On Sun, 02 May 2004 18:05:42 GMT, (Rez)
wrote:

In article , wrote:
consider container growing for potatoes. the crop is supposed to be
multiplied greatly when grown this way.
see www.irish-eyes.com . in the growing guide you will see instructions for
producing 100 lbs of potatoes in FOUR SQUARE FEET. the method allows for
easy continuous harvest. i wonder if it will work for sweet potatoes.

Interesting... say, here's a question about potatoes:

I've noticed that red potatoes grown here in California are
pale-skinned and flavourless. Quite unlike the good red potatoes from
North Dakota and Washington.

So when I planted some "eyes", I used good Washington potatoes.

Were they cut up .. one eye to the chunk or did you plant smaller
whole potatoes?


But they *produced* typical pale bland California potatoes -- yuck!

Did you let them dry up or just dig them while the vines were still
green? In california they might just keep growing and growing if you
didn't withdraw water and then make sure no more got to them...
because they will start growing again, making bumps on the already
existing potatoes and some small new ones could form.

So appears it's a soil, water, or climate issue (SoCal desert), rather
than a variety issue. Any thoughts?

Certainly growing conditions affect the outcome, water.. and too much
of it will make anemic potatoes, if you suspect there is something
missing from the soil, have it tested.

The variety you're growing is the biggest difference .. there is an
early red.. norland I think.. and it doesn't have good flavor, very
anemic even grown here in Idaho! (at least in my opinion). Pontiacs
are a later variety, better keeper, MUCH better flavor. I grew some
Levitt's pink..red skin and pink flesh, it was very tasty. Sangre are
a russet skinned red, a bit more mealy than what most of us think of
as reds.. waxy moist.

As a side effect, they also produced literally hundreds of half-inch
nubbins which were impossible to dig out, all of which sprouted this
spring. So now I have this patch of volunteers which apparently don't
mind that I'm not watering them, in the hope that they'll dry up and
go away. g

Well you could hill with soil or mulch some of them, don't water them
and see what they produce with just the natural water. They produce
tubers above the level of the "seed" piece, so you might as well get
something out of them if you can, they may be better dryer.

In the future, be sure to know precisely what variety you're planting,
and if you don't like what you get, then you'll know for sure what not
to buy next time, because all red potatoes, or white potatoes are NOT
created equal! I've had wonderful flavored russets and
horrible--throw out the rest of the bag--russets, they may look
similar, but there is a world of difference in the flavor. Even the
strains that one seed grower has versus another .. sometimes just
taste different even though the name on the "seed" was the same...even
on the same ground.

Not a red, but I love kennebec potatoes, they're cobble shaped white
potatoes that can get so big they suggest you plant them closer
together than other varieties to keep them from getting too large.
They're good baked, fried, or boiled.. just let them cure a bit, and
once you've withdrawn water, don't water them again...or they'll start
growing again, or.. rot.

Janice