Potato Harvest

[vfem]

I got impatient as these russet potatoes were taking so long. They kept blooming over and over again and sending up new shoots?! I planted back in March even.

Today I got 2.5 lbs of pretty small new potatoes out of large 5 gallon pot I grew them in. I only put in 2 potato seeds to test this out, from a store bought potato, so I guess that's not too bad. It just took longer then I though. Most of these potatoes are VERY small, everything smaller then my fist!

I have decided it was well worth me doing it again!!!

 

[jackiedon]

I'm like you about trying again. I didn't get what I was expecting, I'm going to try again. It sure was easy to "dig potatoes) this way.

jackie

 

[lesa]

Here in zone 4, I just saw my first flower on the earliest potatoes I planted. Still covering the later ones- Didn't I read somewhere to expect 20-40 pounds from one barrel- or am I remembering wrong? I am hopeful- but this is my first time growing potatoes- so I guess I will be happy if I get any!! Enjoy your harvests!

 

[Texan]

My russets and blue potatoes were a complete failure and I planted in March as well.

 

[Ridgerunner]

My potatoes were also a disappointment. I grew Kennebec and Red Pontiac and wound up with only a few potatoes about the size of baseballs. I blame it mostly on our weather. I could not hill them when they needed it because of three weeks of solid wet weather. They were blooming before it got dry enough to hill them, then it totally quit raining.

Talk about trying again. Since my growing season should be long enough, I planted some of these to try for a second crop this year. The Red Pontiacs are already showing signs of sprouting. Hopefully the Kennebecs will come through for me too. This was my plan anyway so I could harvest potatoes shortly before winter sets in so I might have potatoes to eat off of all winter. I had hoped to have more to eat off of this summer though.

 

[vfem]

Now I can say mine were all at the BOTTOM of the bucket... nothing was anywhere in the hilled area at all. Who knows how that worked...

I will probably do store bought potato eyes as seeds again... I have not heard any good news yet from people on their potato harvests.... my neighbor tried to get some new potatoes out of one of his hills a couple weeks ago and got nothing.

 

[COgirl]

I got some new potatoes from my all blues last week. My cranberry reds and yukons aren't flowering quite yet as they are later varieties. I didn't get to hill as much because of wet weather but I do have them strawed pretty well, and as I have poked around they do seem to be developing.
FYI - I talked to the folks at Wood Prairie Farm last year because the taters I ordered from them weren't flowering I was told that potato plants may or may not flower but they will still produce. Finally the King Harry's flowered and the cranberry's did somewhat and the yukon never really did at all, my best harvest was from the cranberrys and yukon.

 

[jamespm_98]

I have had decent success with Red Pontiac and Irish potatoes this year. I plant mine shallow and then mulch them with leaves and grass clippings as they grow. Instead of just waiting for the potatoes to all come in at once, I just start pulling back the mulch and pulling out earlies as I need them. I do think this cuts down in the total yeild, but it is convienent since we can eat potatoes along. The only real issue is I have to fight with the fire ants since they seem to like potatoes as much as me!

 

[warmfuzzies]

Mie havent all flowered either. I planted 10 lbs, and at last count I had 136 plants.

My red pontiacs are the biggest, they are around 2-2 1/2 ft tall.

My russian bananas are small, some only 6 inches above the mulch, I mulched once. I know red pontiacs are fast growers, and I think that is why, also they are in the shade so they havent had to deal with the heat.

I dug up enough new potatoes from a few plants to make one supper. They were slightly bigger then marble sized! The plants hadnt bloomed yet, they died so I went ahead and dug them up.

DH said they were the best potatoes he has ever tasted, and he keeps asking for more!