time frame for planting potatoes
 

I have never put much thought into planting potatoes. For years we planted them around May 1 in Ukraine. Here in Chicago, I kept about the same.
But this spring is a bit different- for one we had very warm winter so soil is not cold, for seconds- my bulbs are blooming about 3 weeks ahead of schedule.
Should I consider earlier planting for potatoes?

Lindalana you should be OK to plant now. My garden is zone 6 in the NC mountains and I planted last week. We are expecting snow next week mid week but probably only flurries as the ground is too warm for any significant accumulation.

I don't know about Chicago but in NW Lousiana we plant potatoes mid February... Valentine's Day.

Bob

I could have planted them in October this year.

Worth

Linda, I looked at several sites for the Chicago area. This one [URL]http://web.extension.illinois.edu/vegguide/grow_potato.cfm[/URL] is saying potato planting dates from April 1 - 15th.

I'm not superstitious, but planting on April 1 might mean you plant a potato and it grows up being a bull nettle...:lol::evil:

I wish I could answer your question better. The farthest north I have visited is Northern Arkansas.

Thanks much! Am going to experiment and try planting a bit earlier.

I'm 50 miles north of St. Louis ... Most people plant on St Patrick's day around here (March 17th), I planted a week later, they aren't up yet.

we have pretty cold few days coming, last night there was spotty freeze, should I be concerned early shoots will freeze?

Throw a layer of straw over them, they should be alright.

Do potatoes do well in shady locations?

I'm at the other end of the state, and ours are not planted yet. Grandpa always used his old Farmall tractor to throw up a ridge of dirt, and then planted in that ridge. The soil warms faster that way.

I'm looking at the long-range forecast for my weather, and it looks like the last freeze is going to be this weekend. Gardens are going in next week.

[QUOTE=Cole_Robbie;549184]I'm at the other end of the state, and ours are not planted yet. Grandpa always used his old Farmall tractor to throw up a ridge of dirt, and then planted in that ridge. The soil warms faster that way.

I'm looking at the long-range forecast for my weather, and it looks like the last freeze is going to be this weekend. Gardens are going in next week.[/QUOTE]

I have radishes,spinach,beets,snow peas,lettuce,onions,cabbage and Brussels sprouts that have gone thru 5-6 frosts, all looking pretty good. Potatoes,kale and turnips aren't up yet. I need to get tomato plants in, the first ones I started are over a foot tall, but it's been 70 degrees one day, frost a couple nights later...

[QUOTE=BigVanVader;549063]Do potatoes do well in shady locations?[/QUOTE]

Mine are growing in partial shade and doing fine.
I will have to see how many hours of sunlight the get but not a heck of a lot.

[url]https://extension.umaine.edu/publications/2412e/[/url]

My seed potatoes are approaching old, as described above. I'm up in the air about planting them now.

- Lisa

I may try buckets, I really don't have the space anywhere else and would be easy harvest them if they did grow.

I've tried twice to grow potatoes and both times NADA. I'm going to try fall planting them this year.

After about a 10 year wait, I finally have some Green Mountains. Now I wait for the eyes to sprout and the weather to warm.

I planted in containers this year and they are doing great. I started these the 1st of March, the 1st 3 half barrels are Yukon Gold & the last one is Russet from the grocery store. The Russets grew slower than YG but they almost caught up and they just started to flower. From the looks of things, I say it's so much easier in containers. I'll know when I harvest but if I can get 10-15 pounds from a container then I'll just start them at different times.

[IMG]http://i1116.photobucket.com/albums/k570/robnms/Mobile%20Uploads/20160409_171147.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i1116.photobucket.com/albums/k570/robnms/Mobile%20Uploads/20160414_144327.jpg[/IMG]

I start planting potatoes when lilacs start blooming. Does it work everywhere ? I really don't know.

Long range forecasts for here, zone 6, show good weather from now to June. It was 80 yesterday !
I figure I'll plant this week. I have German Butterball, late season, be nice to get a jump on it.

[QUOTE=Rajun Gardener;552010]I planted in containers this year and they are doing great. I started these the 1st of March, the 1st 3 half barrels are Yukon Gold & the last one is Russet from the grocery store. The Russets grew slower than YG but they almost caught up and they just started to flower. From the looks of things, I say it's so much easier in containers. I'll know when I harvest but if I can get 10-15 pounds from a container then I'll just start them at different times.

[IMG]http://i1116.photobucket.com/albums/k570/robnms/Mobile%20Uploads/20160409_171147.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i1116.photobucket.com/albums/k570/robnms/Mobile%20Uploads/20160414_144327.jpg[/IMG][/QUOTE]

Wow! Nice set up! Your potatoes are looking good!

Ginny

Ok, so some potatoes took a hit last night. It was supps to be 38 but apparently went down more

I think more than potatoes took a hit for a few people, the temps up there are crazy low and down here it's been a very hot humid 87 for about a week. My poor plants are getting stressed from the heat.

It's been hitting 100 here, the potatoes and onions are starting to call it quits. Can't wait to dig them & see what I got!

Lindalana,
I posted shortly after you started this thread. As mentioned earlier my potato planting was the last week of March. In the NC mountains zone 6, since the last week of March we have had temps as low as the mid 20's and one Saturday with an inch of snow. I travel between the SC coast and the mountains so I was away from the garden from March 27 (when I started my tomato seeding) and April 20th. When I returned in April I noted only a few of my potatoes had germinated. On my next trip to NC last Thursday almost all of my potatoes had germinated and were very prolific. I am still in NC planting my vegetables and tomatoes. I took a few photos today and have a couple more pics to complete as I finish planting my tomatoes. Will post them late tomorrow. Good luck with your potatoes, weather should not be an issue, IMO...

[QUOTE=Lindalana;560298]Ok, so some potatoes took a hit last night. It was supps to be 38 but apparently went down more[/QUOTE]

39 for the low last night here..potatoes look good,lost a lot of blooms on tomatoes and peppers, plants look good though.

Potatoes did overgrew most of the damage, pic from last week. For last couple of warm days we are going... need to hill again.

I remember planting potatoes on St Patrick's Day in Southern Maryland as a kid. My dad would take care of the horses while our cousin Robert had us kids planting the fields.

I actually did plant some last Fall (outside of Philly, PA); about half made it through and are doing better than my Spring planted stock. (Noticed today some of those fingerlings are setting buds.)

Anyone here raise two crops per season? Do you do anything special before you replant? (Like chill the tubers for a few days, or anything.)

2 crops is doable even far north of you.
You can't use seed potato from the spring for the summer planting, sourcing summer tubers is a challenge, you may need to hold over some of your disease free tubers and keep them cool.
If they get "physiologically old" they will just grow tops.