Anyone ever grown potatoes this close?

Old School · May 21, 2018

I wasn't sure how many potatoes would come in a 3 pound bag of seed potatoes. I ordered 3 bags (9 pounds total). One bag of Purple Viking and 2 bags of Yukon Gold. I filled the bed up with cow manure compost blend and covered with straw about 4 inches deep. I did this to try to avoid hilling them up again although I have plenty of straw left over should I need to top them off. I ended up with 28 total potatoes which I planted whole...no need chitting them with this many

The bed is 4' x 8'. The sides are 10" high. Just curious if anyone else ever tried this type of concentration when planting their potatoes?

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The above 3 photos were taken the day I planted them 4-21-18. The one below was taken today 5-21-18.

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PhilaGardener · May 21, 2018

First picture had me worried - glad you got them out of the mesh bags!

You yield may depend on light and water more than anything else. Looking forward to hearing how the experiment goes!

pmcgrady · May 21, 2018

I've got 4-50' rows of potatoes in (mostly fingerlings) I got a 50' row of Rose Finn Apple planted from 3#s of seed potatoes, I only got 25' of Magic Molly for #3's of seed potatoes... 12" spacing on both. Rose Finns are over a foot tall already.

Old School · May 22, 2018

I see a few videos now of others who are planting them closer in raised beds. All the other videos, especially those made by people planting out in fields, had them being planted like 2 feet apart and 3 feet between rows. My plan was to have a full bed of potatoes to harvest without wasting space. It's a brand new bed with all new soil plus some potato feed. The compost manure is especially loved by worms and I grew my best garden ever last year. I still think I may only need 2 bags (3 lbs. each) of potatoes for this space. This season will tell

Yes PhilaGardener, I wasn't going to plant them still in the mesh bags

Although, I wonder if you could lay a few mesh mags under the potatoes and gather them up to harvest and have them already bagged and ready to store

It would be a real time saver

velikipop · May 25, 2018

I grow potatoes regularly and always in trenches about 8 inches apart that I hill up later. I also cut each spud into pieces with at least two eyes and never plant them in soil that has fresh manure, it promotes potato scab. I tried growing them in straw one year and it was a huge failure. I don't know if it was because the straw kept them too wet or because there were not enough nutrients in the straw.

Worth1 · May 22, 2018

Got some in a closet that close growing in a bag now.

Worth

**carolyn137** · May 23, 2018

Sure, I've grown lots of potato varieties, but not since I moved to where I am now

Every year I'd plant a 252 ft row of them,I got them from two places,one in Oregon and the other in Maine.

No way can I remember what all the varieties were but I do remember Purple Viking,though and Yukon Gold, and lots of finger ones as well,one was banana, that I remember.

And I never planted whole potatoes, I'd cut sections that had one or two eyes,then if the soil was still cold,sprinkle Sulfa on the cut surfaces then dig a hole and plant them and hill them up as they grew taller.

Then came Fall, maybe even a first freeze and I'd be out there with a shovel, my back to that cold N wind digging them up and putting them in baskets.

More than once I felt that I was back in medieval times, digging potatoes with a passion since I remember that's all we had to eat back then.

Where I live now it's Big potato country,the Atwater family alone had hundreds of acres
and same for the Sheldons and in the Fall all the stands around here,especially Stannards, had lots of different varieties for sale.

The commercial folks have those machines that harvest that way and when they were through with a field they would open it up to anyone who wanted to go looking for the small ones left.

And no better eating than those small red ones,boil, cut them in half and drench them with butter fresh parsley on them.

Carolyn, who notes that the town she lives near, was settled originally by the Irish, and their family names are still here. Maybe I shouldn't say this but when my septic tank froze up in the bitter cold of January,it was Snell Septic who helped out and when he came in to explain everything I found out his name was Rhyne Snell, no better first name than Rhyne to indicate an Irish background.

Carolyn

GrowingCoastal · May 23, 2018

Quote:

And no better eating than those small red ones,boil, cut them in half and drench them with butter fresh parsley on them.

Also great with fresh garlic, or scapes and rosemary with oil or butter.

**carolyn137** · May 24, 2018

Quote:

Originally Posted by GrowingCoastal

Also great with fresh garlic, or scapes and rosemary with oil or butter.

I'm sure they tasted great with what you used.

But I'm 1/4 Swedish and the Swedes always used parsley, and I forgot to mention chives and sprinkle them on everything.

A typical plate of food was almost always white since almost everything was creamed. my mother cooked what her mother did and my grandmother was a Carlson from Uppsala, Sweden. Several branches of the Carlson's immigrated to the US.

Carolyn

GrowingCoastal · May 25, 2018

Quote:

Originally Posted by carolyn137

I'm sure they tasted great with what you used.

But I'm 1/4 Swedish and the Swedes always used parsley, and I forgot to mention chives and sprinkle them on everything.

A typical plate of food was almost always white since almost everything was creamed. my mother cooked what her mother did and my grandmother was a Carlson from Uppsala, Sweden. Several branches of the Carlson's immigrated to the US.

Carolyn

My mother too cooked things only a few certain ways. Though I also use chives with tomatoes and on soups etc and must have parsley and black pepper on carrots I have expanded my horizons to include different things, the potatoes + garlic + rosemary idea coming from an Englishman. My garlic is scaping now and I look forward to having them on something soon! New potatoes, even from the store, will do.

PhilaGardener · May 23, 2018

I have to dig after they die back here or they start to sprout again before Fall (or rot in our clay soil)!

brownrexx · May 24, 2018

In my experience planting them too close together yields smaller potatoes. I like big baking potatoes and only get them if I leave a decent amount of space between plants.

NathanP · May 27, 2018

You probably have about twice as many potatoes in that bed as you need. You'll probably get mostly small potatoes as a result. Potatoes typically respond to crowding by producing a larger quantity of small potatoes.

At about 2.25-2.5 ft2 per plant, about 13-14 potatoes would be ideal in that raised bed.

Old School · May 28, 2018

Thanks NathanP and brownrexx! That was basically what I was wondering about

I'll see what turns out now that it's done and have a better idea for next year

velikipop · May 28, 2018

Size and quantity of potatoes are dependent on a number of factors, such as type, quality of soil and availability of nutrients. Spacing can vary from very close to three feet apart depending on whether the potato is early, mid or late season; or if it is a regular round type or fingerling. If you do a quick search you will find plenty of information on best growing practices for potatoes. Tom Wagner who is a member of TV would be the go to expert on this, hopefully he sees this thread.

Alex

May 21, 2018	#1
Old School Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2014 Location: Central PA, Zone 6 Posts: 93	Anyone ever grown potatoes this close? I wasn't sure how many potatoes would come in a 3 pound bag of seed potatoes. I ordered 3 bags (9 pounds total). One bag of Purple Viking and 2 bags of Yukon Gold. I filled the bed up with cow manure compost blend and covered with straw about 4 inches deep. I did this to try to avoid hilling them up again although I have plenty of straw left over should I need to top them off. I ended up with 28 total potatoes which I planted whole...no need chitting them with this many The bed is 4' x 8'. The sides are 10" high. Just curious if anyone else ever tried this type of concentration when planting their potatoes? IMG_1672.jpg IMG_1673.jpg IMG_1676.jpg The above 3 photos were taken the day I planted them 4-21-18. The one below was taken today 5-21-18. IMG_1806.jpg __________________ -Frank

May 22, 2018	#4
Old School Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2014 Location: Central PA, Zone 6 Posts: 93	I see a few videos now of others who are planting them closer in raised beds. All the other videos, especially those made by people planting out in fields, had them being planted like 2 feet apart and 3 feet between rows. My plan was to have a full bed of potatoes to harvest without wasting space. It's a brand new bed with all new soil plus some potato feed. The compost manure is especially loved by worms and I grew my best garden ever last year. I still think I may only need 2 bags (3 lbs. each) of potatoes for this space. This season will tell Yes PhilaGardener, I wasn't going to plant them still in the mesh bags Although, I wonder if you could lay a few mesh mags under the potatoes and gather them up to harvest and have them already bagged and ready to store It would be a real time saver __________________ -Frank

May 25, 2018	#5
velikipop Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Langley, BC Posts: 768	I grow potatoes regularly and always in trenches about 8 inches apart that I hill up later. I also cut each spud into pieces with at least two eyes and never plant them in soil that has fresh manure, it promotes potato scab. I tried growing them in straw one year and it was a huge failure. I don't know if it was because the straw kept them too wet or because there were not enough nutrients in the straw. __________________ I'll plant and I'll harvest what the earth brings forth The hammer's on the table, the pitchfork's on the shelf Bob Dylan

May 23, 2018	#7
carolyn137 Moderator Emeritus Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Upstate NY, zone 4b/5a Posts: 21,169	Sure, I've grown lots of potato varieties, but not since I moved to where I am now Every year I'd plant a 252 ft row of them,I got them from two places,one in Oregon and the other in Maine. No way can I remember what all the varieties were but I do remember Purple Viking,though and Yukon Gold, and lots of finger ones as well,one was banana, that I remember. And I never planted whole potatoes, I'd cut sections that had one or two eyes,then if the soil was still cold,sprinkle Sulfa on the cut surfaces then dig a hole and plant them and hill them up as they grew taller. Then came Fall, maybe even a first freeze and I'd be out there with a shovel, my back to that cold N wind digging them up and putting them in baskets. More than once I felt that I was back in medieval times, digging potatoes with a passion since I remember that's all we had to eat back then. Where I live now it's Big potato country,the Atwater family alone had hundreds of acres and same for the Sheldons and in the Fall all the stands around here,especially Stannards, had lots of different varieties for sale. The commercial folks have those machines that harvest that way and when they were through with a field they would open it up to anyone who wanted to go looking for the small ones left. And no better eating than those small red ones,boil, cut them in half and drench them with butter fresh parsley on them. Carolyn, who notes that the town she lives near, was settled originally by the Irish, and their family names are still here. Maybe I shouldn't say this but when my septic tank froze up in the bitter cold of January,it was Snell Septic who helped out and when he came in to explain everything I found out his name was Rhyne Snell, no better first name than Rhyne to indicate an Irish background. Carolyn __________________ Carolyn

May 28, 2018	#14
Old School Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2014 Location: Central PA, Zone 6 Posts: 93	Thanks NathanP and brownrexx! That was basically what I was wondering about I'll see what turns out now that it's done and have a better idea for next year __________________ -Frank

May 21, 2018	#2
PhilaGardener Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Near Philadelphia, PA Posts: 1,940	First picture had me worried - glad you got them out of the mesh bags! You yield may depend on light and water more than anything else. Looking forward to hearing how the experiment goes!

May 21, 2018	#3
pmcgrady Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: Central Illinois Posts: 1,836	I've got 4-50' rows of potatoes in (mostly fingerlings) I got a 50' row of Rose Finn Apple planted from 3#s of seed potatoes, I only got 25' of Magic Molly for #3's of seed potatoes... 12" spacing on both. Rose Finns are over a foot tall already.

May 22, 2018	#6
Worth1 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Den of Drunken Fools Posts: 38,539	Got some in a closet that close growing in a bag now. Worth

May 24, 2018	#12
brownrexx Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2016 Location: Southeastern PA Posts: 1,420	In my experience planting them too close together yields smaller potatoes. I like big baking potatoes and only get them if I leave a decent amount of space between plants.

May 27, 2018	#13
NathanP Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2013 Location: RI Posts: 183	You probably have about twice as many potatoes in that bed as you need. You'll probably get mostly small potatoes as a result. Potatoes typically respond to crowding by producing a larger quantity of small potatoes. At about 2.25-2.5 ft2 per plant, about 13-14 potatoes would be ideal in that raised bed.