Potatoes

Monday March 19 I planted potatoes in North Central Wisconsin. The temperatures have been setting record highs for several days and no freezing weather is in the forecast. If the weather stays warm I will harvest the first new potatoes in early June. March 17 is the earliest I ever planted potatoes when I lived in Ohio. The chance of these potatoes being nipped by frost is high but if the potatoes get nipped with frost they will recover but the yield may be less. I may have to cover the plants. Our frost free day is May 22.

My mother read an article advertizing a potato planting system using their particular tubs filled with potting soil. As the potatoes produced tubers, you could reach into the soft soil, possibly straw on top, and harvest what you need. Two years ago a friend from West Virginia bought some potatoes sold for seed to plant in pots. Later that year she said one plant had produced 28 edible potatoes and she was still harvesting. She couldn’t believe the productive potential of one small potato seed piece.

Another friend asked about growing potatoes in straw. Check out these web sites.
http://www.colostate.edu/Depts/CoopExt/4DMG/VegFruit/potatoes.htm
http://www.vegetable-gardening-online.com/growing-potatoes-in-straw.html

Growing potatoes in straw will work. Remember that the seed potato piece needs to be on the soil so the roots penetrate the soil to get nutrients and water. Two years ago all of the potatoes I harvested were not used. A few were stored in a box in the basement where temperatures remains somewhat cool and it is dark. At potato harvest time in late September I retrieved the box with the potatoes. The potatoes had grown vines and growing off the vines were a few small potatoes. One of the potatoes was the size of ping pong ball. The variety was Yukon Gold and the daughter potato had perfectly smooth skin. All the vine and little potatoes formed from carbohydrates, nutrients and moisture in the parent tuber.

Remember to choose good certified seed potatoes. From experience with side by side rows, potatoes from good seed grew much better, produced much higher quality, and yielded much more than the row planted from low quality seed saved from the year before.

Here are potatoes I am familiar with and can recommend:
Reds – Norland, Pontiac (Norland has smoother skin and shallower eyes)
Whites – Kennebec, Katahdin, Shepody, Snowden
Russets – Burbank, Norkotah, they are mostly all good.
Yellow flesh - Yukon Gold, Yukon Gem
Specialty potatoes - Many fingerlings and specialty colored potatoes

For a list and description go to this web site:
http://potatoes.wsu.edu/varieties/vars-all.htm
Thanks Washington State University

The seed potatoes you mostly end up with will be what the garden center or store you get the seed from offers. You can plant potatoes from the grocery store but they may have been treated with a sprout inhibitor that will delay and slow growth.

A last thought; the best mashed potatoes I have ever eaten were from a combination of Russet, Yukon Gold, and Red Norland potatoes. The flavor was well rounded and complete with a varietal mixture.

The Garden Doc