Artichoke Lover’s 2022 Garden

[digitS']

Artichoke Lover,

Do you have ..

. Potato Favorites?

Steve

 

[Artichoke Lover]

Artichoke Lover,

Do you have ..

. Potato Favorites?

Steve

Nope. This is only my second year growing them and I always end up buying whatever the local hardware has since they are so much cheaper than ordering and I don’t have to worry about them shipping late. At the hardware they about 79¢ a pound compared to $7-12 dollars.
This year I’m growing Red La Soda and Kennebec.

 

[digitS']

I’ve had good luck with both.

Altho, it’s been many garden moves since I’ve grown Kennebec. Know a guy who grows Red LaSoda for Pike Place and other farmers’ markets.

Shipping Costs. Big difference between a garden center bringing in hundreds of pounds and having USPS deliver several pounds.

Steve

 

[Ridgerunner]

My Mom 'n Pop garden center in Arkansas only charged either $0.59 or $0.69 per pound (can't remember which) but the selection was limited. All they had was Kennebec, Red Pontiac, and Yukon Gold. But that was OK by me. They made good potatoes and produced well. I tried ordering fingerlings one year at those exorbitant prices, wasn't even close to worth it to me.

 

[Artichoke Lover]

Picked up what should be the last of this years seeds. I’m planning on planting the onions and possibly the potatoes this week. I’ll have to dig the soil with a shovel to add the compost though.

 

[AMKuska]

I'm interested in those monster pumpkins. Have you grown them before?

I feel like it would amaze and delight the kids to have an absolutely HUGE pumpkin, but I've never had any luck.

 

[digitS']

If we are just talking about conventional Halloween pumpkins, when I first decided to grow a few vines (taking up more square feet than expected ), I chose Howden - from the garden catalog. It is considered some kind of standard and a n appropriate choice.

WRONG! I had big green pumpkins at the end of the growing season! Even sitting in the garage and out of the freezing October weather, they failed to turn orange by the end of the month.

@AMKuska , Osborne Seed in your part of the world has lots of varieties listed in their catalog. This is their busy season but they may be receptive to a call about what is successful in the local area. The cooperative extension service in that neck of the woods should know - since pumpkins can be a valuable crop for small farmers.

Beyond variety selection, there is skill and technique - but, that's different.

Steve

 

[Artichoke Lover]

I'm interested in those monster pumpkins. Have you grown them before?

I feel like it would amaze and delight the kids to have an absolutely HUGE pumpkin, but I've never had any luck.

I’ve never grown them before. They appear to be similar to Big Max though.

 

[AMKuska]

If we are just talking about conventional Halloween pumpkins, when I first decided to grow a few vines (taking up more square feet than expected ), I chose Howden - from the garden catalog. It is considered some kind of standard and a n appropriate choice.

WRONG! I had big green pumpkins at the end of the growing season! Even sitting in the garage and out of the freezing October weather, they failed to turn orange by the end of the month.

@AMKuska , Osborne Seed in your part of the world has lots of varieties listed in their catalog. This is their busy season but they may be receptive to a call about what is successful in the local area. The cooperative extension service in that neck of the woods should know - since pumpkins can be a valuable crop for small farmers.

Beyond variety selection, there is skill and technique - but, that's different.

Steve

Thanks! Last year was my first year successfully growing pumpkins, but not the big kind. I now know my requirements for healthy pumpkin growth, which is that it must be a powdery mildew resistant variety to grow. I'm not sure if they have any PM resistant big pumpkins though.

 

[digitS']

There are a number with "intermediate" resistance, @AMKuska .

Cornell University researcher mentions some of these. Seems that Harris Seed Co has made this something of a specialty.

Harris has mostly large packets but not entirely LINK.