Potatoes are all planted!!

Danaus29 · #1 05-14-2008, 01:31 AM

Finally! The last of them went into the new garden. Just dropped them on the dirt and covered them with cut grass and some of the nasty straw from the duck pen. I still have loads of nasty straw left so there will be a nice pile of it on the potatoes by early summer.

Bird Lover · #2 05-14-2008, 06:12 PM

LOL, Nasty Straw....a new garden fertilizer!

Danaus29 · #3 05-14-2008, 07:03 PM

When it's full of manure and soaking wet it really is nasty. Good thing smell-o-vision hasn't been invented yet. The stuff really stinks, and if you handle it your hands will smell of it for days, no matter how well you wash them. Fortunately once spread on the garden in thin layers the smell vanishes. I have to use rubber gloves to handle it. The funny part is when I am cleaning the stuff out of the pen, the earthworms just love being in the nasty straw, the ducks love the worms, the ducks are smart enough to make the connection. When I start gathering the straw I am quickly surrounded by a dozen or so over-anxious ducks, who sometimes mistake my fingers for worms.

greenasagourd · #4 05-15-2008, 04:02 PM

Yum! New potatoes! I love them, but have never grown them. You've inspired me Rhonda. When I get my little veggie garden expansion complete, someday soon,

I'll try them there! Enjoy your spuds, bud!

Pburgh · #5 05-15-2008, 06:02 PM

Little red potatoes with butter and parsley. I've only planted potatoes once but they were amazing.

I didn't use nasty straw!!!

petal*pusher · #6 05-15-2008, 08:45 PM

Hmmmm....sure brings back memories Rhonda! We lived out of a 2 acre organic garden when I was a youngin'! I have fond memories of helping Dad drop 'em in! A while back, I found an antique potato planter that worked by putting the potato chunks in a long chute, then with a foot-lever, you could stand there and let them drop into the soil.

Your post also reminded me of some experiments people do planting potatoes on their decks in bags of soil...........always wanted to try this. I've noticed a huge variety of potatoes in the grocery store......maybe THIS year! Here's some info.........p

Top Veg » Blog Archive » How to Grow Potatoes in a Bag in Ten steps

Peak Oil News >> Forums >> Planning For The Future >> Grow Potatoes in a Garbage Bag...

Potatoes for Survival Gardening–It's in the Bag!

Bird Lover · #7 05-15-2008, 11:10 PM

Funny, I grew potatoes quite by accident, by throwing the growing "eyes" in my compost. I guess there were a few good chunks in there, that grew into nice sized potatoes!
I have a gardening friend in Ohio who has a greenhouse & sells some of her flowers & veggies. Last year she sold bags of red white & blue potatoes. She plans on growing more this year, they sold like hotcakes!.

Danaus29 · #8 05-15-2008, 11:32 PM

I've got blue potatoes! The first batch I got there were only a few good ones, the next year there were a bunch of little ones and a few big ones. I'm hoping for enough to eat this year.

Pburgh · #9 05-16-2008, 01:34 PM

Hey, I could make potato salad for July 4th with those red, white and blue potatoes!!!!

herasday · #10 05-17-2008, 03:28 AM

Petal, thanks for the links on growing potatoes in a bag. I'm going to check them out. When I was at the old house, I had a cheap compbst bin that I grew potatoes in a couple years in a row. I chose the "fingerling" potatoes.....oh, to die for!!

The compost bin was the kind that is a flat piece of stiff plastic with air holes in it. Also there were a set of tall metal rod stakes with hooks on one end. You make a cylinder out of the piece of plastic, thread one of the rods through holes in each of the ends to hold it, and set it on the ground, then put more of the rods through other holes around the bin to support the sides, put a layer of compost in the bottom, layer of seed potatoes, another layer of compost, and keep layering. The vines grew out the side holes and formed the tubers inside. As the top layer grows up, you keep adding compost to cover all but the topmost leaves, they keep growing until the bin is full, then spill out over the sides and blend with the vines growing out of the "air slots" ...very pretty actually. Potato blossoms are quite nice, and the vines aren't shabby, either. (as long as you don't get potato bugs or something on them). In fall when you would normally dig the potatoes, you just pull out the rods and let the bin fall apart and you have a pile of more or less loose compost with potatoes you can just pull out of the pile of dirt instead of having to dig.

But the bag sounds even easier.