Burns Best Farm

Potato Famine

I know it's a couple of weeks early for a St. Patrick's Day/Irish reference, but can I tell you, I don't think I can grow potatoes!  If we were a poor dirt farming family in Ireland, we'd be starving and/or plotting to immigrate to the New World.

I planted seed potatoes on January 10.  The weather was warm and had been for weeks and I planted them in raised beds and covered them liberally with wheat straw.  I read about that in my Vegetable Gardener's Bible book.  I did it all by the book.

So, here we are almost two months later, and those potatoes aren't growing worth diddly squat.  They haven't rotted, but the sprouts are still really small (most of the seed potatoes had already sprouted a little bit since I kept them in a dark box on top of my dryer for a couple of weeks before planting.)  Nothing green, no plants seem to be appearing at all.

Can someone here with some successful potato growing experience tell me what to expect?  Am I nuts?  Too impatient?  Is the straw method the wrong way to go/grow?

In a word:  HELP!   

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09:27, 2007-Mar-2 .. Posted by farmgal35

I have never planted potatoes in the winter months. I would be afraid they just would not grow. Did you plant in the signs? I always make sure when I plant anything, that the signs are right for planting. Other than that I would be no help to you. I hope you do find the right answer. Sheryl

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10:13, 2007-Mar-2 .. Posted by MrsBurns

I got suckered in with the warm January we had going. Plus, they were all sprouting anyway, so I jumped in. I hope I didn't jump the gun! I'll let you know.

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09:27, 2007-Mar-3 .. Posted by jenig

As unbelievable as this is, i actually have an answer for this one. I posted the following on my Homeschoolblogger.com blog on Thurs:

*On Monday (or was it Tuesday?) I learned something very cool. It is the only way that seems like a reasonable (non-hard-workish) way to grow potatoes. People who live in an apartment could even do this. Ok, here’s what you do. You get a garbage can, right? And you fill the bottom up with several inches of dirt and straw and bark and junk like that. Then you drop some potato eye pieces down there and cover them up with the same dirt mess. After a while you’ll get this greenery that will start growing up, and then you dump more soil and straw, etc over it. Then more green stuff will grow up and you keep on dumping dirt over it, right? Well, within several months, after you’ve continued to dump a bunch of dirt layers over the growing greenery, you can dump the whole garbage can upside down (preferably not on your living room rug) and get about 100 potatoes out of there! They require very little water, so the bottom does not need holes poked in it. I am very excited to try this. Is that not the coolest thing you have ever heard? I am so ready to try being a garden girl again.

Good luck with your taters...

11:48, 2007-Mar-3 .. Posted by UnlikelyHomesteader

I was going to tell you to check out JenIg's entry, but she already stopped by. That's the way friends have told us to try it. Wonder if you need to throw a little organic fertilizer in there? Know anyone with bunnies? I hear rabbit poop is really, really good.

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05:45, 2007-Mar-6 .. Posted by southofthegnatline

Why am I not surprised that the Lone Ranger Homesteader JenIg would be the garbage-can-potato-booming-producer............. I was sitting here w/my mouth falling open and all of a sudden I find myself trying to decide which garbage can we really don't need so I can grow some..........how funny is that!

We planted potatoes 2 yrs ago and harvested (after a long, long, LONG time) enough potatoes for two meals - we even had the pretty blue ones (....they are actually purple......). I"ll have to go back and find the picture I posted at SGL - I just knew we would be the potato royale over here.......not so.

Then last year when Alan tilled up the garden area - they began sprouting all over the place, but I never harvested any potatoes again.

So - back to the garbage can.......does this can need to be indoors or out? in the sun or in the basement? with a lid or without?

Details, details, details.........

:)
Harriette