Well some potatoes that we had were going bad so we cut them up, with a few eyes per piece. We planted them kinda early, and they haven't sprouted. However, some bulbs which I planted a few weeks ago have already sprouted.
There may be lots of clay soil in our garden but we've put in lots of clay cutter, fertilizer, lime, etc., in it and the soil is way better than last year . . . and last year we grew tons of zucchini and squash (They shot up REALLY fast. My Dad had dumped all the fertilizer we had into that garden because he was desperate to get the clay broken up! O.O)
And yet . . . the potatoes are a no show. Did I plant them too early? Too deep? (I dug around in the garden today but couldn't find pieces of potato.) Or is/was the soil to damp? The garden is at the bottom of a hill, so a lot of it is always damp. Not to mention there were cold snaps after I planted and it's been a wet spring. Could they have rotted?
Well, any thoughts/advice you guys have would be helpful. Thanks!
Well if they were already rotting, that wouldn't be good if you didn't get all of it cut out, and the last cuts made with a different clean knife with washed hands. Then let the cut surfaces dry *at least* over night. if not a day or two so long as the pieces are good sized.
Then, how deep did you plant them.. as in how much soil over the cut piece. You could have dug a trench a foot deep.. but only put an inch or two of soil over them seed pieces. If you put them deep, in wet, cold soil, without drying the cut surfaces.. I'd say they rotted in 3 days.
I don't know where you are, so I have no idea of how cold the ground is or the air for that matter. Some folks say you should have your potatoes in by good friday.. but .. I get them in when I can, or did, and usually that was around this time of year. However the climate seems to be changing here, Boise, Idaho.. It's been hotter earlier and longer and higher temperatures earlier. Last year it was in the
100+ f. range in June and stayed there most of the summer. It was
87°f today, and while not a record I don't think, it's close. I just hope it doesn't stay there. They claim it will go down again, but we just don't know.
Replant in a better drained area with certified seed potatoes, try for small egg size whole potatoes, less chance of rot .. chit them, place them "rose" end up ..the end with the greatest concentration of eyes..in a well lit area for a few days. Rub off all but 2 or 3 of the largest sprouts, and plant them. Keeping in mind all the potatoes that are produced will be *above* the depth of the seed potato, be it an eye from a cut up potato, or the whole small potato.
I read that you will get fewer but larger potatoes from cut eyes from larger seed potatoes, and you will get smaller, but more ...for a higher poundage..yield from the egg size whole seed potato. So you might want to plant some of both. Letting cut surfaces dry. Also, plant the potatoes where you can isolate them from the rest of the garden.. so that you don't get water on their area once they've started to die down or they'll start growing again, or rot. Grow something else in the damp area.
Did you sprout them before planting them out? Like they need some good green growth before being buried. But I suspect they just rotted. Life is tenacious but not that tenacious.
FWIW - Commercial potatoes are sprayed with a growth deterant. They do NOT want the potatoes to shoot sprouts. This would make them not sale-able. However, I do hear a lot of people planting them and getting results. If you raelly want to grow potatoes go to your local hardware store or seed store. They usually have "in-stock" what needs to be currently planted.
What zone are you in? I'm in North Carolina and my potatoes (new reds and White) are about 18" high and ready to start flowering.
Well, it must wear off after a while, because all the commercial potatoes I've seen will eventually sprout, and grow the same as any other. Maybe it just takes longer for them to get going -- that's often the case with other chemical inhibitors.
Frex, if you treat soil with diazinon, grass seed will take weeks to sprout, instead of days, but it sprouts all the same.
I can't even remember when I planted the potatoes. Late March, or early April some time. I'm in zone 6, close to zone 7 . . . of course anything I'd assume you can plant now . . .
But what's hardiest in clay-ish soil? And what do deer like the least. It's a nightmare. You should see the poor evergreen bushes we have. The only green on them is where the deer can't reach. :P
The reason we tried it with the potatoes store bought is because my Dad did, yes, have results with store potatoes many years ago. It was accidental. He was trying to use the potatoes for compost. . . . hehe.
Anyway. I'd assume they rotted from what you all have been saying. That soil is VERY wet, always usually; I think they got planted too deep; AND it's been a wetter spring. We're actually making our rainfall quotas!!! Yayness. ^^
Too bad for those plants though . . . So the search is on for something different to put in there . . . or try again w/ seed potatoes. I've probably got to get moving then. THANKS AGAIN! :)
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