Information and discussion for successfully cultivating potatoes, the world's fourth largest crop.
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#1 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: Brantford, ON, Canada
Posts: 1,341
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There is much mis-information published in garden books and on the internet about growing potatoes.Potato growth along the stem has been debunked. A potato is a forgiving plant and anybody can grow them. But growing for perfection is another matter. My objective is to grow the plants for maximum production and quality, under the best conditions available.
http://www.durgan.org/URL/?NZXFE 2 May 2010 Planting Potatoes http://www.durgan.org/URL/?EBGHM 12 June 2010 Potatoes. Growth from 2 May until 12 June 2010. New tubers of the potato plant grow about six inches above and around the seed stock in a circle. The new tubers must be covered to prevent light turning them green indicating solanine, which is harmful if ingested. This is the sole and only reason for hilling.There still persists an irrational belief that potatoes grow from stolons along the stalk, and often high hilling is undertaken to encourage this imaginary growth. This practice hides the leaves of the plant, which is forced o produce more leaves for survival, which is self defeating.My method is to plant the potatoes in a small trench, and when the plant is six to eight inches high to fill the trench with soil to a depth of about six inches above the seed potato. Potatoes need constant moisture, so the hilled potatoes are heavily mulched after a heavy rainfall to prevent moisture evaporation. The vegetation is allowed to flourish, generating food for the new tubers. Hiding the vegetation by unnecessarily concealing by hilling is bad culture practice.Commercial growing or a very large patch required mass hilling due to the effort required. But the small home gardener can produce ideal conditions. Production should be measured by the weight and useful size produced by each plant. There are other criteria mostly subjective, texture, no hollow centres, no knobs, eyes not deep, nice shape, and probably others. Comparing the seeded weight to the harvested weight is utter nonsense, particularly in a small patch. I have rather unscientifically estimated that anything above four pounds per plant is acceptable. Carefully tabulating to get a realistic weight value per plant over several years will give a realistic figure. The seed potato produces suitable vegetation if two or more eyes are in the planted portion. Even one eye is suitable with a bit of body attached. Planting a fist sized seed or a suitable cut piece produces identical sized new tubers. Most of the potato nutrients are within an annulus about half and inch from the skin of a potato. Peeling without cause removes a lot of nutrients. Last edited by Durgan; May 21, 2013 at 06:54 PM. |
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#2 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: May 2011
Location: bald hill area thurston county washington
Posts: 312
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Good information. I wish you were not so biased against non traditional cultivars and thier differing growth habits, but I will be documenting these for you this coming year.
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#3 | |||||||
Crosstalk™ Forum Moderator
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: 8407 18th Ave West 7-203 Everett, Washington 98204
Posts: 1,157
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Durgan,
I feel like I am on the TV program GOODWIN GAMES playing "Trivial Pursuit" in one endless card game. What is the goal? Is it about the player that knows the potato family best who'll win the inheritance? I don't think so! Is it to foster one's assertions? Assertions are great if they are shared in a give-and-take manner. Repetitions of assertions without reviewing any argument is not a productive enterprise. I am only a useful idiot....so to speak...since I am a practicing potato breeder and humbled beyond words about what I don't know. I often write about many topics in which get little or no response, and I accept that as part of the measure of being on a forum. I have interests that are akin to intrapersonal communication....literally talking to myself. I had a hunch....what if I googled the topic of this very topic thread? Lo and behold (Potato Theory of Growing) returned a hit. Namely; UBC Botanical Garden Forums > HortForum http://www.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/fo...ad.php?t=63668 Quote:
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Some is nonsense, agreed, but much is OK and one can read it for what it is worth. Quote:
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Durban, one of the best ways of being ignored, banned, not taken seriously is to continue to use broad assertions. The modal verbs like might, may, could, ought to, etc., go a long way to make prose more tractable. Therefore, I may speak for more than a few folks here that if we have some difficulty fathoming your statements....consider your overuse of proof by assertion. Not to say that some garden writers talking about potato towers, tire rings, boxes aren't also guilty of P.B.A. Quote:
Tom Wagner Last edited by Tom Wagner; May 22, 2013 at 05:27 PM. Reason: spelling |
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#4 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Northeast Wisconsin, Zone 5a
Posts: 1,109
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Well said Tom. I see the teacher in you at work.
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#5 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: Brantford, ON, Canada
Posts: 1,341
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And your point Tom? The prolix effort eludes me.
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#6 | |
Crosstalk™ Forum Moderator
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: 8407 18th Ave West 7-203 Everett, Washington 98204
Posts: 1,157
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#7 | |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Alabama
Posts: 2,250
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This is akin to some walnut growers I know who think growing the highest quality walnut is most important. I tell them that the production per acre (or any land measure) and cost to get that production is what counts. This does not mean size and quality are unimportant. DarJones |
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#8 | |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: Brantford, ON, Canada
Posts: 1,341
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#9 | ||
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Alabama
Posts: 2,250
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1. How much land was required per unit produced? 2. How much input was required to get the production? 3. How much value will the production bring in the market. The first two are most important to the person growing for personal use. #3 matters to the guy growing to sell. Note that if you converted your 4 pounds per plant into 2 pounds per square foot, you would be using the appropriate measure. Quote:
Marketing heirloom tomatoes is easy. Tell them it tastes good! Did you notice that a subjective trait is suddenly the most important trait? DarJones |
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#10 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: May 2011
Location: bald hill area thurston county washington
Posts: 312
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For me, what is most important seems to be the all around picture. I like a good yield (2+lbs per linear foot of row), above average taste,lot's of variety in shape/color, pretty plant with large flowers, and lot's of vigor/environmental hazard resistance.
If I get a plant with everything but yield, I will retain it for further breeding to a superior yielder. |
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#11 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: May 2013
Location: RI
Posts: 183
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Here is a picture taken by someone in Zimbabwe of one of Tom Wagner's lines of potatoes from TPS called Yungay at 11 weeks old. You can clearly see the potato tubers forming on the stolons all the way along to the top. This was posted to the Kenosha Potato Project on Facebook.
http://s10536.prbrds.com/2500536/t/S...ywhmhvC3aC.JPG Last edited by NathanP; June 27, 2013 at 08:42 PM. |
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