[Acebird]

I am trying this forum for gardening.

We did an experiment. Instead of throwing away all the little potatoes we harvested last year I put them in a cardboard box and a paper bag and put them in the cellar. Come early spring the eyes grew about a foot long or better. The potato itself was wilted beyond belief. So what, we threw them in the ground in the worst soil I have and tonight we ate little red salt potatoes that were as good as the mothers they came from. It was a whim and it paid off. Grass fed ham stake and peas complimented the potatoes.

God, we live good.

 

[gunter62]

Fresh Taters! Yum!!:thumbsup:

 

[Ravenseye]

Every year I plant a few short rows of potatoes. And every year when they start to come up, I have a few "rogue" plants that clearly are not in line with the others. Those are the ones I missed the fall before. Love them spuds!

 

[Tenbears]

Grass fed ham stake and peas complimented the potatoes.

God, we live good.

You feed your pigs grass?

 

[biggraham610]

we do that same thing every year, thought everyone saved a few for spring.....:scratch:

 

[Acebird]

And every year when they start to come up, I have a few "rogue" plants that clearly are not in line with the others.

That is what gave us the idea. If they could make it through our winter in the frozen ground they aught to be able to make it in the cellar where it doesn't freeze. You don't plant your spuds in the same row every year do you?
In our protected garden I had to dig potatoes by hand which is tiring so I missed a lot of small ones. Now I have long straight rows and machinery so planting and harvesting is a piece of cake.

 

[Acebird]

You feed your pigs grass?

We can't raise them in the city. We buy from someone that raises them for us. Probably the more appropriate term is pasture raised. They are fattened on grain but not raised on corn.

 

[biggraham610]

That is what gave us the idea. If they could make it through our winter in the frozen ground they aught to be able to make it in the cellar where it doesn't freeze. You don't plant your spuds in the same row every year do you?
In our protected garden I had to dig potatoes by hand which is tiring so I missed a lot of small ones. Now I have long straight rows and machinery so planting and harvesting is a piece of cake.

I still dig em by hand. No, I rotate yearly all my crops in the garden. Have a good one. I have dug hills in the early spring before that were just as good as the ones I dug the summer before.Have a good one. G

 

[NeilV]

I had one potato plant come up from last year's bed as a volunteer this year, and I ate those potatoes this week. I have trouble keeping the from summer to the next spring. I wish I had a basement.

I did plant some sweet potato slips I made from last year's sweet potato crop though. We're still eating the sweet potatoes I dug last October. Here in Oklahoma, I think sweet potatoes may be the easiest crop to grow, plus they drive nearly all the weeds out of a big parcel of garden between July and October.

 

[Acebird]

Up here you barely get what you put in the ground with sweet potatoes. Growing season to short, or not warm enough.

 

[Ravenseye]

I try to rotate but it's a small garden and I usually plant by the amount of sun it gets. If I can ever find the time to finish the wheels and ag tires on the old cub cadet, I'll hook up the bottom plow and double the garden size. That'll make it easier. This year it's three rows of potatoes, a handful of cherry tomato plants, some oriental eggplant, some cukes, a couple rows of garlic, some peppers, some brussels sprouts and some butternut squash. Once the squash get going they'll take over everything anyway. I also built a small, raised herb table for my son and he's got all kinds of stuff growing in there. We didn't get many apple or peach blossoms so that'll be an off year. Maple tapping was weeks short here as well so I only have a few quarts left right about now. Weird year but I like being a part of it all.

Acebird, I was going to try sweet potatoes this year but chickened out. What kind do you plant?

 

[Acebird]

My wife buys all the garden plants and throws all the records away so if we find something that works good it is hard to figure out what it was. We are not planting sweet potatoes anymore. You may have better luck in Ma. I know we got them from the Main potato lady but have not had good luck getting her to fill orders lately. NO fingerlings this year except for the volunteers. We caned 13 quarts last year.

If I can ever find the time to finish the wheels and ag tires on the old cub cadet, I'll hook up the bottom plow and double the garden size.

You got to love machinery. It can make a weeks work into a joy ride.

 

[RiodeLobo]

I have never had any luck wintering potatoes in the ground. How do you get them to make it?

 

[Acebird]

I don't know what the circumstances have to be it just happens. It may be just the nodules that are growing the following year but I have found perfectly good potatoes when digging in the spring that I missed the year before. It may be related to how deep the frost goes

 

[NeilV]

Same as Brian. It happens by accident. I have also had potatoes sprout from a random piece of potato from the compost pile. We are not supposed to compost potatoes due to disease concerns, but sometimes they get in there anyway.

 

[Ravenseye]

Same for me too. I usually find a couple of potatoes that I missed and they're in pretty good shape considering they've been in the ground all winter. The others were ones I missed both when I harvested in the fall and when I planted in the spring. They pop up a few inches or sometimes a foot or more away from the seeds I put in. I just let them grow and see what I get.