Spuds!!!

[mirkwood]

Earthling provided me with some seed potatoes. I planted 6-8 and harvested my little crop yesterday. I dug up about 30! Woo hoo! Doing that again next year on a larger scale.

[DMGNUT]

Mirkwood,
Give this a try. I can't remember where I got it, but I think it was from someone here on this site.

Potatoes In A Garbage Can
To plant potatoes in a garbage can, you get a garbage can and drill several 1/2 drainage holes in the bottom and on the sides close to the bottom. You then fill it with about 6 inches of good potting soil, and if you like, some fertilizer. I personally would use the "square foot gardening" mix of 1/3 peat moss, 1/3 compost and 1/3 asbestos-free vermiculite.
You then plant a few seed potatoes in this six inches of soil, leaving at least five inches between each seed. You cover these seed potatoes with soil (about an inch), and water them.
These will sprout. When the vines grow 4" high, you add compost, more soil, or straw to the garbage can, covering all but 1" of the vine. You keep doing this until the garbage can is completely full. You then have the seed potatoes at the bottom and several plants that have grown up to the height of the garbage can. Stake up the vines that grow out of the top. The vines will flower, and then potatoes will grow all up the length of the vine. You can dig right in whenever you want a potato. When you dig in to get one while the vine is alive, this is a "new potato" and is for eating soon. They are extremely tasty when fresh from the plant. The "new potato" will not store long, however when the vines have died at the end of the summer, the leftover potatoes are storable.
You can get up to 40 lbs or more from one season’s growth.

[mirkwood]

I thought about doing that this year, but I have space for them in the ground so I did it that way. I need to get them in the ground sooner this next year.

[signseeker]

I love potatoes!:l0 (19): Do you notice any difference between the garden potatoes and the store-bought ones?

[Earthling]

Besides the usual red potatoes we tried Yukon Gold and sweet potatoes. The sweet potatoes are a little tricky and we lost some of the starts. That is why it is good to experiment and learn to garden now when your life doesn't depend on it. :yummie:

[signseeker]

So these "seed potatoes" ... is this just like sticking the eyes in the ground? Are they more special than store-bought potatoes?

[prairiemom]

My potatoes take longer to cook than the store's. Other than that I notice no difference in flavor.

Commercial potatoes are sprayed weeks before harvest to stop the plants from producing new spuds and get them to finish maturing. Then they are generally sprayed with maleic hydrazide (MH) a few weeks before harvest to inhibit sprouting during storage. Then 10-14 days before harvest they are sprayed to kill the vines. After they are harvested and sorted they are sprayed with CIPC (3-chloro-isopropyl-N-phenyl carbamate) while in storage to further inhibit sprouting. They are also washed in chlorine (or sometimes mercury or copper) to inhibit fungal and bacterial growth on the surface. I don't think you can find a more chemically treated food in the produce section than potatoes. Add to that the fact that most potatoes sit in cold storage for 6-12mos before they ever reach the grocery store and it's a wonder there's any nutrition left in them by the time you get them.

Seed potatoes miss one (or more) of the sprays that inhibit sprouting and instead are kept dormant by refrigeration.

[Earthling]

Seed potatoes miss one (or more) of the sprays that inhibit sprouting and instead are kept dormant by refrigeration.

Thanks PrairieMom - that is correct - they are not sprayed to stop them from sprouting. Regular store potatoes that I bought in the fall have finally sprouted around February/March. The spray must have worn off. I have planted these with good results.

When you plant your potatoes you cut them up so they have several "eyes" so one potato will make several plantings.