Just soes you know… the 20 lb. potato sample from the Seed Savers Exchange is a lot of potatoes. I’ve planted one patch of each of the eight varieties:
- All Blue
- All Red
- Austrian Crescent
- French Fingerling
- Kerr’s Pink
- Red Gold
- Yukon Gold
- Purple Viking
I’ve also supplied a couple of friends with all they want (which, granted, wasn’t all that many), and I’ve still got about a third of them left. What’s more, I planted like some crazy rich guy– unless it was huge, it went in whole. They’re spaced about a foot apart and I’ll bet there’s 80 row feet of spuds.
So, in case you (’you’ being ‘future me’ in this case) want to do that sampler again, I suggest you split it with about three other people.
In other news:
The chickens are still alive (thanks to my lovely pioneer-woman wife who went out to corral them into their house after I gave up trying last night). Chickens; one more thing that sounds like a lot more fun than it actually is.
The beer continues to ferment vigorously. The OG (original gravity) of the wort was 1.072 (probably, lazy man’s measurement), which is pretty high. I’m guessing this batch is going to be a tad strong when all’s said and done.
I’ve been planting out seedlings from the greenhouse– so far pak choi, calendula, arugula and broccoli. The Broad Windsor favas and snap peas are up, but the other direct seeded stuff (beets, spinach, daikon, turnips) aren’t doing much. I suspect the soil’s still too cold. The weather’s been awful– barely breaking the 50s some days and raining pretty much every day.
I’ve thought of growing potatoes, but suspect I lack space. (or rather, the parts of my garden that actually get sun are not so large.) Do you just chuck ‘em in the ground or do you do some fancy thing with cages or tires?
I seem to try something different every year. Potatoes are pretty foolproof, and so everything seems like the secret way to do it. “Hey, look, peeing on the soil makes potatoes happen!”
(No, I don’t do that.)
Try just planting a “hill.” Give yourself a 3-4′ across area, dig a 12″ crater in the middle, and put 3-4 spuds in the far reaches of the crater. Then, as the plants come up, hill up the whole thing (with something light like compost and chopped straw or whatever) to keep only the top 8″ or so showing. Do that a couple of times until yer hill starts losing structural integrity.
A week or so after they finish flowering, you can start digging in your mound for baby potatoes.
I wouldn’t grow in tires. I don’t like the idea of what might leech into the soil. People do it all the time, though. You’d get more pertaters, I’d guess. And a tumor.
how much sun do they need? Don’t forget I’m trying to squeeze all this stuff into 1/3 of a small, mostly-shaded city lot. I’m trying to figure out how to have enough room for three tomato plants! I don’t think I can spare 3-4 feet.
I would love some potatoes if you had some extra.
I think I can hook you up.