Last year I planted Linzer Delikatess, Eramosa, Amarosa, Russian Blue, Fingerlings, Green Mountain, Nicola potatoes in my raised beds.
I had 3- 8' x 12' raised beds (12" high), filled with the potatoes. I planted them approx in 1 sq. foot spacing each. They were planted the first week of June, when our nights stay at about +3-5 celsius.
My Issues:
- The plants did not grow very large.
-Only a few flowered
- 90% of the potatoes did not grow beyond the size of an egg
- The Eramosa and the Fingerlings were covered in scab...
- Numbers of tubers per plant seemed good. The Linzers produced in high numbers, just no size.
Some of my observations:
- The plants only grew about 24-30" in height. Years before 36" seemed normal.
- Hardly any flowers on the plants. And no little red berries. My yukons always produce little red berries.
- When harvesting, the soil was very difficult to dig through by hand. It almost seemed caked, or packed.
- I left town (for 3 weeks) approx. 4 weeks after planting them. The person tending to them stated that they were watered everyday, with the hose. We had plenty of rain also. "Drowning" potatoes may be a culprit!
Aside from those issues, I ate plenty of small roasted taters this year! lol
Looking for some suggestions on how to fix this so my yukons and russets grow well this year.
The soil was tilled at the beginning of the year.... but it seemed to be very difficult to dig through. Would adding sand help loosen the soil? I can have access to an endless supply of sand for free.
And how do I fix this scab issue? Simply buy scab resistant varieties?
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rainbowgardener
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 25279
- Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 6:04 pm
- Location: TN/GA 7b
Watering every day PLUS rain, sounds like WAY too much water. Drowned potatoes indeed! I'm surprised they didn't all rot.
Hard compacted soil is not good for potatoes (or most plants, especially root crops). And it sounds like your soil may not be very nutrient rich. That would be compounded by the daily watering which would tend to flush nutrients through the soil faster. Were you fertilizing?
I wouldn't add sand, I would add organics: compost, mushroom compost, fall leaves, grass clippings, peat moss, coconut coir. After the potatoes are done you can add well aged manure and let it break down over the winter, to enrich the ground for next year. Best soil for potatoes is loose, free draining, and very rich/ organic.
Some potatoes flower and some (or sometimes) they don't. For me potatoes usually flower, but they don't set berries. I don't think any of that is a problem by itself.
Keep your potato bed well mulched to conserve moisture (and then don't water very much - probably none if you are in an area that gets frequent summer rains) and reduce disease. The mulch will break down over time and continue to enrich your soil.
Hard compacted soil is not good for potatoes (or most plants, especially root crops). And it sounds like your soil may not be very nutrient rich. That would be compounded by the daily watering which would tend to flush nutrients through the soil faster. Were you fertilizing?
I wouldn't add sand, I would add organics: compost, mushroom compost, fall leaves, grass clippings, peat moss, coconut coir. After the potatoes are done you can add well aged manure and let it break down over the winter, to enrich the ground for next year. Best soil for potatoes is loose, free draining, and very rich/ organic.
Some potatoes flower and some (or sometimes) they don't. For me potatoes usually flower, but they don't set berries. I don't think any of that is a problem by itself.
Keep your potato bed well mulched to conserve moisture (and then don't water very much - probably none if you are in an area that gets frequent summer rains) and reduce disease. The mulch will break down over time and continue to enrich your soil.
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Toxic1979
- Senior Member
- Posts: 148
- Joined: Tue May 12, 2015 4:23 pm
- Location: Labrador City, NL, Canada
I have access to a lot of wood chips (nature wood) and natural wood saw dust, from a local lumber mill. Would that help at all with the soil?
Peat Moss I can definitely get. And Grass Clippings as well.
I won't have access to fall leaves until the fall, and then I would have access to plenty of them.
No I was not fertilizing at all. I side dressed them with fertilizer at planting. Thats all I've done for years with them and had no issues, except in 2015.... sad years for my potatoes.
I figured it was way too much water as well.
Peat Moss I can definitely get. And Grass Clippings as well.
I won't have access to fall leaves until the fall, and then I would have access to plenty of them.
No I was not fertilizing at all. I side dressed them with fertilizer at planting. Thats all I've done for years with them and had no issues, except in 2015.... sad years for my potatoes.
I figured it was way too much water as well.