Potatoes

W

wordwiz

I'm pretty much a Kennebeck person, but the wife brought home a magazine today - Country Garden if anyone is interested - that had a section on potatoes. Something I found interesting was a couple of varieties that are colored inside and out. One is a blue potato, and they have one that is sort of red. Not just the skin, but the inside. Just for the fun of it, I think I will try these and maybe make a Patriotic Potato Salad this fall - red, white and blue. Or let my teenage daughter invite some friends over and fix them some blue French Fries. Then again, I could always enter one of them in the Freak of Nature category at the county fair!

Mike
 
Never heard of Red and/or Blue potatoes with the pulp being colored also. Sounds pretty interesting tho. Wish it was possible but there is no way I could plant them up here and have any ready to dig even as new potatoes for some patriotic potato salad by the 4th. of July. Oh well . . . maybe next season.
 
If you go to local farmer markets you'll be able to find these varieties for sale.

I've never tried them, but always have been tempted.
 
I've had the blue ones, and they taste like potatoes. I showed up at the folk's place with blue potatoes once, and it was fun. My father was always very suspicious of "different" food, but he finally tried one, and gave me this exasperated look " It tastes like a potato!"

Seed Savers has lots of fun varieties.

http://www.seedsavers.org/products.asp?dept=88
 
Pam,

Thanks for the link. On a 2.5 pound blue potato order, they are $5.50 cheaper than what I had previously found.

Mike
 
Yesterday, two bags of potatoes arrived. I made two crude containers upstairs and sowed one red one and one blue one (each cut in half). The blue are supposed to take 110 days, the red 70 to mature. However, I plan on adding more dirt/straw/potting soil as they grow, with the hopes of a four-foot plant by July.

Mike
 
:onfire::onfire::onfire::onfire:
Yes, finally the potatoes have poked their heads through the dirt, one red and one blue. If the 110 days to maturity is correct, I have about 3 extra days. The thing is, if the plant is three foot tall in July, do I let it keep growing and see how many potatoes it will produce or start digging the bottom ones out?

I really am curious to see how many pounds of potatoes a 4.4 ounce seed potato can produce.

Mike
 
like you said, just start harvesting from the bottom if you can without disturbing the plant too much...
 
wordwiz said:
do I let it keep growing and see how many potatoes it will produce or start digging the bottom ones out?
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You do know you are supposed to mound dirt around the plant right? Just wasn't sure if you ment 3 feet uncovered or 3 feet covered...

If you ment covered, just feel around in the dirt and try not to disturb the plant too much. Then replace the moved dirt.

When Dave and I grew potatoes 3 and 4 years ago we just waited to the end of the season and harvested.............god they were good.......
 
IGG,

Three feet of dirt/straw/mulch. Once the plant has six inches of stalk/leaves showing, I'll add another three inches of mix.

I have about 14 more "seeds" of each blue and red potato so I may have several pound to sell.

Mike
 
Okay, who all planted potatoes today? I never really bought into the St. Patrick's Day theory but I did plant two - in tires. I'll let them keep growing and adding more tires and dirt until September. I hope I need a step ladder for the last couple of tires!

Mike
 
wordwiz said:
Okay, who all planted potatoes today? I never really bought into the St. Patrick's Day theory but I did plant two - in tires. I'll let them keep growing and adding more tires and dirt until September. I hope I need a step ladder for the last couple of tires!

Mike
Click to expand...



What's the Saint Patrick's Day theory? Something about him blessing the potatoes?
 
Pam,

I don't have a clue why one is supposed to plant potatoes on March 17 - an old husband's tale? I had a few minutes to spare today so thought I might as well try.

Mike
 
Maybe it's a timing thing, but that seems like it would regional. Which may be why I've never heard it. I was always told to plant nasturtiums on Valentine's Day. It's too hot around here for them to do well in the summer, and that way they bloom in the early spring. It works here, but further north it would be disastrous.
 
One spud finally has grown enough for me to add dirt. It was about six inches tall before, now there's only a couple of inches of leaves showing.

Mike
taterbefore.jpg


taterafter.jpg
 
Pam,

Yes. It is on of those blue potatoes I got. It ook quite a while to sprout but has been growing decently since then. Originally, the whole potato was 4.2 ounces but I cut it in half and planted them on January 31. The one shown sprouted March 12.

Mike

Edit: Here's some pictures taken while I was building it. (The peppers are much larger now!)

http://www.valleycat.net/garden/page2.html
 
The above plant (after adding dirt) is now about five inches tall above the soil.

I wonder if potatoes have a defined life span (90-120 days) or if they will keep growing as long as they get water, heat and enough dirt around the leaves?

Can I grow an 8-foot plant?

Time and pictures will tell!

Mike
 
o.k so i have a bag of pontiac red spuds that are shooting off nicely. I'm keen to try the cage potato thing.

Whats the best soil to fill the cage with {red, black, potting mix, anything?}

how much sun is good?

how much watering will they need?


more questions to come as i think of them :P

getting star pegs & chicken wire tomorrow, winter is starting.

spudmania!
 
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