Harvesting potatoes

[Hispoptart]

Well we've just dug up half our yukons and half our russets and here is what we got plus a few other pics. We are going to dig up the other 4 rows tomorrow, hopefully those rows did as well.

yukons

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The biggest of this batch he weighed in at 1 lb 9 oz

[img]https://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k278/HisPoptart/Picture318.jpg[/img]

As you can see we have several more close to that size and we have already harvested about 12 that size.

[img]https://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k278/HisPoptart/Picture319.jpg[/img]

Russets

[img]https://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k278/HisPoptart/Picture316-1.jpg[/img]

The biggest one at 1 lb 5 oz

[img]https://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k278/HisPoptart/Picture320.jpg[/img]

DH with our 12 ft sunflowers, He is 6' 3"

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One of our several giant butternuts, They are not ripe yet, but they will be huge!

[img]https://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k278/HisPoptart/Picture326.jpg[/img]

Still waiting to see what we have in the potato buckets but they are still growing new foliage. So they will have to wait. Or I guess we will have to wait LOL

[gixxerific]

Nice haul so far. Those look dang good. My tators didn't do squat this year.

[garden5]

Nice taters!

The sunflowers looks great, as well. Mine were supposed to be the mammoth kind with the big heads, but they ended up wit dozens of small ones. They still look great, though.

[Hispoptart]

Thanks we're pretty happy so far. DH and I love digging them, it's like looking for buried treasure

gix..sorry you didn't get much for tators this year. We had some plants that had nothing or just a couple of marbles.

g5, our heads on these ones aren't as big as the ones last year, but like you I don't care they still are very pretty.

[farmerlon]

Everything looks great!

I plan on adding Sunflowers to my garden next year. In addition to the seasonal beauty, and the possibility of harvesting the seeds, it seems those would make "a ton" of organic matter for the compost pile.
Do you compost your Sunflowers at the end of the season?

[garden5]

I've never tried, I've always just tossed them off to the side. However, I've noticed that they don't decompose quickly, so if I did compost them, I'd chop them up prior to putting them in the pile.

[Hispoptart]

We just toss them onto the garden after our fall tilling, they sit there all winter, and I think being buried under the snow somehow helps break them down a bit. The stalks take some time. We break up the stalks before our spring tilling and just till it all in. We do harvest the seeds and roast them.

[garden5]

That butternut looks unique, is it a special variety?

About the sunflowers, do you plant then each year, or do they seed themselves? I've found that once you have sunflowers in a path.....you'll readily have sunflowers there each year......which is why I'm now wondering if it was really such a good idea idea to plant them in my garden .

[applestar]

Their roots also dig WAY down. I cut them off at ground level with loppers at the end of the season for the roots to break down and add OM to the soil.
I mostly bury the stalks in the beds where I need more soil/OM.

As sturdy as they seem, they actually break down pretty quickly when kept moist. I tried saving them in the shed and using them a supports the following season, but they softened by mid-summer and fell over during a heavy storm. If I had a chipper/shredder, I suppose I would dry them and shred them to add to the compost pile, mulch, etc.

[garden5]

Their roots also dig WAY down. I cut them off at ground level with loppers at the end of the season for the roots to break down and add OM to the soil.

Thanks, Apps, for validating my decision to plant them in the garden . I totally forgot about the OM that would be added to the soil by the root-mass.

You know, I wonder what would happen if you just left the potatoes that grew on the potato plant in the ground to add OM? (since "potatoes" are what started this whole thread ). Althouh, I'd have to admit that it would indeed take a lot of will-power to leave all of those tasty potatoes in the ground.

[soil]

You know, I wonder what would happen if you just left the potatoes that grew on the potato plant in the ground to add OM?

you would add OM and get more potatoes next year. we have potatoes growing as perennials in our forest garden. sweet potatoes do an even better job in frost free areas.

[Hispoptart]

We have had a few volunteers pop up but not many so we plant them every year. We plant the because as the grow they help block the heat reflecting from our neighbors garage getting to our potatoes.

[Hispoptart]

That butternut looks unique, is it a special variety?

Not any special variety, just the basic butternut. They are all just growing like crazy.

[garden5]

Count yourself lucky....butternut is one of my favorites. Unfortunately, I did not get as many as expected this year, but I'm getting better each year.

Soil, I never thought about that! You would get more potatoes....lot's of 'em. Suddenly, leaving them in the ground doesn't sound like the best idea anymore .

[Hispoptart]

G5 last year we got over 400lbs of butternuts I am thinking we will get lots more this year as long as they ripen before the frost. We have always read to pull out all potatoes, even the marbles. Could be wrong though.

[garden5]

G5 last year we got over 400lbs of butternuts I am thinking we will get lots more this year as long as they ripen before the frost. We have always read to pull out all potatoes, even the marbles. Could be wrong though.

400lbs...... .

How big is your butternut patch? That must be at least 100 squash or 75 really large ones. If you like butternuts, you should look into the argonaut variety....it's like a giant butternut!

[Hispoptart]

Last year it was 4 plants we'll see what 2 plants do this year, but ya they were very big compared to the ones you buy at the store.

[garden5]

Last year it was 4 plants we'll see what 2 plants do this year, but ya they were very big compared to the ones you buy at the store.

Wow, all that from only 4 plants. That's amazing. Since you are saying that the squash were big (thus, heavy), perhaps you got about 50-70 butternuts (assuming 8lbs. or so each), which would translate to about 15 per vine. Does this sound accurate?

Not to be a pain, but how far apart were the plants from each other and the other crops? I love squash, but have yet to get a good harvest, so I'm eager to learn all I can.....especially methods that work.

Thanks for the advice.

[Hispoptart]

Last year it was 4 plants we'll see what 2 plants do this year, but ya they were very big compared to the ones you buy at the store.

Wow, all that from only 4 plants. That's amazing. Since you are saying that the squash were big (thus, heavy), perhaps you got about 50-70 butternuts (assuming 8lbs. or so each), which would translate to about 15 per vine. Does this sound accurate?

Not to be a pain, but how far apart were the plants from each other and the other crops? I love squash, but have yet to get a good harvest, so I'm eager to learn all I can.....especially methods that work.

Thanks for the advice.

Yea that sounds about right, and from the looks of the 2 plants this year we are going to get about that many again. As for spacing, they are about 4 ft apart and well they started out about 4 feet between the rows of the other vegies. But now they have run over everything including the Zuc plant LOL. It's crazy. They keep trying to come out to play on the lawn but we just mow them over. I will take a pic and post it later this afternoon. We are supposed to hit close to freezing tonight and tomorrow, so I will have to dig out the sheets and figure out a way to cover the mass.

[garden5]

Thanks for the info, I'll be looking forward to the pics.

OK, so 4 ft. equidistant, pretty much. I think my problem is I just simply plant my squash too close.....way too close. That's probably why I got such a low yield, this year.

Don't mow the butternut plants! train them back into the garden....more butternuts .

[Hispoptart]

Thanks for the info, I'll be looking forward to the pics.

OK, so 4 ft. equidistant, pretty much. I think my problem is I just simply plant my squash too close.....way too close. That's probably why I got such a low yield, this year.

Don't mow the butternut plants! train them back into the garden....more butternuts .

Yea maybe they need more room, but mine don't ask for more space they just take it LOL, Thats why I mow them, gotta keep them in line some what. Not doing a very good job of that though, heres the pics.

[img]https://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k278/HisPoptart/Picture434-1.jpg[/img]

Close up of butters and zucs

[img]https://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k278/HisPoptart/Picture435.jpg[/img]

Close up of butters and peppers

[img]https://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k278/HisPoptart/Picture438.jpg[/img]

[garden5]

Wow, all those vines from only 2 plants, now that's what I call prolific.

I hear what you are saying about they just taking the space they need. Seems like just about all squashes are like that.

What do you do will all your butternuts? How long do they keep for?

[Hispoptart]

We store them in the basement over winter. I dip the vine end in wax and then use a paint brush to dribble a bit of wax on the flower end and they keep all winter long. To bake them I cut them in half, clean out the seeds then pack them with butter and brown sugar, wrap tight in tin foil then bake for about an hour. I have also made pie out of them and it's really good.

[Green Mantis]

Back to potatoes,---we planted some that had been given to us, really late. In july I think it was. Anyway they are growing like crazy and are a good foot tall or more.---But now I'm wondering, Will they have a chance to flower before frost?----Just curious to know IF we might actually get some little potatoes?--We are in Alberta, where it seems the weather can, and does almost anything at times!!!!--How long does it take for them to flower, after planting?

[Hispoptart]

I want to say ours took about 2 , 21/2 months to flower. But I could be wrong on that. I'm not sure your going to get anything. But hey it's still fun to try. when is your first frost?

[garden5]

Back to potatoes,---we planted some that had been given to us, really late. In july I think it was. Anyway they are growing like crazy and are a good foot tall or more.---But now I'm wondering, Will they have a chance to flower before frost?----Just curious to know IF we might actually get some little potatoes?--We are in Alberta, where it seems the weather can, and does almost anything at times!!!!--How long does it take for them to flower, after planting?

Yeah, really. It seems I do have a tendency to take a thread way off topic. I have to get in the habit of just starting my own thread. Being up so far north, I think if you get potatoes, you'll be close.

I'm thinking you may get lots of little ones.

[Green Mantis]

I'm not sure when the first frost is? I think pretty much anytime. We just did this as an experiment. But am hoping??? that Maybe we will get something. It's going to be close!!!! We just don't have any flowers, on any of the plants yet. This is the first year we have tried gardening in Alberta. Not impressed with the weather here though!

[applestar]

Is the upper foliage huge? Maybe you could stave off the end by covering with floating covers. Double-layer cover works well if it gets really cold. I did this with Edamame last year when they weren't ready to harvest but the frost had arrived.

[Green Mantis]

I definately could try that, as the leaves are big.----Sorry about back to the potatoes, LOL! Your garden is awesome and I don't blame you for getting excited and rambling. I would too!!!---This was an experiment, so we will see what happens? Hopefully no frost for a long time!!!

[garden5]

Is the upper foliage huge? Maybe you could stave off the end by covering with floating covers. Double-layer cover works well if it gets really cold. I did this with Edamame last year when they weren't ready to harvest but the frost had arrived.

Or you could just go all the way and put up a [url=https://www.noble.org/ag/horticulture/RaisedBedGardening/mini_tunnel.html]low tunnel[/url].

[Green Mantis]

Thanks for the idea, it looks like a good one! I think we will try that. Will it work if they don't have flowers on them yet though? Love this forum, SO many ideas and helpful people!!!

[garden5]

Yeah, it should work.

Good luck and let us know how everything turns out.

[Green Mantis]

Definately will. I'm really curious about what will happen too!

[Hispoptart]

According to a web site, depending on what city you live in, your first frost comes between 8/29 and 9/23. So watch your weather carefully. I check mine every afternoon now a cover my plants if theres even a chance it will frost. Looks like I will be covering them for the next few days for sure.

[garden5]

The weather will be pretty stable for me until about the beginning of Oct., that's when I'll have to start paying close attention to the forecasts and start getting buckets ready. Hope you garden makes it through the coming week.