Taters are dying! Help!

Sun Jul 26, 2009 10:45 pm

I am new here and new to gardening in general. City boy transplanted to the country couple of years ago.
This year I bought a rototiller built a fence around 30x60 area and decided to give it a try, plant a garden.

Half of the garden was to plant potatoes. Bought seed potatoes. Planted in rows all that... They came up nicely and grew OK so far but they are now turning yellowish. Whole plant is turning lighter and lighter shade of green. I watered them plenty. Soil seems to be nice, virgin soil never planted in. Used to be pasture. I did not hill up all of them yet but those that I did are not looking any better than the ones that are hilled up. Almost no flowers on them ether.
I do not get it. My taters are dying!? Any advise? Any emergency fertilizer that I can add now?

Sun Jul 26, 2009 11:45 pm

They are supposed to die before you dig them up. How long ago did you plant them? Mine started to die off 1 1/2 months ago. I dug them about a month ago and have grean beans growing where they were.

Sun Jul 26, 2009 11:56 pm

Loosen the soil around the base of a plant or two and see what size potatoes are hiding beneath the soil.

Mon Jul 27, 2009 12:46 am

freedhardwoods wrote:They are supposed to die before you dig them up. How long ago did you plant them? Mine started to die off 1 1/2 months ago. I dug them about a month ago and have grean beans growing where they were.

I planted them at mid April. They did not flower much at all though. I though they supposed to flower couple of weeks before they start dying off.

Mon Jul 27, 2009 12:58 am

Bulba wrote:
freedhardwoods wrote:They are supposed to die before you dig them up. How long ago did you plant them? Mine started to die off 1 1/2 months ago. I dug them about a month ago and have grean beans growing where they were.

I planted them at mid April. They did not flower much at although. I though they supposed to flower couple of weeks before they start dying off.

Mine never flower. The plants just start to go yellow. I mostly plant red potato peels that sprouted.

Mon Jul 27, 2009 1:03 am

I don't know why they didn't flower, but I would say it is about time for them to start dying. You might check them as hendi_alex suggested.

I have never had any luck trying to grow potatoes. I usually end up with about twice as many pounds as the seed that I bought with very few being as big as a baseball. :roll:

Mon Jul 27, 2009 1:23 am

freedhardwoods wrote:I don't know why they didn't flower, but I would say it is about time for them to start dying. You might check them as hendi_alex suggested.

I have never had any luck trying to grow potatoes. I usually end up with about twice as many pounds as the seed that I bought with very few being as big as a baseball.

I don't buy seed I use free peels that sprouted either in my compost or potatoes with eyes in my pantry.
I plant them in pots, half filled with soil then add soil as they grow. I don't get huge potatoes, but big enough to make it worth growing.
A few plants popped up in my garden. The plants got huge, but the harvest was no better than the pots.
I'm pretty happy that I accidently started growing potatoes.

Mon Jul 27, 2009 1:30 am

I did the same as Diane this past spring and early summer, using pantry sprouts grown in containers. Didn't make a lot, but had several messes of fresh green beans with new potatoes. Was definitely worth the trouble and will expand the effort next year.

Mon Jul 27, 2009 2:26 am

Like everyone said it's time for them to die back. I already harvested mine a few weeks ago.

I'm sure there are potatoes under there. Trust me they will put anything store bought to shame.

Mon Jul 27, 2009 3:02 am

Wow. Thanks. I was kinda panicking here. I thought that they should be flowering and green till end of summer.

Mon Jul 27, 2009 12:51 pm

It is time to dig your potatoes. Pull the vines by hand some of the potatoes will pull out of the ground. Put the vine in the compost get them out of your way so you can dig. Potato fork is what most people use, I use a shovel too. Fork the soil first and pick up all the potatoes. The turn the soil with a shovel and pick up the rest of the potatoes. Let them dry in the sun about an hour.

I planted my potatoes in April, I dug them up 2 days ago. I dug my potatoes several weeks too late. My vines were turning yellow 3 weeks ago they should have been dug up then. I was busy with other things trying to get ready for a week vacation in Florida, it did hurt much to leave them in the ground longer. The skin gets tuff and some if the new potatoes try to grow.

Mon Jul 27, 2009 1:03 pm

I don't put tomato or potato vines in the compost pile, just too much risk of promoting disease. The vines are thrown over the fence, well away from the garden and outside of the maintained yard. I'm always hesitant to throw squash vines in the compost as well. But everything else goes into the pile to make compost for the upcoming season.

Mon Jul 27, 2009 5:23 pm

Alex, you should be a little clearer about what you're doing. If *I* threw stuff "over the fence" that would be my front yard, one or the other neighbors' yards, or the township-maintained woods in a recreational area with a paved path not 10 feet from my fence! :lol:

... although some of us *do* know from your previous posts that you are in fact a land baron. :wink:

Mon Jul 27, 2009 5:43 pm

Thanks everybody.

Should I leave potatoes in the ground for a while so that they grow bigger?

Mon Jul 27, 2009 6:37 pm

Yep, over the fence means 'out in the woods'. I don't think that tomato and potato vine diseases bother the oak trees.

For city folks, perhaps a small compost pile for disease prone garden plants, and then use that compost to mulch around trees or shrubs away from the garden. Seems that could be a solution. One gardening buddy from another board burns his, but in most cities that would be a problem as well. It would be ashame to see vegetable waste go to the land fill.