Yukon Gold Potato.

[Durgan]

http://www.durgan.org/2015/July%2020...20Potato/HTML/ 22 July 2015 Yukon Gold Potato
Th first Yukon Gold Potato was dug. The plant yielde3d 3.5 pounds of quality potatoes. The seed was plated about four inches deep and the area was mulched with wood chips. All the new tubers were just below the ground and the area was not hilled. There were no tubers exposed to light. Notice no tubers are growing along the stem of the plant. This is an acceptable harvest since the tops haven’t completely died off yet.

[Labradors2]

Good info Durgan! We plan to grow potatoes next year.

Do you ever grow Fingerlings? Irish Cobbler?

Linda

[Durgan]

Originally Posted by Labradors2

Good info Durgan! We plan to grow potatoes next year.

Do you ever grow Fingerlings? Irish Cobbler?

Linda

I usually grow Superior, Yukon gold, and Red Pontiac. These seed tubers are available in the local stores in the Spring. Sometimes I grow Russian Blue. I haven't grown fingerlings or Irish Cobbler. I always cook by baking in a Dutch oven. I only need about 60 pounds, which translates into about 30 or less plants allowing for Summer use. I expect about three to four pounds from each plant depending upon growing conditions.

[Slg Garden]

Great yield for one plant. Did you plant a whole potato or a chunk? You say you dug them before the foliage died back. Would they have gotten even larger if you'd waited a couple more weeks?

[Labradors2]

Thanks Durgan.

I love Yukon Gold, but we grew fingerlings years ago and they were excellent. We managed to keep a few over the winter to grow the next year. There's a lot to be said for buying the tubers locally, as shipping costs can be horrendous here!

Linda

[Durgan]

Originally Posted by Slg Garden

Great yield for one plant. Did you plant a whole potato or a chunk? You say you dug them before the foliage died back. Would they have gotten even larger if you'd waited a couple more weeks?

I often divide the seed potato depending upon the size. I prefer planting whole but it appears to make little difference. They would get little bigger if left until die back. Size depends a lot on the correct moisture available. Sometimes I water each plant if conditions are very dry. The heavy mulch retains moisture. This year I only watered once, since it didn't rain for about six weeks in the early Spring. I water by putting a magic wand along the seed marking stake.

http://durgan.org/URL/?ARLGN 28 May 2009 Watering Plant Roots.The MAGIC WATER WAND.
This method gets water to the root area of the plants. The hydraulic effect of the water makes pushing the wand into the ground effortless. The device is made by cutting off the end of a typical water garden wand as sold in most hardware stores.

[Anthony_Toronto]

I planted mine deeper, and then hilled with an additional 4 or 5 inches of soil after the tops were tall enough, under the mistaken belief that I would have growth along the stem (which won't happen with the varieties that I have). So far the cold winter seems to have culled the voles that destroyed what would have been last year's excellent production and crops, but digging my hand down deep in the dirt this year seems to only be yielding handfuls of roots and dirt, and not potatoes. Lesson learned!

As for picking early I really do enjoy the texture of younger potatoes moreso than more mature ones, and the skin on the younger ones (even fist-sized ones) comes right off with a bit of a scrub under water. But again my digging and garden fork prying-up of several plants yielded only a handful of potatoes, whereas last year I barely would have been able to get the fork in the ground without skewering a potato, in fact most of my yukon gold plants yielded about 6 to 8 pounds of potatoes last year...but whether they were 'quality' was another question, as I think my new triplemix was so fertile that I got huge bulking up at the expense of properly formed tubers (lots of hollow heart...ugh).

[Durgan]

Originally Posted by Slg Garden

Great yield for one plant. Did you plant a whole potato or a chunk? You say you dug them before the foliage died back. Would they have gotten even larger if you'd waited a couple more weeks?

Digging criteria is usually when the foliage has disappeared, which translates into the maximum growth possible. Usually I grow extea to take advantage of the smaller ones during the growing Summer season.

[Labradors2]

Do you have to grow potatoes in a different spot each year?

Linda

[Durgan]

As a precaution, I try to have a new spot for all produce. Not possible sometimes so live with it.

[pauldavid]

Nice harvest Durgan!

[4season]

Good looking potatoes, and the picture is so clear it looks like I could reach into the screen and pick one.

[Slg Garden]

Originally Posted by Anthony_Toronto

... in fact most of my yukon gold plants yielded about 6 to 8 pounds of potatoes last year...but whether they were 'quality' was another question, as I think my new triplemix was so fertile that I got huge bulking up at the expense of properly formed tubers (lots of hollow heart...ugh).

Potato doping? What was your triple mix?

I read that average yield is 10x what you plant. It sounds like Anthony and Durgan are getting significantly higher yields. How?

[Durgan]

Yields are empty rhetoric unless accurately weighed. I have record all my yields over the years so speak with facts. Here is a good test example.

http://www.durgan.org/URL/?BKWAI 11 September 2010 Yukon Gold Test Box Potatoes
Yukon Gold Potatoes were harvested today. A total weight of 23.5 pounds was harvested from the 4 by 4 foot test area. The quality is excellent. Another plant could probably be placed in the center of the area without crowding. The average weight per plant was 5.9 pounds. From my experience anything over 4 pounds is acceptable and excellent. Also quality is important, size, texture, no deep eyes, no hollow centers, no bumps, no scabs.