- zone: 4b / 5
sunset zone: 43
- BrianSkilton
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- Joined: Sat Feb 14, 2009 10:59 pm
- Location: South Dakota
Planting Potatoes
I have planted potatoes a few times, however I am unsure when the best time to plant them is. I am getting a bunch of different seed potatoes in the mail: Nicola, Maris Piper, King Edwards, Epicure and Belle De Fontenay. When is the best time to plant these in zone 4b / zone 5?. Also do I need to chit them first? I usually just use the ones that have sprouted, however since these are seed potatoes I don't know if they will be sprouted yet. Thanks in advance guys
- applestar
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- Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)
Last year, my seed potatoes came with instructions to plant when the soil temp warms up to 55ºF. Then I came across (or somebody posted) [url=https://www.ghorganics.com/Phenology.html]a link to Phenology[/url] which stated that Crabgrass germinates when soil warms to 55ºF and this coincides with when the yellow Forsythias are in bloom.
So I am personally following the Corollary to "Plant seed potatoes when the yellow Forsythias are in bloom." This year, I have noticed that this also coincides with when the neighborhood Bradford/Callery pears are in full bloom.
I (Zone 6b) planted my first two shipments of seed potatoes on Friday and Monday.
So I am personally following the Corollary to "Plant seed potatoes when the yellow Forsythias are in bloom." This year, I have noticed that this also coincides with when the neighborhood Bradford/Callery pears are in full bloom.
I (Zone 6b) planted my first two shipments of seed potatoes on Friday and Monday.
- BrianSkilton
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- Location: South Dakota
- rainbowgardener
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- Location: TN/GA 7b
- BrianSkilton
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- Gary350
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- Location: TN. 50 years of gardening experience.
The best potato crop I ever grew was in an old car tire. I put a car tire on the ground. I put the potato pieces in the center directly on the soil. I filled the tire center with a mix of mostly compost with some dirt mixed in. When the plants had grown up about 6" above the soil I put another car tire on top and filled it about 1/2 full with more compost and soil. A few weeks later I filled it to the top with compost and soil and put another car tire on top. Now it was 3 car tires tall and the vines are growing out the top. I watered it every day with the garden hose. When the vines turned yellow and started looking like they were dying I removed the tires. I had potatoes the size of grapefruits. That is the largest potatoes I have every grown. One potato was a whole meal with left overs for tomorrow and they were good.
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- Location: Southern Ontario
Maybe I take the whole "organic gardening" thing a bit too far (?), but I would be to "chemically paranoid" to plant veggies in car tires.Gary350 wrote:The best potato crop I ever grew was in an old car tire. ....
I wouldn't be able to get past wondering what substances might leach into the soil from the tires, and therefor wouldn't be able to enjoy (or eat) the potatoes.
DH's supervisor at work is a Ph.D. chemist. Said Ph.D. chemist and his wife are organic gardeners, right down to the free-range (daylight only) chickens and the feral rabbit around whom they've built a safe surround because of raccoons. They live in Davis, Sunset Zone 15 (significantly warmer summers and less winter rain than here).
You could've knocked me over with less than a chicken feather the day that DH came home last fall and said, "John and [DW] harvested their potatoes over the weekend."
"Oh, good for them! Did they use a hand fork, or ...?"
"John said he just knocked the tires over and had his little girl [daughter] hand him the potatoes. He put 'em into a couple of buckets."
Oooooh kaaaay. Here we have a Ph.D. chemist, certainly aware of the potential for toxic leaching (however much that potential might or might not be), growing his own spuds in tires and having his 6-year-old daughter messing around in the growing medium to hand him the spuds. Sounds like a fun time!
I realize that a scientist would call this "anecdotal" evidence, but I do find it "indicative" as well.
Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9
You could've knocked me over with less than a chicken feather the day that DH came home last fall and said, "John and [DW] harvested their potatoes over the weekend."
"Oh, good for them! Did they use a hand fork, or ...?"
"John said he just knocked the tires over and had his little girl [daughter] hand him the potatoes. He put 'em into a couple of buckets."
Oooooh kaaaay. Here we have a Ph.D. chemist, certainly aware of the potential for toxic leaching (however much that potential might or might not be), growing his own spuds in tires and having his 6-year-old daughter messing around in the growing medium to hand him the spuds. Sounds like a fun time!
I realize that a scientist would call this "anecdotal" evidence, but I do find it "indicative" as well.
Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9