As Im fairly new to gardening Id like to know how I go about growing potatoes. What is the best time to grow them and whats the best brand?

As I dont actually have a garden I was hoping I could grow them inside a big plastic bin, is this possible and whats the best time to harvest if Im after new potatoes?

Grub wrote:

As Im fairly new to gardening Id like to know how I go about growing
potatoes. What is the best time to grow them and whats the best brand?

As I dont actually have a garden I was hoping I could grow them inside
a big plastic bin, is this possible and whats the best time to harvest
if Im after new potatoes?

It's going to be awfully hard to provide enough light if you grow them
inside. They really should have full sun. Otherwise, your plan should work.
If you do grow them, one way or another, the potatoes will be big enough
for new potatoes at about the same time the plants bloom. Wait a little
longer if you want them to be bigger. (If you didn't want new potatoes,
you would let the vines finish growing and let them start to die down
for potatoes that will store well.)
As far as what "brand" (let's call it variety or cultivar, not brand) it
doesn't matter too much but I wouldn't grow one of the Idaho baking
potato types for new potatoes. You want one of the smaller and more
round varieties that are good for boiling.

Steve

I am groing potatoes in a half wiskey barrel this year. I trained the stems
to come up throught he inside of a fence circle and filled the circle with
straw. Still going. I will report the results after harvest.
"Grub" wrote in message
...

As Im fairly new to gardening Id like to know how I go about growing
potatoes. What is the best time to grow them and whats the best brand?

As I dont actually have a garden I was hoping I could grow them inside
a big plastic bin, is this possible and whats the best time to harvest
if Im after new potatoes?


--
Grub

Hi Grub, sounds like a good idea, I think you can make it work. But
as a previous poster said, light will be your biggest problem.

Here is what we do here in zone 7(south central US) and you can draw
come conclusions from it, maybe.

Many people plant in February, while others like me plants on St
Patties day(Mar17). The harvest date will be virtually the same. Why
you might ask--Because Irish potatoes are day length sensative--in
other words they mature according to the day length, which is in July
here. This don't mean you can't start grappling new potatoes in late
May or early june(as a previous poster stated: when they start
blooming). You very well may keep it going until early august, when
the vine dies.

Around here people plant a second crop in July or early August for
another cop in the fall.

Most of us old timers like Pontiac, which is a red potato . There are
many new varieties on the market, but what I like for boiling in
sal****er, while they are new is a red potato that is round or
slightly egg shaped, and harvested when they are about the size or a
marble, up to the size of a golf ball.

Incidentally, you don't have to destroy the plant, just pull back some
of the dirt harvest a few and put the dirt back, the plant will
continue to grow and produce.

Stick with this news group, they will make a farmer out of you- The
Old Timer!

On Sat, 13 Aug 2005 20:34:18 +0000, Grub
wrote:


As Im fairly new to gardening Id like to know how I go about growing
potatoes. What is the best time to grow them and whats the best brand?

As I dont actually have a garden I was hoping I could grow them inside
a big plastic bin, is this possible and whats the best time to harvest
if Im after new potatoes?

This is my 1st year growing potatoes......I love the baby potatoes,,,,,,,we
grew them in flower pots.....big one's,,,,,,,at least 10 of them........you
can grow veggie's anywhere and in any kind of container,,,,,,milk
crate's,,kid's plastic pool,,,,,,,, old tin breadbox,, on your property or
deck or even a small balcony,,the sky is the limit, just use your
imagination...,,,,,,,and I'm thrilled,,,,,,,what a feast we had,,,,,enjoy!

"Grub" wrote in message
...

As Im fairly new to gardening Id like to know how I go about growing
potatoes. What is the best time to grow them and whats the best brand?

As I dont actually have a garden I was hoping I could grow them inside
a big plastic bin, is this possible and whats the best time to harvest
if Im after new potatoes?


--
Grub

Sandy wrote:
This is my 1st year growing potatoes......I love the baby potatoes,,,,,,,we
grew them in flower pots.....big one's,,,,,,,at least 10 of them........you
can grow veggie's anywhere and in any kind of container,,,,,,milk
crate's,,kid's plastic pool,,,,,,,, old tin breadbox,, on your property or
deck or even a small balcony,,the sky is the limit, just use your
imagination...,,,,,,,and I'm thrilled,,,,,,,what a feast we had,,,,,enjoy!

I put in about 10 potato plants each year because DH loves the baby
potatoes. I don't even know what kinds I have this year - some are
white and some are red. What I do is a few weeks before starting up the
garden I let a few potatoes in sprout. Whatever sprouts is what we get.
This year I had whites and reds. A nice surprise was 3 rogue potato
plants that popped up - one in the strawberry bed and 2 in the compost
pile.


"Grub" wrote in message
...

As Im fairly new to gardening Id like to know how I go about growing
potatoes. What is the best time to grow them and whats the best brand?

As I dont actually have a garden I was hoping I could grow them inside
a big plastic bin, is this possible and whats the best time to harvest
if Im after new potatoes?


--
Grub

"Grub" wrote in message
...

As Im fairly new to gardening Id like to know how I go about growing
potatoes. What is the best time to grow them and whats the best brand?

As I dont actually have a garden I was hoping I could grow them inside
a big plastic bin, is this possible and whats the best time to harvest
if Im after new potatoes?


We've had good results dealing with Milk Ranch for our seed potatoes.

http://www.milkranch.com/

If you click on the Potato Information link in right side of their header,
they have full instructions on growing potatoes.

My wife likes the Caribe variety for new potatoes and the Bintje for
full-term. We usually plant 5-7 varieties each year. We tried Purple Viking
for the first time this year and they look promising.

Paul