I need advice to plant fall Potatoes!

[OkChickens]

I planted Carrots, Lettuce, and Green Beans a few days ago for my fall Garden. I want to plant Potatoes for this fall as well. What do I need to do? I have Store bought Russet Potatoes that have a few roots on them. What do I do?

I have about 8x25 of Garden space Available right now for Potatoes. How do I cut the seed potatoes up? Do I hill them? Do I plant them flat on the ground?

Thanks

Nate

 

[catjac1975]

What is your zone?

 

[vfem]

Yeah, we need to know your zone to see if this will work for you. Fall planting potatoes may not work. They don't like it too cold, frost is worse! They take a long growing time, so I just planted some potatoes myself. I'm in a warmer climate and I'm pushing it a week or 2 later then I wanted to.

p.s.-

 

[baymule]

Cut the potatoes so that each eye (or sprout) has a good chunk of 'tater to it. Then spread them out on newspaper and let them cure. I usually spread mine in the utility room until the cut portion gets gray and leathery.

Dig or till the soil deeply. Potatoes like good loose earth. I plant mine in a trench, then as they grow, hoe
the soil up to the plants.

http://www.theeasygarden.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=33864

I planted in the spring. Here in southeast Texas, it gets so hot so quick, that we plant in mid February and harvest in the end of May. (I held mine over by a couple of weeks so our grand daughter could spend the weekend with us and "help" with the harvest )

My growing space is so small, that I didn't get to hoe up the soil in mounds but I got a real good harvest anyway. I even planted some in plastic pots and got good growth in them too. I had 7 eyes left over that I didn't have room to plant and found them after we harvested our potatoes, so I planted them in a bed that gets a lot of shade under the crepe myrtle tree. Haven't dug them yet and the vines have survived the heat so far. Just an experiment to see what happens. I have never planted potatoes in the fall. Might be intresting to see if you can get a crop.

 

[OkChickens]

I guess 6b? I'm around Tulsa Ok. How big do I cut them? Baseball or golf ball size?

Nate

 

[Smiles Jr.]

I guess 6b? I'm around Tulsa Ok. How big do I cut them? Baseball or golf ball size? Nate

Hi Nate and welcome to the garden. I usually cut mine in between golf ball and baseball size. I just let the seed potato determine the size pieces. I really do not think size of the chunk that you put into the soil makes a lot of difference. Also I have "seasoned" (allowed the seed potato chunks to dry out) and "not seasoned" my seed eyes and I do not see much difference in growing time, size, or yield. I still do it but I really think it's just an old tradition.

Nate, please go to your profile near the top of this page and put your location and planting zone information in there for us to see. That way we can make more intelligent recommendations (guesses )

 

[OkChickens]

Thanks smiles. My In laws said to let the potato soak in a little water to let it seed. Is that what I need to do?

Thanks

Nate

 

[Smart Red]

My In laws said to let the potato soak in a little water to let it seed. Is that what I need to do?

Like Smiles, I usually "cure" my potato pieces, but also have planted them right after cutting with no difference in growth or harvest. I think curing is a better idea where the soil is already very wet - such as early in the spring - and less important where the ground is drier or very well drained.

I usually end up with pieces of all shapes somewhere between a golf ball and a large jaw breaker. Size doesn't matter (We've heard that before) but having 2-3 good eyes per piece does. Sometimes I just plant a whole tiny spud left over from the past year. My ground is so loose and soft that I usually just push the potatoes into it and cover well with a straw mulch, but digging a trench and filling it in as the plants grow is the usual way to care for spuds. Potatoes that grow partially out of the ground turn green and may make you sick, so covering growing potatoes with mulch or soil is important.

I have never soaked potato pieces in water in all the 45 years I've been growing them, although I know there are many different ways to get the same results in the garden. It is possible that your store-bought spuds won't sprout properly for you at this time. They are usually sprayed with a sprout retardant to keep them usable longer. If you have organic spuds, you won't have a problem with retardants. I have planted store-boughts, but only after they start sprouting on their own.

I have never planted potatoes in the fall. From what I have heard, potatoes planted in the fall in your zone are harvested in May-ish. In my zone, most potatoes would freeze through the winter and be mush by spring. This last winter, however, was so mild - almost zone 7 weather - that I did have many sprouts from missed potatoes. I left or transplanted them for this year. I probably should have harvested some of them by now as they are dying back while this year's planting is still growing and flowering. Think I will do that today. YUM!

 

[catjac1975]

I am in zone 6. I have never planted potatoes in the fall but always plan to. The reason I think it is possible is that the potatoes that I miss in digging grow very well come spring. That is where I get my first potatoes.The beauty of that is they sprout the moment the ground is the correct temperature. I would definitely NOT cut them. Enough of them rot when you cut them in the spring that I think I would only plant them whole. Mark your trench so you do not forget where you put them. In regard to cutting, I no longer cut my spring planting either. I have had such loss from rot, whole planting gives me 100% growth. Although you potatoes are sprouting be aware that store potatoes are treated with a growth inhibitor. I guess if their sprouting they should be fine. But do you really want them sprouting now? If I do it it will be after the first hard frost.

 

[OkChickens]

Do you all think I could plant them in the fall and do ok? Thanks

Nate