Paul
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gundogblue
- Cool Member
- Posts: 61
- Joined: Sat May 01, 2010 10:07 pm
- Location: Tinley Pk IL
Potato question
This is probebly a dumb question but please bear with me, I have never grown potatos before. I planted Kenebeck, and Yukon Gold potatos on May 9th, I hilled them with straw on June 1st, and again on June 20th. They are now getting flowers on the upper tips of the plants, my stupid question is what does the flowering signify? OK you all can laugh all you want but since it's my first time to grow potatos, and since it's a root plant I really did'nt expect them to flower. Please advise.
Paul
Paul
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jal_ut
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 7447
- Joined: Sun Jan 18, 2009 10:20 pm
- Location: Northern Utah Zone 5
The potato is a nightshade, related to a tomato. It will bloom and sometimes the fruit will develop. It looks like a small green tomato. The tubers that form underground are vegetative parts and have nothing to do with the blooms. Nohing except that the bloom is an indicator that the plant is far enough along in its development that tubers are probably forming. You can take a finger and poke around a bit and possibly find some nice new potatoes to eat. When you find one just lift it out with a finger. Nothing like new potatoes.
Last edited by jal_ut on Wed Jun 23, 2010 11:19 am, edited 1 time in total.
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gundogblue
- Cool Member
- Posts: 61
- Joined: Sat May 01, 2010 10:07 pm
- Location: Tinley Pk IL
Do a Google search for TPS true potato seed. Much of the How-Too info for home gardeners is from Tom Wagner, but it is scattered. It is quite fascinating and a bit more complex than growing other vegetables from seed. I am growing several plants from TPS this year and will probably put together something summarizing the process later on.
