Excited about growing potatoes

[street]

I have never planted potatoes in my garden before, till this spring. I remember helping prepare the potatoes then planting, hilling and harvesting potatoes as a kid and through my school years growing up. We always raised potatoes but I never have but have had small gardens most years but no spuds.

I planted mine on Good Friday and they got hit by frost one time. They are about 14 inches high and I have hilled up about 8 inches up around them already. I did notice two plants will be flowering if we ever get some warm weather. We been having 40's and 50 degree day highs for ~ 10 days now.

Anyone raise them for some fresh small potatoes to use through the summer?

 

[Winemaker]

One of my favorite meals is to pull back the mulch, sneak in with my hands and pull out some fresh small potatoes. Cooked up in a cream sauce with onions and fresh peas. Can't say I don't luv 'em! Maybe with a little ham, and a bottle of ice cold Chardonnay.

 

[RAE]

I have grown potatoes in my garden here in northern Michigan for quite a few years now. I used to think that devoting garden space to potatoes was not a great idea, because potatoes are so cheap at the store, but after growing them in my garden one year, I changed my mind completely. Garden potatoes are incredibly delicious...........nothing better than digging up a few new potatoes and having them with dinner that evening. My wife makes herbed new potatoes (using fresh garden herbs and butter), and we both look forward to it every year now. I always grow 3 different varieties..........a red (often Norland Red), a gold (usually Yukon Gold), and a white (usually Kennebec white). The Kennebec white is actually our favorite, but they are all very good. It has been cold lately here in Michigan also, so my potatoes are not growing much (though they did come up). They'll perk up after the warmer weather arrives this weekend, I'm sure.

 

[street]

That is awesome! Yeah, I'm pretty pumped about them now. Potatoes from the dirt to the pan are so good!!!

So, I been reading up on them and they say, a couple week after they are done flowering there should be some small spuds for the taking. Is that true??

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

I've heard great things about this gardeniing method: https://strawbalegardens.com/straw-bale-gardening-blog/vegetable-gardening/youll-never-grow-potatoes-any-other-way-again/#:~:text=In%20a%20straw%20bale%2C%20we,filling%20the%20bale%20with%20potatoes.

 

[street]

WOW! ^ that is very interesting. I beleive potatoes like loose, fine earth to grow in, so the bale would be an ideal location.

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

Here's a better "how-to" on the straw bale method: https://hgic.clemson.edu/factsheet/straw-bale-gardening/#:~:text=Per%20bale%2C%20evenly%20sprinkle%20top,0%2D0)%20each%20day.

 

[NW-Bound]

I have not grown potatoes, but have been growing yam for a few years. One year, at the end of the season, we dug up maybe 15-20 lbs of yam. Not a lot for the effort, but it's something.

But then, my wife discovered that yam leaves are edible. More, they are nutrionally better than spinach and lettuce. My wife stir-fries the leaves with oil and garlic, the same as she would do with spinach, for side dishes.

Once we pick the leaves to eat, the poor vines can no longer support the tubers, and we stop getting any yam. But that's OK. The leaves are way healthier to eat than the yam. And we get to eat it throughout the growing season, instead of waiting till the end.

See this video about growing and eating yam leaves.

 

[FIREd]

I (along with the rest of my family) grow a lot of potatoes. We grow two kinds: some that we eat fresh throughout the summer, and some that we store over the winter. We just finished eating the potatoes harvested last summer and the new potato crop will be ready to harvest in a couple of months.

 

[ugeauxgirl]

I have not grown potatoes, but have been growing yam for a few years. One year, at the end of the season, we dug up maybe 15-20 lbs of yam. Not a lot for the effort, but it's something.

But then, my wife discovered that yam leaves are edible. More, they are nutrionally better than spinach and lettuce. My wife stir-fries the leaves with oil and garlic, the same as she would do with spinach, for side dishes.

Once we pick the leaves to eat, the poor vines can no longer support the tubers, and we stop getting any yam. But that's OK. The leaves are way healthier to eat than the yam. And we get to eat it throughout the growing season, instead of waiting till the end.

See this video about growing and eating yam leaves.

That is very interesting- I may try that!

 

[ugeauxgirl]

I had a potato sprouting in my pantry and stuck it in the ground. I've never grown potatoes before either. I am glad to hear they are better from the garden than from the store.

 

[flintnational]

I have grown potatoes in my garden here in northern Michigan for quite a few years now. I used to think that devoting garden space to potatoes was not a great idea, because potatoes are so cheap at the store, but after growing them in my garden one year, I changed my mind completely. Garden potatoes are incredibly delicious...........nothing better than digging up a few new potatoes and having them with dinner that evening. My wife makes herbed new potatoes (using fresh garden herbs and butter), and we both look forward to it every year now. I always grow 3 different varieties..........a red (often Norland Red), a gold (usually Yukon Gold), and a white (usually Kennebec white). The Kennebec white is actually our favorite, but they are all very good. It has been cold lately here in Michigan also, so my potatoes are not growing much (though they did come up). They'll perk up after the warmer weather arrives this weekend, I'm sure.

+1
Early new potatoes are a childhood memory. Some things in the garden are just as good at the store. You would think potatoes would fall into that group. However, garden grown fresh potatoes are amazing!

 

[audreyh1]

I agree that fresh home grown potatoes blow away any you buy at the store.

 

[Freedom56]

My wife planted potatoes that started to germinate but she used potato bags that we bought on Amazon. The plants were about to flower when we left on out trip. Hopefully when we return we'll have some potatoes.

 

[street]

Interesting reply's and video from NW-Bound starring Doug/Stacy. I do love yam/sweet potatoes. I sure didn't know about the quality of the leaves.

I plant a few rows of red beets and they always need to be thinned at least twice. Those thinned beet tops with small beets are excellent to eat also. I boil them and pepper, vinegar and onion them. They are very high in nutrition also.

Beet greens are nutritious as they are rich in Vitamin K, copper, manganese, iron and calcium, but they are great for maintaining a healthy weight, as they contain zero saturated fat and cholesterol.

 

[NW-Bound]

If you search YouTube for "eating yam leaves", will find tons of videos about people eating them.

My wife planted some vines in the front, by the side of the house. Javelinas discovered them one night, and ate it all (I am in the foothills near a mountain preserve). Deer and rabbits also eat them.

 

[Gumby]

We have grown potatoes in the garden for several years, but stopped this year because they take up a lot of space and pretty much the only way to combat the Colorado Potato Beetles is to manually inspect every plant and squish the beetles and their larvae one by one. Our community garden plot is organic only, so we are limited in what we can spray on them. I do agree that a fresh potato with dinner is the best. Good luck with your crop.

 

[braumeister]

Just for the record, although the terms are used interchangeably in this country, yams and sweet potatoes are very different things. It would be quite rare to actually find yams in stores here.

 

[38Chevy454]

I agree that fresh home grown potatoes blow away any you buy at the store.

Same for me, so much better home grown.

 

[Koolau]

My dad had the only green thumb in the family. He used to grow potatoes and sweet potatoes. No comparison to what the stores carried - but all this was maybe 30 years ago now. I swear my dad actually loved his plants - whether practical stuff like veggies and tomatoes and potatoes or the orchids he used to grow in his small greenhouse and the rose bushes he always pruned to perfection.

What a wonderful memory to pass on to me. I never caught the fever, but I have such fond memories that will last a life time. Thanks dad. Thanks street!

 

[street]

Koolau, that is an awesome story and thanks for sharing that. Yes, you are right about memories. It brings back many beautiful memories for me also, helping my mother in the garden. I caught the fever as you described, from my loving mom. She was a great teacher in my life.

 

[Winemaker]

I can't find the link but there is a you tube video of growing potatoes using a 2x2 wooden box. You place 9 chunks of eye potatoes in a raised bed box and cover with dirt and compost, as soon as they peek thru, you add another 4" board and cover with dirt. Rinse and repeat until the box is 2 feet high. Supposedly, this will yield 100# of potatoes in a 2x2 area, over the season. It is too late for me to try this year, but I will give it a go, next year.

 

[O2Bfree]

DH has been growing potatoes in a garden plot, but this year planted them in plastic rain barrels cut in half. He's planning to heap up dirt and compost around them as Winemaker described.

One thing I especially like about the potato crop is that the slugs don't bother the young plants. They go after nearly every other seedling in the garden though, and are a big problem here in the Pacific NW. I try to protect the sprouts by covering them with halves of plastic bottles at night. Don't really like using slug bait.

 

[pacergal]

Several years ago, we had "second hand" potatoes and tomatoes grow in our compost pile, and a pumpkin patch in our front yard! It was a fun surprise

 

[NW-Bound]

Just for the record, although the terms are used interchangeably in this country, yams and sweet potatoes are very different things. It would be quite rare to actually find yams in stores here.

Thanks for the info. I have always thought that they are two names for the same thing.

What I grow is definitely sweet potatoes. And yes, sweet potato leaves are edible too.