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vjd

By Vjd

United States Us

has anyone had experience growing potatoes? i am trying them this yr, they are about 4 ft tall now and bushy, when are they ready? and can i pull them up like a carrot or do u dig them up any help is appreciated , thanks victor




Answers

 

Hi Victor when did you plant your potatoes and are they an early potato or a main crop potato? If an early potato they could be ready now, not if they are a main crop. You'll ned to dig them up rather than pulling them up like carrots. Might be worth removing some of the soil near on of the potato tops and seeing what size the actual tubers are.

17 Jun, 2016

vjd
Vjd
 

hi , thanks for reply really do not know what kind they are i had some white potatoes in the bin that sprouted and i decided to plant them, it's been almost 2 months now are they suppose to flower?

17 Jun, 2016

 

Most varieties do flower, yes. If these were shop bought potatoes and you only planted them two months ago it is unlikely they were an early variety. Having you been feeding them with something?

17 Jun, 2016

vjd
Vjd
 

just miracle grow like all my trees, plants and veggies

17 Jun, 2016

 

Ah that probably explains the luxuriant top growth. Potato tubers are usually planted in well rotted manure or compost and not fed from the top. I'd stop using the Miracle Grow as all it is doing is encouraging the original tuber to produce top growth when what you want is for the tubers to be forming.

17 Jun, 2016

vjd
Vjd
 

thanks that's a big help that might be the problem with my tomatoes they are high but nothing yet of course they are later tomatoes but it seems i would be getting some fruit? my squash is doing great! fruit started

17 Jun, 2016

 

I'd stop feeding the tomatoes too... buy something like Tomorite liquid tomato food and feed them this as per instructions on the container.

17 Jun, 2016

vjd
Vjd
 

yep will do just going to use the miracle grow on flowers only

17 Jun, 2016

 

Good!

17 Jun, 2016

vjd
Vjd
 

thanks for all ur help

17 Jun, 2016

 

If yo want to be sure they are usually ready when the plants flower but they don't all. They are also ready when the tops begin to die back a bit. But you can cheat by forking gently round one of them until you find a potato and see how big it is. If its not ready just cover it up again.

17 Jun, 2016

vjd
Vjd
 

i like this forum!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

17 Jun, 2016

 

We're all hooked on it, how did you guess?

18 Jun, 2016

vjd
Vjd
 

went and got some veg and tomato fertilizer today watered it in good let's see what that does?

18 Jun, 2016

 

Can only help, though I wouldn't use on the potatoes...

18 Jun, 2016

vjd
Vjd
 

nope didn't do it

18 Jun, 2016

 

Good!

18 Jun, 2016

vjd
Vjd
 

zucchini and yellow squash are coming along well, spaghetti squash is overtaking the first garden , thought i had not planted it there? must have got plants mixed up ,winter squashes are doing ok but they do not get the sun like my main veg garden so they are slower in growing.

18 Jun, 2016

vjd
Vjd
 

going to be a very hot week here in ny [they say] was looking at my potato plants and noticed that some are beginning to flower , they are the newer plants but the first plants are not flowering ?? might be a different potato i put in?

20 Jun, 2016

 

Could be or some are flowering and others aren't... If all the potatoes you planted came from the same bag the 'should' be the same variety but given these were from a supermarket who knows!

20 Jun, 2016

vjd
Vjd
 

the potatoes that are flowering have a smaller leaf than the other ones that are not flowering, also my area for red potatoes are not flowering they are younger maybe in time? going to be a surprise this fall to see whats under them. do not know if i will plant them next yr though , they take up a lot of room in my garden!

22 Jun, 2016

vjd
Vjd
 

one type of potato plant is flowering now, when do i dig them? and the other never has flowered different leaves! added a picture

27 Jun, 2016

 

Sorry Vjd no photo... I, personally, wouldn't do anything for at least another month but - they are your plants in your garden! We have lots of luxuriant top growth on our potatoes but they will not be lifted for another couple of months.

27 Jun, 2016

vjd
Vjd
 

photo is with my other photos i am patient so i'll wait till fall thanks for reply

27 Jun, 2016

amy
Amy
 

Vjd if you intend growing potatoes next year ( after your success this year ) choose a different spot its a good idea to have a 3 year rotation so as not to encourage viruses ... I'd love to see your face when sampling your first crop :o)

29 Jun, 2016

vjd
Vjd
 

thanks for info amy do potatoes require a lot of sun ? i have an area in semi sun that i am thinking of potatoes for next yr all by them selves? i also can not wait for my first potatoes how many potatoes should i expect from a plant?

29 Jun, 2016

 

Vjd do have an experimental scrape round under a flowering one. You can always cover it up again.Might be worth doing the same with the non flowering ones too in case they are a non flowering variety. If you leave them in too long there is always the danger that those horrid little keel slugs will have eaten into them.

29 Jun, 2016

vjd
Vjd
 

so scrape a little soil from near the root and see whats under the ground? the non flowering ones have been in for a month earlier than the flowering ones and the flowering ones have smaller leaves?

29 Jun, 2016

 

Vjd you can grow potatoes in semi shade but they are much happier in full sun. Having lost two neighbours gardens for growing veg. we are having to use extremely large containers this year, primarily because we want potato varieties that are not available in the shops. Everything is looking good but we won't know for another 6 weeks or so!

29 Jun, 2016

vjd
Vjd
 

thanks, have been reading a little about growing potatoes and it says do not use store bought ones, they do not yield? will have to see this yr and do something different for next yr, am going to look at them tomorrow if it dries out after the storms. they sure look good on the top! i think i have red white, and yellow potatoes? what varieties are not in shops? i love potatoes especially fried even though they are not good for me salt potatoes are good to. and baby reds

29 Jun, 2016

vjd
Vjd
 

my red potatoes are in a large container , and have good growth on top only about 5 plants!

29 Jun, 2016

amy
Amy
 

The amount of potatoes dug up from each plant will vary Vjd depending on the variety, weather etc. we had a competition at our local horticultural society where we were each give a potato to plant in a tub and then at a decided time later we were asked to dig them out to weigh them with the largest crop winning the prize , they were all the same potatoes with all very different results in weight ... ..obviously the longer you leave them the bigger they will get ...

30 Jun, 2016

 

Some store bought ones have been treated with a chemical to prevent them sprouting but as yours have grown you have nothing to lose at this stage. Scrape away!

30 Jun, 2016

vjd
Vjd
 

just did my scrape on the non flowering potatoes, they are the white ones, they are 1 1/2 -2 inches in diameter, i covered them up, they were close to the top, is that normal? they looked good!!

30 Jun, 2016

 

If the potatoes are in the ground you need to earth them up a bit if possible add more soil if they are in a container.

30 Jun, 2016

vjd
Vjd
 

i have my red ones in a container and the yellow and white ones in the ground so should i cover them more with soil, never did hill them? it might be hard to add soil as it is pretty crowded.

30 Jun, 2016

vjd
Vjd
 

I did manage to get a bag of soil around the potatoes in the ground , the container potatoes are small yet so i think ill wait a while, thanks to all for your help

30 Jun, 2016

 

Even if the potatoes in the container as small better to add more soil now...

30 Jun, 2016

vjd
Vjd
 

ok will do

30 Jun, 2016

How do I say thanks?

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