Pulling potato plants from sprouts

[wmontanez]

Ok. This is my first attemp to augment my Skagit Valley Gold plants by pulling sprouts.

Procedure was to put a tuber in a tray with soiless media and cover it with about an half inch of moist media. In 2 days I had 5 sprouts rooting and elongating so I pulled them without taking pics. I returned the tuber to the soil and left it there for a week...after 3 days already had grown new eyes/sprouts and one was ready to be pulled today, 4 are developing roots. The bottom of the tuber got dark and soft but I will continue until there is life in that seed to see how many lil' plants I can harvest.

[wmontanez]

Only let me add 2 pics before so next pictures are separate

[Indyartist]

You experiment is interesting. I've read a little on this but it is interesting to see it visually. I wonder what the difference in yield is between planting whole potatoes to cutting potatoes to pieces and that compared to pulling sprouts and also the difference in these yields to plantings from TPS. I'm just getting started with growing potatoes so it is all adding to my learning curve.

[David Marek]

Neat. I did not realize they could come off with roots intact. You can really get up close and personal with the potato plant this way.

Originally Posted by Indyartist

You experiment is interesting. I've read a little on this but it is interesting to see it visually. I wonder what the difference in yield is between planting whole potatoes to cutting potatoes to pieces and that compared to pulling sprouts and also the difference in these yields to plantings from TPS. I'm just getting started with growing potatoes so it is all adding to my learning curve.

Amen. I should have learned how to grow potatoes first, then begin experimenting. This year should be better.

[wmontanez]

Well that is basically it for experiments this year as spring is here and lots needs to be done once I get plants in the garden my afternoon free time get's tied up with chores like weeding, staking etc. I 'll add few more picts until they are ready to move out to the garden.

[Medbury Gardens]

Originally Posted by Indyartist

. I wonder what the difference in yield is between planting whole potatoes to cutting potatoes to pieces and that compared to pulling sprouts and also the difference in these yields to plantings from TPS.

I cant see it making a lot of difference really,the seed potato's role is to enable it survives the winter and regrows in spring,once the pulled sprout has developed roots and is growing on its own,is it not then independent of the tuber.

[Indyartist]

Originally Posted by Medbury Gardens

I cant see it making a lot of difference really,the seed potato's role is to enable it survives the winter and regrows in spring,once the pulled sprout has developed roots and is growing on its own,is it not then independent of the tuber.

My question on yeild is in part due to this publication by Purdue University, an agricultural college about 1 hours drive from me here in Indiana. In this article it says that yield from growing from seeds (TPS) is lower, "Yield is typically low compared to cultivars started from
tuber seed pieces, making true seed cultivars mainly of
interest for container culture rather than high production."

So, if that is the case then where do pulled sprouts lay in the yield range in the different methods of propagating potatoes?

Here is the link to the Purdue potato planting guide:
http://www.hort.purdue.edu/ext/HO-62W.pdf

[David Marek]

Originally Posted by Indyartist

My question on yeild is in part due to this publication by Purdue University, an agricultural college about 1 hours drive from me here in Indiana. In this article it says that yield from growing from seeds (TPS) is lower, "Yield is typically low compared to cultivars started from
tuber seed pieces, making true seed cultivars mainly of
interest for container culture rather than high production."

So, if that is the case then where do pulled sprouts lay in the yield range in the different methods of propagating potatoes?

Here is the link to the Purdue potato planting guide:
http://www.hort.purdue.edu/ext/HO-62W.pdf

Originally Posted by Medbury Gardens

I cant see it making a lot of difference really,the seed potato's role is to enable it survives the winter and regrows in spring,once the pulled sprout has developed roots and is growing on its own,is it not then independent of the tuber.

I agree, by the time you get to the point of using single- eye pieces of seed tuber, there is not that much of an energy store, anyway. If the sprout is from a high yielding clone/ variety, production should still be good. I would actually be more comfortable about sticking an already growing plant in the ground, but the labor of growing a bunch would add up. Still treat the transplants like a regular potato plant once they are in the ground. That is, hill up the dirt around the stem as it grows, or keep adding mulch, whichever method you prefer. From my experience last year, never let potato transplants become potbound.

The commercial seed variety Zolushka F1 outpaced my other TPS- grown plants last year (that's what it was bred to do), but I can tell some of the other varieties have some real potential for this season. The awesome variety of TPS we are dealing with here from Tom can hardly be compared to the few commercial varieties available in the U.S.

So far the stems on my plants from cuttings are much more sturdy and thick than the thin, floppy TPS seedlings, so they should be easier to deal with. I am wondering how the timing will translate, though, compared to planting tubers.

[owiebrain]

Wendy, thanks for the pics! Due to lurking the pulling & cutting threads here and at Tom's, I shallow-planted a few tubers myself over the weekend. I'll be trying pulling the sprouts.

Did you literally just pull them off, though? Or did you do a little digging of the actual spud so as not to break off the sprout & roots?

Thanks!

[Medbury Gardens]

Originally Posted by Indyartist

In this article it says that yield from growing from seeds (TPS) is lower, "Yield is typically low compared to cultivars started from
tuber seed pieces, making true seed cultivator mainly of
interest for container culture rather than high production."

As has already been pointed out in another thread regarding yields of TPS versus tuber sown,yes the yields from TPS do seem to be lower but only in that first year grown from seedlings.Ive got three different varieties started from TPS, that are into there third growing season,there yields are now as high as any other cultivator

[Indyartist]

Quietly taking notes. My only trouble is it is easier to produce plants then it is to produce land to plant them in.

[owiebrain]

Indy, I have five acres so plenty of room to expand... for a couple of years. It's just finding more time for everything. I have too many irons in the fire right now and have been making more mistakes than I should. I need to s.l.o.w down and screw my head back on straight once in a while.

I think I've decided to just take those tubers I already pulls sprouts from and plant them in the ground, if you all think they'll still do something there? And I still have the other half of the tubers that I've had working on growing better sprouts. I'll continue my sprout pulling with those... after a few weeks. It's time to get busy on getting the rest of the garden prepped and planted now that we're about at the frost-free date. We're in a new house, starting a new garden from scratch, so we're behind on everything.

[owiebrain]

Originally Posted by owiebrain

I think I've decided to just take those tubers I already pulls sprouts from and plant them in the ground, if you all think they'll still do something there?

We got busy with other things in the past couple of days so I ignored the tubers I had already pulled from. When I was in the basement potting up tomatoes last night, I saw those tubers had pushed more sprouts and are starting to urfurl some nice, healthy leaves above the soil line. Do I need to wait for the hair roots to form before I pull them? Or will they form after pulling as long as they've got leaves going?

[Jeannine Anne]

I am not getting this.I have grown potatoes but only in the traditional way of planting them in the ground . Sorry to sound so dense Is there a thread somewhere that explains it right from the start, This thread is really interesting but I don't understand "pulling"..

So,am I right, I take a potato tuber...then...?? Bury it, dig it up,?? Does it need some activity on it before I bury it..I am really confused.

I would really appreciate the help,

XX Jeannine

[wmontanez]

Jeannine, hi.
The idea of pulling plants started in another thread talking about rapid multiplication. My interest was to start one potato named Skagit Valley Gold early on to get some plants and then harvest small tubers and plant those once my frost free day arrived. Why the trouble? Well, Skagit Valley Gold is one of Tom Wagner's creation that has a lot of good attributes like bountiful production of small potatoes of very good flavor, high levels of carotenoids, short cooking time, and short dormancy. I do live in an area with long winters and 120 days or so of growing season. It breaks dormancy too soon for me, in fact one month after harvest. That is a good quality if you live in the tropics or an area where you can half 2 seasons of growing potatoes. As a backup I sent one tuber to my mom in the Caribbean and she propagate it and send me one tuber back just now, because I was babying those tubers for months! It begun to shrivel and I was afraid to lose them. Say you only have one tuber of a rare or unique variety, by pulling plants or by taking cuttings and rooting, one can multiply the plants to get several and make a seed stock to save for next season.

I guess is not the easiest way to garden but I am learning different ways to be able to grow food reliably and making it self-sustainable.

Right now I do have about 5-6 Skagit Valley Gold potato plants growing happily and I am 3 weeks away from my frost-free day. . .