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Okay, so I have had a white russett type potato in my window for sometime now and it has sprouted in a couple of places...I cut the potato into thirds and planted them in 7 gallon pots lots of water and sunshine - we'll see how they do.
Anyone else doing potatoes? How's it goin' for you?
P.S. I know there are more nutritious types but dang if I ain't an Irish girl and some things just don't ever change! [
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Carrie Rojo
"Every area of trouble gives out a ray of hope; and the one unchangeable certainty is that nothing is certain or unchangeable."
-- John Fitzgerald Kennedy
Carrie Rojo
"Even the smallest person can change the course of the future..." Galadriel LOTR
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I have had better luck with white potatoes in the drier parts of the year. It seems that whenever we got extended heavy, daily rains my white potato vines would get some sort of disease and die. I did, however, get some nice ones last summer when it was (by Puna standards) dry. I even did an experiment by growing some in big buckets and some in the ground. They all produced, but the ones in the ground made more to eat per vine. I also mixed some course cinders into the soil to improve drainage. Hope this helps.
Cheers,
Jerry
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Thanks Jerry - I'll just put the pots under the canopy...that may help. I think I'm gonna try them in a bigger pot too - I have heard that people grow them in garbage cans. My surfing for info actually says they don't like it too warm, and that over 90 or 95 degrees and they can just wither up.
It's all good - just really experimenting all the time to see what grows well and when. [
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Carrie Rojo
"Every area of trouble gives out a ray of hope; and the one unchangeable certainty is that nothing is certain or unchangeable."
-- John Fitzgerald Kennedy
Carrie Rojo
"Even the smallest person can change the course of the future..." Galadriel LOTR
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Carrie, look up growing potatos in straw. I planted a bunchof varities with a hybrid combo (bottom to top) of:
* base of red cinder for good drainage
* big mound of dirt
* straw covering over & between the mounds
* 3" wire mesh over the whole works to 'discourage' pigs,or at least slow them down
* tarp to keep the whole works dry
They were slow to start, but the greens made a break for the sun & are all over the place. I think I have a few more weeks before I dig them up to see the results. FWIW, I've heard that Yukon Golds do particularly well in warm climates. I bet the Hawaiian Sweet Potatos (uala) starts I got from Fitz are going to put all my other taters to shame though.
I originally started my potatoes in small, cheap laundry baskets from WalMart with a few inches of dirt on the bottom, then straw on top. It let me easily see which ones were going to grow & were worth building an outdoor bed for. It also let me move them around easily while I figured out how much sun/water/dry/shade each variety would tolerate. I want to try the basket method again, but I have to get bigger baskets for sure.
* I'd rather fail at happiness than succeed at misery *
* I'd rather fail at happiness than succeed at misery *
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Potatoes go great guns but the vog will kill the plants, which can be a drag. I have had the best luck with Yukons.
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I'm building three special mulching beds (slowly) for sweets and regular types right now... I've also tried Russett which, by the way -- was a mutation found by Luther Burbank as a child and got hm started in plant breeding... Anyway, I've got some Okinawan whites that were recommended and I'm going to try them. I love sweet potatoes but sometimes they just don't do the trick do they? Can tthis be the potatoe thead and we can report back on our developements as they occur? I'm game... I just love meat and potatoes... and tomatoes... speaking of tomatoes-- I've got over fifty strains now which I've received throught the mail from various speciality dealers on the net.. my goal is to find even one REALLY good producer here in "BUG CITY" aka, Black Sands... even just one full size heirloom tomato would do. The concept is to plant all of them.. 25 this year (09) and 25 the following year. Cherrys do ok up here but I need a big one... hoping my Ukrainians will do the trick..
JayJay
JayJay
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JayJay, I planted marigold with all of my tomatoes & didn't loose a single tomato to bugs last year. Seeds of Change sells a nematocidal Marigold that you can till into the dirt each fall to kill nematodes too. I haven't done that yet, but can't hurt.
* I'd rather fail at happiness than succeed at misery *
* I'd rather fail at happiness than succeed at misery *
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That's a great idea, Erin! My neighbor uses marigolds too.
I like JayJay's thinking. I have about 5 different kinds in various stages just now. Some climbing, roma, cherry, and a seed I got for some U of H tomatoes that are disease resistant. (We'll see about that.) All in all I have probably 20 tomato plants going...all keikis right now...SOMETHING has to grow! (Scotty can just ignore this thread since he is the tomato God.)
And it looks like my potatoes will take.
[:X]
Carrie Rojo
"Every area of trouble gives out a ray of hope; and the one unchangeable certainty is that nothing is certain or unchangeable."
-- John Fitzgerald Kennedy
Carrie Rojo
"Even the smallest person can change the course of the future..." Galadriel LOTR
Posts: 1,346
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Well the potatoes have tiny leaves growing on them...excited to see where they go.
Carrie Rojo
"Every area of trouble gives out a ray of hope; and the one unchangeable certainty is that nothing is certain or unchangeable."
-- John Fitzgerald Kennedy
Carrie Rojo
"Even the smallest person can change the course of the future..." Galadriel LOTR
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Does anyone here know how salt tolerant tomatoes and Hawaiian Peppers are? Our best gardening space is about 80' from the cliff. We get some salt spray and while I know the citrus will tolerate it, I would like to be able to put some tomatoes in there too. If not, I can do them closer to the house, but I would rather have them down there. There is a wall and some foiliage that would protect them from direct spray there.
Aloha au i Hawai`i,
devany
Devany Vickery-Davidson
East Bay Potters
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