This year I'm staggering the potato planting over about 6 or 8 weeks. They are not all the same varieties, so it's not a real test of when is best to plant them. I just don't want to overdo the garden work by planting them all at one time.
This week I bought another package of Yukon Gold potato sets. They were already quite sprouted. I planted all of them today, and didn't bother to cut the sets into pieces.
This year they are all going into trenches. Last year, I planted more shallow, and hilled up soil around them. I think that makes for drier soil in summer, hence need for more water. In addition, voles got into several of them. This time, we'll see if planting deeper means less watering and less loss to voles.
I'm digging a trench about 1 foot deep, placing the sets into the trench, then covering with a few inches of soil. As they grow, I'll continue to fill in with soil.
I didn't bother to stand the sprouts upright. I doubt that it matters.
Yes, Daniel, it's time to plant potatoes. My garden has been too cold and wet. I'll be using leftovers from last year. I've already desprouted the edibles, but saved smaller ones to plant. I've determined (unscientifically) that it doesn't matter what size the starter potatoes are. Big or small, the resulting potato crop has nice potatoes. In Lemark's evolutionary world of "acquired characteristics", small potatoes begets small potatoes. Not so.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you're continuing posting this blog in A/N's garden group. It's been rather inactive without you, however.
Hi Randy,
DeleteI hope your potatoes do great. They are one of my favorite crops. I forgot to add, I rotate my crops. That location was lawn 3 years ago, corn 2 years ago, and onions last year. So it's the first time that spot had potatoes. I did add a little Milorganite as the fertilizer.
That's nice to know that the size doesn't matter, thanks. I think Lamark was pretty much debunked, although they say that garlic plants adapt to a region, by gradually mutating, so that might be a difference.
I forgot to remove the blog link when I quit AN. It would take someone taking over the group and contacting admin to allow that, to remove the link. I don't mind, I like getting visits and comments here.
Please update me on your potato and other gardening progress!
Rest assured, I'll keep in touch.
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