Potatoes

SandyM · Post by **SandyM** » Fri Mar 11, 2016 7:23 am

I am not an experienced gardener. In fact I despise gardening with every last inch of my soul. Hate it!! However, I try to put my hatred aside and always grow some items that need minimal maintenance. Last year a friend did an experiment, which was to grow potatoes in garbage cans. What a huge success!!

When I planted a potato patch summer before, I remember planting late in the season. Not until middle of June if I recall. So I have a few questions.

1) If I plant earlier, can you leave them in and they'll just keep giving off potatoes? Or can I get a double season in if I start after Mother's Day?

2) How can I get my potatoes to pop me an eye or two quickly? I don't know what happened to Vesseys, but I used to get my potatoes from them, but now the shipping and postal code processing (whatever that is) is more than the 5lbs of potato starters.

3) Do you think I can plant sweet potatoes in a garbage can?

4) If a potato is green and it has eyes can I or should I use it?

Thanks!!

Post by **WLLady** » Fri Mar 11, 2016 8:34 am

1. YES! just dig out the bigger ones and eat, and leave the plant undisturbed (dig around the plant) and they will make more
2. Yep, i used to get from veseys, now i just plant whatever i get at the feed store. the eyes don't need to be sprouted before planting. Just pop them out around the last frost date, bury then about 6-8 inches deep and they'll grow.
3. yes, with the added bonus that you can drag the can into the garage/barn on the frost night and extend your season some. just beware, sweet potatoes are vining plants, where most other potatoes are bushes. so you'll want to corral the plant, loop the vines back into the can. also, sweet potatoes will root wherever they touch the ground with a node on the stem. so to increase the potato yield you can push these nodes into the dirt, and then clip the ends off the vines later in the season to force more potatoes. Also, sweet potatoes will make tubers at a distance from the planting site, so a wider can works better, the roots can go quite a distance...but with that said, the roots will find the edge of the can and then grow down and back into the middle...just don't use a really small garbage can.
4. why not? green potatoes are just potatoes that are make chlorophyll in the skin because they've been exposed to sun. they're perfectly fine to use.

SandyM · Post by **SandyM** » Fri Mar 11, 2016 9:01 am

Thanks Kathy. Feed store has potatoes? Like TSC? Now I feel a bit less pressure. I will enquire this weekend.

Here we have a problem with too much moisture being held so the potatoes in a can I can control better by being able to control the moisture content. In the rain, out of the rain. Joys of a marshland; Selective growing options.

Thanks for info on sweet potatoes. I grew them from Vesseys once. Failure!!! Haven't grown since but I want to get the shoots from BVF and give them a go this year. I just needed an alternative for them.

Cheers

Cuttlefish · Post by **Cuttlefish** » Fri Mar 11, 2016 10:28 am

If you have some potatoes and want them to sprout, put them some place bright but cool (no frost). They may come up a bit faster if you do, which is good if you're going for an extra long growing season. : )

ross · Post by **ross** » Fri Mar 11, 2016 12:45 pm

Anybody ever tried straw/hay bale gardening , taters , tomatoes , peppers etc . Our place is surrounded by walnut trees & difficult to get stuff to grow . This works for us . So far have grown tomatoes & peppers . These pics are off Webb .

kenya · Post by **kenya** » Fri Mar 11, 2016 12:49 pm

That's interesting Ross but what kind of nutrition can they get from a bale?

TomK · Post by **TomK** » Fri Mar 11, 2016 12:54 pm

Kenya...that's a good point....someone pointed that out to me on a FB posting and I read into it...it requires fertilizing...the water is nicely regulated of course because the bales have to be soaking wet first...it's not as simple as it sounds at first blush

ross · Post by **ross** » Fri Mar 11, 2016 1:24 pm

Lots a different ways to do , just google up , straw bale gardening , on the Webb . Easy or simple its up to you . I just take my bales & put on edge in early (now) spring , put a 4" layer of manure /compost your choice of & let nature / rain take its course or wet thoroughly for a few days . I like to have bale starting to decompose abit . Then whatever I'm planting I put a plant in a small hole & treat soil as you would in normal garden . Peppers last year , decomposing bale is most of nutrition . I'm gonna try a couple of 4yr old hay bales left over from llama days .
. . Luck

SandyM · Post by **SandyM** » Fri Mar 11, 2016 1:30 pm

ross wrote:QR_BBPOST Anybody ever tried straw/hay bale gardening , taters , tomatoes , peppers etc . Our place is surrounded by walnut trees & difficult to get stuff to grow . This works for us . So far have grown tomatoes & peppers . These pics are off Webb .

I actually have seen the bale growing and large amounts of straw around the plants themselves as well. It's a consideration for here. For around the plants in raised beds.

SandyM · Post by **SandyM** » Fri Mar 11, 2016 1:31 pm

ross wrote:QR_BBPOST Lots a different ways to do , just google up , straw bale gardening , on the Webb . Easy or simple its up to you . I just take my bales & put on edge in early (now) spring , put a 4" layer of manure /compost your choice of & let nature / rain take its course or wet thoroughly for a few days . I like to have bale starting to decompose abit . Then whatever I'm planting I put a plant in a small hole & treat soil as you would in normal garden . Peppers last year . Luck

No mould?