Increasing potato yeild
 

Hi all...for the past three years I've planted potatos and each year I had
lots of plant/greenery but very few spuds. Typically the greenery will be up
to 1 meter high and spread out over a 1 metre radius but yeild only one
giant spud and a three or four smaller spuds per plant. The soil is great
and I add compost and steer manure every spring. I mound up around each
plant. The spuds and rest of the veggie garden get a dose of liquid
fertilizer every two weeks. I've planted late maturing Burbank Russets. I am
in North America, Zone 4. I am considering trimming back the plants (as it
encroages other areas of the garden). Any advice you could provide would be
appreciated?

Thanks

ps Any good treatments to prevent potato scabs?

"pcourterelle" wrote in message
...
| Hi all...for the past three years I've planted potatos and each year I had
| lots of plant/greenery but very few spuds. Typically the greenery will be
up
| to 1 meter high and spread out over a 1 metre radius but yeild only one
| giant spud and a three or four smaller spuds per plant. The soil is great
| and I add compost and steer manure every spring. I mound up around each
| plant. The spuds and rest of the veggie garden get a dose of liquid
| fertilizer every two weeks. I've planted late maturing Burbank Russets. I
am
| in North America, Zone 4. I am considering trimming back the plants (as it
| encroages other areas of the garden). Any advice you could provide would
be
| appreciated?
|
| Thanks
|
| ps Any good treatments to prevent potato scabs?
|

Back off the fertilizer bext year.

--
TQ

"pcourterelle" wrote in message
...
| Hi all...for the past three years I've planted potatos and each year I had
| lots of plant/greenery but very few spuds. Typically the greenery will be
up
| to 1 meter high and spread out over a 1 metre radius but yeild only one
| giant spud and a three or four smaller spuds per plant. The soil is great
| and I add compost and steer manure every spring. I mound up around each
| plant. The spuds and rest of the veggie garden get a dose of liquid
| fertilizer every two weeks. I've planted late maturing Burbank Russets. I
am
| in North America, Zone 4. I am considering trimming back the plants (as it
| encroages other areas of the garden). Any advice you could provide would
be
| appreciated?
|
| Thanks
|
| ps Any good treatments to prevent potato scabs?
|

Back off the fertilizer bext year.

--
TQ

pcourterelle wrote in message ...
Hi all...for the past three years I've planted potatos and each year I had
lots of plant/greenery but very few spuds. Typically the greenery will be up
to 1 meter high and spread out over a 1 metre radius but yeild only one
giant spud and a three or four smaller spuds per plant. The soil is great
and I add compost and steer manure every spring. I mound up around each
plant. The spuds and rest of the veggie garden get a dose of liquid
fertilizer every two weeks. I've planted late maturing Burbank Russets. I am
in North America, Zone 4. I am considering trimming back the plants (as it
encroages other areas of the garden). Any advice you could provide would be
appreciated?

Thanks

ps Any good treatments to prevent potato scabs?

scab is prevented by lowering the pH. Potato yield is increased by
high phosphorous. So why not try to add rock phosphate next year,
which will do both?
and the way the plants have developed, it sounds like your garden (or
the way you fertilize) is very N-rich. So just the rock phosphate next
year, perhaps a bit of sulphur to further lower the pH, and nothing
else, and see how it goes.

pcourterelle wrote in message ...
Hi all...for the past three years I've planted potatos and each year I had
lots of plant/greenery but very few spuds. Typically the greenery will be up
to 1 meter high and spread out over a 1 metre radius but yeild only one
giant spud and a three or four smaller spuds per plant. The soil is great
and I add compost and steer manure every spring. I mound up around each
plant. The spuds and rest of the veggie garden get a dose of liquid
fertilizer every two weeks. I've planted late maturing Burbank Russets. I am
in North America, Zone 4. I am considering trimming back the plants (as it
encroages other areas of the garden). Any advice you could provide would be
appreciated?

Thanks

ps Any good treatments to prevent potato scabs?

scab is prevented by lowering the pH. Potato yield is increased by
high phosphorous. So why not try to add rock phosphate next year,
which will do both?
and the way the plants have developed, it sounds like your garden (or
the way you fertilize) is very N-rich. So just the rock phosphate next
year, perhaps a bit of sulphur to further lower the pH, and nothing
else, and see how it goes.

scab is prevented by lowering the pH. Potato yield is increased by
high phosphorous. So why not try to add rock phosphate next year,
which will do both?
and the way the plants have developed, it sounds like your garden (or
the way you fertilize) is very N-rich. So just the rock phosphate next
year, perhaps a bit of sulphur to further lower the pH, and nothing
else, and see how it goes.


Thanks for the advice...

pc

scab is prevented by lowering the pH. Potato yield is increased by
high phosphorous. So why not try to add rock phosphate next year,
which will do both?
and the way the plants have developed, it sounds like your garden (or
the way you fertilize) is very N-rich. So just the rock phosphate next
year, perhaps a bit of sulphur to further lower the pH, and nothing
else, and see how it goes.


Thanks for the advice...

pc

in article , simy1 at
wrote on 8/18/04 7:00 PM:

pcourterelle wrote in message
...
Hi all...for the past three years I've planted potatos and each year I had
lots of plant/greenery but very few spuds. Typically the greenery will be up
to 1 meter high and spread out over a 1 metre radius but yeild only one
giant spud and a three or four smaller spuds per plant. The soil is great
and I add compost and steer manure every spring. I mound up around each
plant. The spuds and rest of the veggie garden get a dose of liquid
fertilizer every two weeks. I've planted late maturing Burbank Russets. I am
in North America, Zone 4. I am considering trimming back the plants (as it
encroages other areas of the garden). Any advice you could provide would be
appreciated?

Thanks

ps Any good treatments to prevent potato scabs?

scab is prevented by lowering the pH. Potato yield is increased by
high phosphorous. So why not try to add rock phosphate next year,
which will do both?
and the way the plants have developed, it sounds like your garden (or
the way you fertilize) is very N-rich. So just the rock phosphate next
year, perhaps a bit of sulphur to further lower the pH, and nothing
else, and see how it goes.


Is there a quick/easy test to determine the ph level?

cheers
pc

in article , simy1 at
wrote on 8/18/04 7:00 PM:

pcourterelle wrote in message
...
Hi all...for the past three years I've planted potatos and each year I had
lots of plant/greenery but very few spuds. Typically the greenery will be up
to 1 meter high and spread out over a 1 metre radius but yeild only one
giant spud and a three or four smaller spuds per plant. The soil is great
and I add compost and steer manure every spring. I mound up around each
plant. The spuds and rest of the veggie garden get a dose of liquid
fertilizer every two weeks. I've planted late maturing Burbank Russets. I am
in North America, Zone 4. I am considering trimming back the plants (as it
encroages other areas of the garden). Any advice you could provide would be
appreciated?

Thanks

ps Any good treatments to prevent potato scabs?

scab is prevented by lowering the pH. Potato yield is increased by
high phosphorous. So why not try to add rock phosphate next year,
which will do both?
and the way the plants have developed, it sounds like your garden (or
the way you fertilize) is very N-rich. So just the rock phosphate next
year, perhaps a bit of sulphur to further lower the pH, and nothing
else, and see how it goes.


Is there a quick/easy test to determine the ph level?

cheers
pc

pcourterelle wrote in message ...
in article , simy1 at
wrote on 8/18/04 7:00 PM:

pcourterelle wrote in message
...
Hi all...for the past three years I've planted potatos and each year I had
lots of plant/greenery but very few spuds. Typically the greenery will be up
to 1 meter high and spread out over a 1 metre radius but yeild only one
giant spud and a three or four smaller spuds per plant. The soil is great
and I add compost and steer manure every spring. I mound up around each
plant. The spuds and rest of the veggie garden get a dose of liquid
fertilizer every two weeks. I've planted late maturing Burbank Russets. I am
in North America, Zone 4. I am considering trimming back the plants (as it
encroages other areas of the garden). Any advice you could provide would be
appreciated?

Thanks

ps Any good treatments to prevent potato scabs?

scab is prevented by lowering the pH. Potato yield is increased by
high phosphorous. So why not try to add rock phosphate next year,
which will do both?
and the way the plants have developed, it sounds like your garden (or
the way you fertilize) is very N-rich. So just the rock phosphate next
year, perhaps a bit of sulphur to further lower the pH, and nothing
else, and see how it goes.


Is there a quick/easy test to determine the ph level?

cheers
pc

there are kits you can buy. they are not very accurate but they should
give you the pH within 0.5. Or you can look at the type of weeds that
come up in your garden. If you have dock, sheep sorrel, the
clover-looking sorrel (sorry, can't remember its name), nutsedge,
dandelion, those are all acid soil indicators, specially the first
two.

I got that kind of potato crop the first coupld of time I tried to grow
them. Then I read a book that told me that I had to hill the dirt up from
the potato set. I had just planted about 100 feet of potatoes before
reading that chapter in the book. The next day I went out and dug them all
up and replanted them the right way. I had put them in raised rows, with
the cuttings in the top of the mound. That year I enjoyed my first potato
crop of more than one per plant.

Dwayne

"pcourterelle" wrote in message
...
Hi all...for the past three years I've planted potatos and each year I had
lots of plant/greenery but very few spuds.

I got that kind of potato crop the first coupld of time I tried to grow
them. Then I read a book that told me that I had to hill the dirt up from
the potato set. I had just planted about 100 feet of potatoes before
reading that chapter in the book. The next day I went out and dug them all
up and replanted them the right way. I had put them in raised rows, with
the cuttings in the top of the mound. That year I enjoyed my first potato
crop of more than one per plant.

Dwayne

"pcourterelle" wrote in message
...
Hi all...for the past three years I've planted potatos and each year I had
lots of plant/greenery but very few spuds.

I tried it this way, first I bought one of those plastic 22" dia, deep
pots. I then put in a little dirt, then a six potato eyes then some dirt to
cover, as they grew I added dirt over the plant and repeated that until the
pot was full. The next year I dug in and found small spuds growing all along
the root from the plant growing above the dirt. I am just playing with this,
won't plant spuds next year.

Al

"Dwayne" wrote in message
. ..
I got that kind of potato crop the first coupld of time I tried to grow
them. Then I read a book that told me that I had to hill the dirt up from
the potato set. I had just planted about 100 feet of potatoes before
reading that chapter in the book. The next day I went out and dug them
all
up and replanted them the right way. I had put them in raised rows, with
the cuttings in the top of the mound. That year I enjoyed my first potato
crop of more than one per plant.

Dwayne

"pcourterelle" wrote in message
...
Hi all...for the past three years I've planted potatos and each year I
had
lots of plant/greenery but very few spuds.