Potato Barrel Test.

[Worth1]

I would like to ask some of the more adventurous potato growers out there to do something.

I would like them to grow potatoes in a barrel and document the growth of the potato to see if they really do what some on line claim they do.

Here is what I have read.
You can keep piling soil on the vine as it grows and new potatoes will keep forming on the vine.
In time the whole barrel will be full of potatoes from top to bottom.

I have looked on line for pictures of this and have yet to find any real photos of this.

I would like to see proof of the plant putting on new potatoes on the vine as it is covered.

So far all I have found is barrels kicked over and drawings.

A good way to do this would be to get a big trash can and cut the thing down the side so you could split it open and see the growth up and down the vine.

I dont live in potato growing country or I would do it myself.

Any takers?

Cheers.

Worth

[Got Worms?]

Worth, I've yet to see this happen. At least to the extent that some people claim. I've tried more than once, but for me it's been mostly a waste of growing medium.
I think my problem is that they dry out when I try to stack the soil too high. Automated watering would probably help.

With you living in one of the warmer climates, I would imagine that you would have no trouble with sweet potatoes; just a thought. I love sweet potatoes.

Charlie

[Durgan]

http://www.durgan.org/URL/?QHBIN 21 August 2009 How a Potato Plant Grows
There is a great deal of information on the Internet about growing potatoes in tires, boxes and indicating that large quantities of new tubers can be produced with high vertical hilling. The view propagated is that potatoes grow from branches all along the main stalk. This is utter nonsense, as the pictures indicate. New tubers are formed around the seed potato and always slightly above it.
My potato growing test box was opened today. The pictures speak for themselves. Clearly there is no advantage in carrying out excessive hilling when growing potatoes. The purpose of hilling is to insure the tubers are covered, since light affects potatoes producing a green appearance, which is an indication of solanine, which is harmful if ingested in large quantities.. For comparison one Pontiac Red was dug in the same row, which was almost identical to the test box potato in appearance.

[Durgan]

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.
For reference.
http://www.durgan.org/URL/?XWWLI 19 May 2010. Test to determine quantity by weight of four Yukon Gold potatoes.
A box 4 by 4 feet by 11 inches high was made in ideal soil and location to determine the quantity of potatoes by weight that can be produced. Each plant has about a foot on each side to insure minimum crowding of the root system. The seed potato was planted just below ground level and covered with soil about two inches on top.
Soil was placed in the corners for the first hilling. After the first hilling the growing plant will be covered adequately with bedding wood chips until the end of the season.
This test is to establish by weight the quantity, and size quality of potatoes that can be grown in a small space.
http://www.durgan.org/URL/?CZJZE 26 June 2010 Yukon Gold Potato Growth in 4 by 4 foot Test Box
The potatoes were hilled once and heavily mulched. A string was tied around the vegetation to keep upright. The premise being that the more vegetation exposed to the sun feeds the new tubers. This opposed to deep hilling and hiding the vegetation.

[Doug9345]

http://tomatoville.com/showthread.php?t=30203

It seems that the ordinary commercial potato doesn't but there are species that will.

http://tomatoville.com/showthread.php?t=28185

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by Doug9345

http://tomatoville.com/showthread.php?t=30203

It seems that the ordinary commercial potato doesn't but there are species that will.

http://tomatoville.com/showthread.php?t=28185

This is the only thing I would like to see not the exotic potatoes.
The normal potato is what you read about on line as far as the barrel potato is concerned.
Russet.
Red.
Thin skinned white.
Yukon Gold.

Worth

[KarenO]

If you have to buy soil or other growing media (and I assume you would because if you have garden beds to plant potatoes in you wouldn't be doing it) the cost of the soil outweighs the worth of the few potatoes you will get. I tried it, not in a barrel but in one of those much advertised potato grow bags and I did get a few potatoes but not enough to ever bother with again and all of the potatoes in the apparatus were at the very bottom where the seed potatoes were planted, none further up the stem as was supposed to be the case. If you figure in the cost of the grow bag, plus the cost of seed potato as well as the cost of soil that was an expensive little bucket of fingerling potatoes I grew. Next time take the money to the farmer's market and buy 50 pounds of nice big well grown potatoes...
Karen

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by KarenO

If you have to buy soil or other growing media (and I assume you would because if you have garden beds to plant potatoes in you wouldn't be doing it) the cost of the soil outweighs the worth of the few potatoes you will get. I tried it, not in a barrel but in one of those much advertised potato grow bags and I did get a few potatoes but not enough to ever bother with again and all of the potatoes in the apparatus were at the very bottom where the seed potatoes were planted, none further up the stem as was supposed to be the case. If you figure in the cost of the grow bag, plus the cost of seed potato as well as the cost of soil that was an expensive little bucket of fingerling potatoes I grew. Next time take the money to the farmer's market and buy 50 pounds of nice big well grown potatoes...
Karen

Karen the reason I am quoting you is I want to make sure people read it.

Potatoes are so cheap I would never waste my time or money growing them in a container that I had to buy everything for.
And I dont like blue potatoes not one bit.
The color throws me off.

My family grew long rows of potatoes and we stored them.
Everything was more or less free all we had to do was work.
If we didn't work we didn't eat potatoes.
And as Durgan said the reason we hilled the potatoes was to just cover the things so they didn't get green.

Worth

[Durgan]

Originally Posted by Doug9345

http://tomatoville.com/showthread.php?t=30203

It seems that the ordinary commercial potato doesn't but there are species that will.

http://tomatoville.com/showthread.php?t=28185

It seems that the ordinary commercial potato doesn't but there are species that will.
Convince me. Those silly pictures posted clarify nothing.

[Doug9345]

Durgan you seem to on some kind of campaign with this. I nor ANY body else has to convince to you of anything. I connected this thread to others that had hashed the subject over a bit. All you are accomplishing is to make a number people, including myself discredit, anything you have to say about anything. Anybody that reads either thread can figure out where you stand there is no need to keep haranguing everyone that makes any post slightly contrary to you belief system.

I wouldn't be calling out except that you took direct exception to what I posted. I posted it in that manor specifically to be as diplomatic as possible.

I for one think the subject is far from complete and warrants much more discussion. Given the range of growth habit that tomatoes and other Solanaceae have, it doesn't surprise me that potatoes would as well.

[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

[Doug9345]

I suspect that I can generate it. Potato stems seem to root easy enough. If, as I add layers, I break some stems off I'm going to generate new plants and potatoes at higher and higher levels. It not what you mean, but I can show you a barrel full of potatoes.

[Durgan]

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

Succinctly stated.

My position is not opinion. It is substantiated by cold, hard, visual, irrefutable, evidence. It stands until something evident to refute is posted.

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

Those links posted where so silly at the time, that I simply gave up, assuming my level of comprehension was superior to some others. I seldom post opinions, but deal is facts with often something to support such. And all is subject to change if support is offered to substantiate a new position.

[Doug9345]

Originally Posted by Durgan

assuming my level of comprehension was superior to some others. I seldom post opinions, but deal is facts with often something to support such.

That is the most insulting things I've seen posted here on Tomatoville yet.
You even include one of the moderators in that statement.



Worth I know that you didn't intend for this thread to go this way. I didn't know if you where aware of the other threads or not and wanted to people to see what had already said about it. I find it helpful if someone pulls past threads together so that new people know what has been said in the past and conversation can go forward.

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by Doug9345

That is the most insulting things I've seen posted here on Tomatoville yet.
You even include one of the moderators in that statement.



Worth I know that you didn't intend for this thread to go this way. I didn't know if you where aware of the other threads or not and wanted to people to see what had already said about it. I find it helpful if someone pulls past threads together so that new people know what has been said in the past and conversation can go forward.

Thats ok The reason for this thread is because I had read the other ones some time ago.
I just wanted to start with a clean slate.

No worries I'm getting beat up on another thread today for something I didn't say.

I think all of you guys are great and sometimes people including myself come across wrong.

What can you do?


Worth