potatoes

oldironman · Sep 29, 2011

I had real good luck with potatoes in the garden this summer and would like to plant more next year. What do you guys that grow them for a living plant. I am in central New York. The ones that I planted this year were Russets, I think that's what they called them. I got them from Wall mart.

Dell (WA) · Sep 29, 2011

oldironman........when I grew potatoes, contrary to commercial practice of cutting the spuds for more plants; I planted the whole spud inna stack of rubber tires fulla hay/straw. Each "eye" grew a whole new plant with many "tubeliers" (spuds) No diggin' to harvest. Just hadda keep the straw WET. Simple, eh? ........Dell

NY 986 · Sep 29, 2011

A lot of people here in the Finger Lakes grow Red Pontiacs, Yukons, and Kennebecs among other varieties. I wish I was blessed with good enough soil by the house to do potatoes. Maybe I can put a small bed together for next year.

Billy NY · Sep 29, 2011

I did well with taters this year too. I planted red ones from the store, I think they were organic as they had "eyes", and sprouted. Had a bunch I did not cook, went bad, but they grew nice, 2 fist size ones for each plant and a bunch of smalls in the mix, they were great, even tasted em raw, as soon as I picked em. Have not done potatoes in a long time. I sliced and left 2 eyes on each piece, did not wait til they "healed" or dried where you cut them, planted em seemed to work fine.

1130Leo · Sep 29, 2011

I always keep a bunch of the small ones in the basement for next years planting. I have Russett's, Pontiac Reds, and some of the "Blue" potatoes.

I heard from a guy this year that the commercial growers actually spray their potatoes with Round UP to make them ready for Harvest, I thought he was nuts, but then I actually drove past a field while they were spraying. Is this now common? If so, I'm going to have to grow all my own from now on, I really do not appreciate being subjected to Round Up Tainted Potatoes....

Jim in Ma. · Sep 29, 2011

Kennebecs are a good one to grow , as they will keep all winter if stered in a cool dry place.
The red ones are good if you are going to eat them soon.
My dad always planted some Coblers to eat early on and save the K's for the winter.
Other good winter potatoes would be Green Mountian or Russits.

El Toro · Sep 29, 2011

I always planted the Kennebec and Red Bliss. It's hard to believe we ate all those potatoes.
I had 5 rows of Kennebec and one row of the Red Bliss all 100-feet long. Kept them in old freezer buried on its back. They kept very well in there. Hal

hd6gtom · Sep 29, 2011

We like yukon golds, dad always planted Kennebecks, south central Iowa.

Tony in Mass. · Sep 29, 2011

When you look in an old potato planter Bill, it cuts the potato into pieces a second before it is planted, I suppose for a 100% garanteed crop, which isn't going to happen anyway, little tricks babying them help. I plant the kind we like to eat. What good are they if they grow well, got a million of them- and you can't cook it to come out the way you want to eat it?

mazemeister · Sep 29, 2011

I"m pretty sure that your contact is mistaken. Roundup is a nonselective systemic herbicide that kills a plant and is moved into the roots. not good when you want to eat the roots.
What many commercial potato farmers DO do is to use a nonselective contact herbicide to "vine-kill" before harvest- usually about 2 weeks before. Paraquat and Diquat are two common materials. They require thorough coverage and only kill the foliage where the chemical touches.

The reason this is done is that when a potato plant is actively growing, the tubers have a very thin skin that is easily injured. When the above ground parts of the plant die, the skin toughens up and can withstand the handling during harvest. It also helps if there are weeds in the field- by killing them and letting them rot for a couple weeks, they are much easier to separate from the crop.

northvale · Sep 29, 2011

I grow Kennebecs for keeping and Reds for eating in summer. The Kennebecs are probably the best tasting white potatoes. I do have horrible potato bugs to deal with, and because I grow alfalfa, leaf hoppers hit the plants hard too.

36 Coupe · Oct 1, 2011

There are 2 sprays that will stop potato bugs .Nuprid and Spinosad.Expensive but they work.No need to see your vines stripped of foliage.Store prices on red potatoes are 1.29 a pound here.I get some Kennebecs that weigh a pound.I never see Kennebec sold in stores here.Save your own seed.I needed a few Kennebecs to finish a row,cost 69 cents a pound.

36 Coupe · Oct 1, 2011

Ive been cooking potatoes since I was 10 years old.You can fry em in a skillet, boil em,bake em.Ive cooked them in coals of a camp fire, boiled em in a quart juice over a camp fire.Micro wave is the worst way.Cut em up small with other veggies, wrap in a foil pack on a charcoal grill with some olive oil.French fried potatoes are the finast kind.A little vinegar that has a few cloves of garlic in the bottle sprinkled on french fried Kennebecs is good.Boiled and mashed potatoes with butter, salt, pepper and a little Ranch dressing makes a good meal any time of day.Home fries made with yesterdays left over potatoes is a favorite in Maine.A Maine Kennebec potato grown in my garden beats an over fertilized over watered blah potato grown out west and trucked in at great expense.

36 Coupe · Oct 8, 2011

Many potatoes are sprayed so they wont sprout.Cutting seed potatoes invites rot.I plant golf ball sized seed.Dont mess with store potatoes.Buy some Kennebec seed,once you get a crop save your own seed.I have been growing potatoes for over 60 years now.

potatoes

oldironman

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Dell (WA)

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NY 986

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Billy NY

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1130Leo

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Jim in Ma.

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El Toro

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hd6gtom

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Tony in Mass.

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mazemeister

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northvale

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36 Coupe

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36 Coupe

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36 Coupe

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