* here.

Any help is appreciated.

Potatoes - Red potatoes in 5 gallon bucket Potato14

Potatoes - Red potatoes in 5 gallon bucket Potato14

Potatoes - Red potatoes in 5 gallon bucket Potato15

Potatoes - Red potatoes in 5 gallon bucket Potato16

Windmere 4/8/2014, 4:28 pm

I am also interested in knowing a bit more about this. I have five gallon containers also. It has not been as hot as the 90's yet, but I'd like to know what to to expect (warmer weather is inevitable). I've got Red Cherry, German Butterball, and Purple Majesty. My potato stems are creeping upward at, to me, a surprisingly quick rate. I have had to jump on hilling every few days.

**camprn** 4/8/2014, 5:18 pm

There is a link to a list of potato varieties in the rookie topic.
https://squarefoot.forumotion.com/t16841-rookie-topic-potatoes?highlight=potatoes

boffer 4/8/2014, 10:06 pm

Determinate potatoes only grow at the bottom. The Irish Eyes catalog has 11 different red-skinned potatoes listed. Most of them are determinate.

Potato plants do die off after they've matured.

Potato plants don't like temps above 90-95° and may die if temps are much above that.

**sanderson** 4/9/2014, 12:40 am

What about the sickly looking plant in the middle photo? disease? Should I steam-bake the mix before re-using? I would add some new MM to inoculate it afterwards.

Can I use is for sweet potatoes?

We ate the bigger ones tonight along with sauteed Swiss chard from the garden. So neat!

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Red potatoes in 5 gallon bucket

Red potatoes in 5 gallon bucket

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Re: Red potatoes in 5 gallon bucket

Re: Red potatoes in 5 gallon bucket

Re: Red potatoes in 5 gallon bucket


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