Potatoes....all those varieties...

[Ridgerunner]

I'm certainly following this thread. It's interesting. But I'll mention that I have had white potatoes and sweet potatoes rot in the ground when it sets in really wet. My ground does not drain really well which might have something to do with it.

 

[Beekissed]

I have clay soil here that doesn't drain well either, but I didn't put these taters down into that sinkhole at all...probably would have rotted for sure. I placed them on top of the soil and covered them back over with the ramial wood chip layer that's been rotting since last May that I have here on the garden and then started piling on the other materials. It's kept them relatively humid/damp but not saturated.

It's been interesting to see how they've kept under there and will be even more interesting to see how they produce.

 

[Mauldintiger]

Bee, I really like this idea, plus you are a year ahead of me and can be the Guinea pig! ha! I don't really need the space for my fall garden, so that's not a problem. I guess what I need to decide is do I just leave them on the ground under mulch and use as needed.
Or, and I think I like this better, is dig them later in September and immediately replant what I need for 2017 seed. DW insists on washing any potato that comes out of the garden, so that's another problem solved. And finally it saves a heap of money that I spent on seed potatoes and freight. I guess I could put some in the crisper as well. Hope I have a big crop so I can try all these experiments.
What varieties do you use?
And Thanks, much food for thought.

 

[Beekissed]

I usually just plant Red Pontiacs and Kennebecs, though this year there might be a few Yukon Golds in there as I planted some from my brother's garden and he had all three varieties in the spuds he brought to us. The reds aren't a real good keeper in the soil if keeping it there all winter for storage but the Kennebecs have that nice, thick skin that keeps them very well under those conditions. I'll be interested to see how the reds and golds do with this planting method.

I can't wait to see how it turns out too! Should be real interesting as I've never tried anything like this before...but then, this is the first time I've tried this Back to Eden garden method also, so all of it's interesting to me.

 

[Mauldintiger]

The secret may be the Kennebecs. This started because I wanted to save seed til next spring to save money, but it morphed into overall potato storage. I have for early season red Norlund and Purple Viking, mid season Satina that the Maine Potato Lady Reccomended, and late season Red Pontiac which I love. I will experiment with leaving a few of all of those, but I'm going to put the bulk of my seed potatoes in my garage refrigerator crisper. It should hold enough if the seed potatoes are egg size.
And I just came up from the garden after finding a place to put the Kennebecs that I think I can source locally. They are late season and with Bees comment about the thick skins, I think they will work best. My uncle also Reccomended them. I am almost positive that's what my grandparents grew and I can promise you that they never bought any seed of any kind! So they obviously figured out some way to hold them over and I never saw any kind of root cellar, so I bet they just left them in the ground, but they could have traded with other farmers.
Only thing is I remember eating green beans with fatback and new RED potatoes steamed on top. So how did they keep the red ones. Their refrigerator was probably a third the size of mine and I have two. Guess I need to go talk to my 95 year old uncle tomorrow, he'll know and I'll pass his wisdom on to you guys. I love the Internet, but sometimes you need that knowledge passed down from your forefathers!
Thanks Bee!

 

[Mauldintiger]

Also, I'm not Back to Eden, but sheet mulch is close.

 

[Beekissed]

Might have done what we always did....ate the Red Pontiacs first. They aren't the best keepers, so we always ate them as new potatoes much as you describe...along with other new crops such as carrots, peas, etc., in pot pies, tater soup, you name it.

The Pontiacs were always better for this due to their thin skins, while the Kennebecs were our storage spuds. We always had a cellar, so they got stored separately and consumed first part of the fall/winter, while the Kennebecs were our long term storage.

 

[Mauldintiger]

I understand that, so how did they keep the thin skinned seed potatoes?

 

[Beekissed]

They just kind of shriveled up and held their own until spring...had good eyes/sprouts on them by then and could be planted. Since there weren't that many left in the bin, they didn't tend to rot or anything...we had usually used up all the biggest spuds and the tiniest ones by then, leaving the tennis ball sized ones behind.

 

[Mauldintiger]

Good to know, I just planted some potato onions that I almost threw away, but they had some green sprouts. Put them in the ground and they are growing well. Thanks for all your help.