wrote in message
...
On Thu, 4 Mar 2010 11:55:27 -0500, "biig" wrote:


wrote in message
. ..
Every year we seem to have volunteer potato plants which have grown
from potatoes we've missed when digging the previous year's crop.
These volunteers always seem to produce a large healthy crop of
tubers.
Because of this, we've been meaning for several years to try some fall
planted potatoes and finally, this year, we managed to plant several
different varieties in about 50 feet of row. It'll be interesting to
see how well they perform.

Ross.
Southern Ontario, Canada.
AgCanada Zone 5b
43º 17' 26.75" North
80º 13' 29.46" West

Ross, I'm also in SW Ontario Canada. Last year I planted potatoes in
a
garbage pail. I harvested them too soon, on the advice of a friend
(didn't
wait until the tops died off). I want to do it again, but the cost of the
soil is prohibitive and I've been told not to use the same soil over
again.
Have you any experience with this? Planting directly into a garden plot
uses the same soil. Do you do anything to prepare the garden for
it?...thanks...Sharon


Hi Sharon,

The main reason for not using the same soil over again is to guard
against the carry over of disease organisms. When planting directly
into the garden, most gardeners practice crop rotation, i.e., don't
plant the same crop in the same spot where it grew the year before.
That being said, I don't think you'd have too much of a problem if you
used the same soil over again for one more year, particularly if you
started with certified seed potatoes last year.
As far as soil preparation, we have our old faithful TroyBilt Horse
tiller and the gardens get tilled and have compost worked in at the
same time.
Why do you want to plant in a container? No room for a small garden?

Ross.
I planted in the container because we have really poor soil and I'm not
able to cultivate. Containers work for me. I only grew the potatoes, but
this year will do some radishes and carrots, also in containers. I have a
selection of potted herbs on an outdoor table through the growing months.
I'm not really much of a gardener, but use herbs for cooking and just wanted
to experiment with the potatoes. I actually used russets from my pantry
that had started to sprout. This year, I'll do yukon gold or some such.
It's just a "dabble" into gardening. We are away a lot in the summer with
our camper van so I don't get too involved. What is the difference between
certified seed potatoes and what I used. My husband's grandfather always
used last year's leftovers to plant a new crop. That was many years ago
though...thanks...Sharon