Potato Barrel Test.

[Cole_Robbie]

I had to look up the definition of "umbrage."

[Durgan]

http://www.durgan.org/URL/?NRHSB 5 September 2013 Russian Blue Potato Harvest.

The blue potatoes take a bit of conditioning for acceptance. I read somewhere that the highly coloured produce has beneficial nutritional effects. Whether true of not I don't really know, but felt it was no hardship to encompass it where possible.

At first I didn't like any potato that was not pristine white, but since have been accepting of almost any off white color. To wit, I have become a garbage gut.
I might add my same prejudice extended to tomatoes. Those yellows and dark types, etc., took a bit of mind shift.

[NathanP]

I take umbrage at the photos posted supposedly to suppoert long stolens or whatever. They hardly qualify as meaningful photos.

Durgan, I'm very sorry to hear that you are offended at my photos. Next time I will be sure to submit all photos that I take to the official Durgan Board for review. I'm sorry, but you are not the authority to determine what potatoes will and will not do. You grow very nice potatoes, but not all potatoes grow the same way.

I won't go down this road any further other than to just call out the fact that you just can't let this topic go without hijacking every thread on the matter and posting the same links and restating that you disbelieve the photographic evidence from previous threads.

[newatthiskat]

OK all fighting aside!!!! I thought about trying the barrel but decided money was not worth what I could grow. I am doing them in my raised bed if the freeze did not kill them. Boy I hope it did not! I have never tried to grow potatoes before so this is an experiment. As far as the barrel potatoes go I have seen youtube video after youtube video and they only get a few potatoes. Decided to just put them in the raised bed instead.

[amideutch]

The blue potatoes take a bit of conditioning for acceptance. I read somewhere that the highly coloured produce has beneficial nutritional effects. Whether true of not I don't really know, but felt it was no hardship to encompass it where possible.

At first I didn't like any potato that was not pristine white, but since have been accepting of almost any off white color. To wit, I have become a garbage gut.
I might add my same prejudice extended to tomatoes. Those yellows and dark types, etc., took a bit of mind shift.

SO!

[Ken4230]

Originally Posted by Worth1

I started this NEW thread so this wouldn't happen.
I am well aware of the other threads thus the reason for this one.

All I want to see is a barrel full of big juicy potatoes from top to bottom grown in the manner we have spoken of.

Any other photos from past threads mean nothing to me as I dont see the big barrel of potatoes.

Worth

My potato towers are 3' tall x 3' square. I plant three varieties in them, German Butterball on the very bottom, Pontiac at mid level and YuKon Gold at the top.
When the Butterball vines reach the top of the tower, i fill in and plant the Pontiacs. I use a mix of compost and rotted sawdust and fill in as the plants grow.
I've had good luck doing it this way. I've never gotten potatoes at the top of the towers by just planting one time at the bottom.

Ken

[NathanP]

My potato towers are 3' tall x 3' square. I plant three varieties in them, German Butterball on the very bottom, Pontiac at mid level and YuKon Gold at the top.
When the Butterball vines reach the top of the tower, i fill in and plant the Pontiacs. I use a mix of compost and rotted sawdust and fill in as the plants grow.
I've had good luck doing it this way. I've never gotten potatoes at the top of the towers by just planting one time at the bottom.

Ken

That makes a good use of space, but you still may be limited in the yield to what those three potatoes produce normally, not in a tower. I doubt you exceed that. All are commercial type potatoes that have been bred fro machine harvesting and for not growing tubers on stolons.

After what I have seen, and this is admittedly speculative to a large degree, to even make an attempt at seeing if a tower/bin approach works, in any way that realistically increases yield over normal growing methods, a different type of potato is necessary. One that produces tubers off stolons and stems, so that as the stem is increasingly buried, it sets multiple layers of tubers. One of the threads linked to above shows photos of several potatoes that had set small tubers off stems and stolons. Another trait that likely would be useful is very long season potatoes (120-150 days), so that the plant grows throughout the season, setting tubers very late at the topmost layer.

This may not be possible in areas that have short seasons as frost may kill off the plant before it is able to bulk up any additional potatoes other than the initial bottom layer.

Here is a thread from another web site that was documenting my 2013 experiment, until I killed them

http://tatermater.★★★★★★★★★.com/thre...tato-bins-2013

[Ken4230]

Originally Posted by NathanP

That makes a good use of space, but you still may be limited in the yield to what those three potatoes produce normally, not in a tower.

After what I have seen, and this is admittedly speculative to a large degree, to even make an attempt at seeing if a tower/bin approach works, in any way that realistically increases yield over normal growing methods, a different type of potato is necessary. Another trait that likely would be useful is very long season potatoes.

I'm not really interested in heavy yield. If i were, we would be growing them in the ground. Like you, i don't think the yield from towers (the way i do it) can come anywhere close to growing potatoes the normal way.

I grow potatoes just for what we can use right away. We like to have 'new potatoes' to eat with green beans and tomatoes during the summer. Any potatoes we do have stored will be gone by Thanksgiving or Christmas.

I have three towers that i use for potatoes. One of those i use for 'new potatoes.' The bottom boards will come off pretty easy and lets me harvest enough for a good meal.
When it's time to harvest, most of the potatoes are in the center of the towers because i've already robbed all the potatoes around the edges.

Using one of the Peruvian potatoes and laying the stems in a not quite horizontal spiral and covering it as it grew might be the way to go. It would be interesting to see what would happen.
If i can find the right type of potato, i might try it.

Ken

[wmontanez]

@Ken4230
That is a nice idea to use vertical space.

@Worth
Good luck with your tower. Yukon Gold only will grow close to the base of the plant...no need to hill, you might need to try other varieties for the bottom part of the tower.

I won't try towers but If I were to do it........,I would plant CIP366256 early, add soil until I got 8in or so up..say 2 months of growth.....then thin out the many branches to have sun reach the middle of the plant.....and then plant Yukon gold in there..... and add about 6in more of soil and mulch.


By the time Yukon Gold dies down then the CIP366256 is ready also done bulking as it is a long season potato. Both are yellow inside and tasty~!

Worth just for the sake of your tower success....if interested I can send you one CIP366256. Send me a PM.

And if you do it, take pictures~~

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by wmontanez

@Ken4230
That is a nice idea to use vertical space.

@Worth
Good luck with your tower. Yukon Gold only will grow close to the base of the plant...no need to hill, you might need to try other varieties for the bottom part of the tower.

I won't try towers but If I were to do it........,I would plant CIP366256 early, add soil until I got 8in or so up..say 2 months of growth.....then thin out the many branches to have sun reach the middle of the plant.....and then plant Yukon gold in there..... and add about 6in more of soil and mulch.


By the time Yukon Gold dies down then the CIP366256 is ready also done bulking as it is a long season potato. Both are yellow inside and tasty~!

Worth just for the sake of your tower success....if interested I can send you one CIP366256. Send me a PM.

And if you do it, take pictures~~

Wendy I just cant grow potatoes here it gets too hot too fast for the experiment I think.
They are growing some huge potatoes in the Pan Handle that are pretty good.
But it is almost 1000 miles from here.

Thanks for the offer though.

Worth

[wmontanez]

Too hot in Austin for potatoes? Ok great to know....in case I get a job offer there....I will have to decline or learn to grow corn

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by wmontanez

Too hot in Austin for potatoes? Ok great to know....in case I get a job offer there....I will have to decline or learn to grow corn

I dont know for sure I just read someplace about how after the soil got up to 70 degrees the plant would stop producing potatoes.

They do sell the seed potatoes here though.

One year I grew some on a whim in a 5 gallon bucket.
Everyone made fun of me and no one took care of the plant but me.
I had just enough potatoes for me with some green beans.
All of the mooches showed up and I ran them off.

Remember the story of the little red hen.

Worth

[wmontanez]

@Worth
I am originally from the Caribbean and there is hard to grow potatoes. Yukon gold does fine in the mountain region where soil is cooler but humid so many other problems.

Do as the locals do, right....but still freshly dug new potatoes are heavenly~~

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by wmontanez

@Worth
I am originally from the Caribbean and there is hard to grow potatoes. Yukon gold does fine in the mountain region where soil is cooler but humid so many other problems.

Do as the locals do, right....but still freshly dug new potatoes are heavenly~~

I love new potatoes and you just cant buy them.

Worth

[RootLoops]

what constitutes a "new potato"?