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#1
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Planting potato eyes
Have cut up some red potato eyes to plant. Looked it up on-line.
They say to mound up +- 6" of mulch after burying the eyes. I never understood why one has to do this, rather than just let the new potatoes grow underground. Also, the mulch we get from the City every few months is very finely ground. Picture shows more of a straw-like mulch. ??? Would appreciate an explanation in the next few, as the pieces set out to callous/harden should get planted soon. TIA HB |
#2
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Planting potato eyes
Higgs Boson wrote:
Have cut up some red potato eyes to plant. Looked it up on-line. They say to mound up +- 6" of mulch after burying the eyes. I never understood why one has to do this, rather than just let the new potatoes grow underground. You can plant below the surface and mound as the shoots grow or plant them in a hole (or trench) and fill the hole as the shoots grow. The purpose is to get the 'seed' tuber down deeper. The reason to get it deeper is that the new tubers will grow at the level of the old one so if you leave it too shallow the tubers may come to the surface or the plants will fall over. But if you just plant very deep the shoot may not make it to the surface (especially if you reduce the food that it has by not planting whole tubers). A third method is to use a layered raised bed such as a stack of tyres. You plant the tubers in the top layer and when they shoot add another tyre and refill with soil. This has the additional advantage that you don't need to dig your taters but just dismantle the stack. So you plant very deep but allow the shoots to see the sun using one of these methods and then backfill. You end up with the tubers down deep and the shoots above ground which is what you want. I prefer the hole (trench) method as it is easier to fill them in than maintain the mound. Also, the mulch we get from the City every few months is very finely ground. Picture shows more of a straw-like mulch. ??? Sorry I have missed the point. Would appreciate an explanation in the next few, as the pieces set out to callous/harden should get planted soon. YWIMC David |
#3
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Planting potato eyes
On Nov 27, 2:53*pm, "David Hare-Scott" wrote:
Higgs Boson wrote: Have cut up some red potato eyes to plant. *Looked it up on-line. They say to mound up +- 6" of mulch after burying the eyes. *I never understood why one has to do this, rather than just let the new potatoes grow underground. You can plant below the surface and mound as the shoots grow or plant them in a hole (or trench) and fill the hole as the shoots grow. *The purpose is to get the 'seed' tuber down deeper. *The reason to get it deeper is that the new tubers will grow at the level of the old one so if you leave it too shallow the tubers may come to the surface or the plants will fall over. But if you just plant very deep the shoot may not make it to the surface (especially if you reduce the food that it has by not planting whole tubers). ***Interesting. The Web site I consulted: http://www.gardengatemagazine.com/ex...toplanting.php suggested NOT giving the "eye" too much food, so it won't be lazy about growing, having plenty of goodies available underground. I left some potato, but not a whole tuber. A third method is to use a layered raised bed such as a stack of tyres. *You plant the tubers in the top layer and when they shoot add another tyre and refill with soil. *This has the additional advantage that you don't need to dig your taters but just dismantle the stack. So you plant very deep but allow the shoots to see the sun using one of these methods and then backfill. *You end up with the tubers down deep and the shoots above ground which is what you want. ***Using tires has been discouraged here because of toxic problems from the tires. Anything to this? I prefer the hole (trench) method as it is easier to fill them in than maintain the mound. Also, the mulch we get from the City every few months is very finely ground. *Picture shows more of a straw-like mulch. *??? Sorry I have missed the point. ***The point about the finely-ground compost is that it doesn't resemble the picture on the Web site, which had what I described as a "straw-like" mulch, from which I inferred that the mulch should be more loose. ??. Would appreciate an explanation in the next few, as the pieces set out to callous/harden should get planted soon. ***Thanks, David; that was enormously helpful. I will choose the trench/hole method, but not cover the potato eyes too deeply, if I understand your recommendation, and as the shoots appear, back-fill. HB YWIMC David |
#4
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Planting potato eyes
Higgs Boson wrote:
Have cut up some red potato eyes to plant. Looked it up on-line. They say to mound up +- 6" of mulch after burying the eyes. I never understood why one has to do this, rather than just let the new potatoes grow underground. Also, the mulch we get from the City every few months is very finely ground. Picture shows more of a straw-like mulch. ??? light soil to prevent fungus and waterlogging. Would appreciate an explanation in the next few, as the pieces set out to callous/harden should get planted soon. and the other reason to plant and mound them in some manner is to keep the tubers covered away from the sunlight. green ones are not good to eat. songbird |
#5
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Planting potato eyes
Higgs Boson wrote:
On Nov 27, 2:53 pm, "David Hare-Scott" wrote: Higgs Boson wrote: Have cut up some red potato eyes to plant. Looked it up on-line. They say to mound up +- 6" of mulch after burying the eyes. I never understood why one has to do this, rather than just let the new potatoes grow underground. You can plant below the surface and mound as the shoots grow or plant them in a hole (or trench) and fill the hole as the shoots grow. The purpose is to get the 'seed' tuber down deeper. The reason to get it deeper is that the new tubers will grow at the level of the old one so if you leave it too shallow the tubers may come to the surface or the plants will fall over. But if you just plant very deep the shoot may not make it to the surface (especially if you reduce the food that it has by not planting whole tubers). ***Interesting. The Web site I consulted: http://www.gardengatemagazine.com/ex...toplanting.php suggested NOT giving the "eye" too much food, so it won't be lazy about growing, having plenty of goodies available underground. I left some potato, but not a whole tuber. That makes no sense to me. The taters are cut up so that if you have large tubers you can get more than one plant out of each. If they are small you don't bother. A third method is to use a layered raised bed such as a stack of tyres. You plant the tubers in the top layer and when they shoot add another tyre and refill with soil. This has the additional advantage that you don't need to dig your taters but just dismantle the stack. So you plant very deep but allow the shoots to see the sun using one of these methods and then backfill. You end up with the tubers down deep and the shoots above ground which is what you want. ***Using tires has been discouraged here because of toxic problems from the tires. Anything to this? I don't know, I don't use this method. You can do the same with timber frames, like bottomless boxes. I prefer the hole (trench) method as it is easier to fill them in than maintain the mound. Also, the mulch we get from the City every few months is very finely ground. Picture shows more of a straw-like mulch. ??? Sorry I have missed the point. ***The point about the finely-ground compost is that it doesn't resemble the picture on the Web site, which had what I described as a "straw-like" mulch, from which I inferred that the mulch should be more loose. ??. I am still confused, compost and mulch are usually different materials used for different purposes. What purpose do you have in mind for this stuff? D |
#6
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Planting potato eyes
On Nov 27, 8:09*pm, "David Hare-Scott" wrote:
Higgs Boson wrote: On Nov 27, 2:53 pm, "David Hare-Scott" wrote: Higgs Boson wrote: Have cut up some red potato eyes to plant. Looked it up on-line. They say to mound up +- 6" of mulch after burying the eyes. I never understood why one has to do this, rather than just let the new potatoes grow underground. You can plant below the surface and mound as the shoots grow or plant them in a hole (or trench) and fill the hole as the shoots grow. The purpose is to get the 'seed' tuber down deeper. The reason to get it deeper is that the new tubers will grow at the level of the old one so if you leave it too shallow the tubers may come to the surface or the plants will fall over. But if you just plant very deep the shoot may not make it to the surface (especially if you reduce the food that it has by not planting whole tubers). ***Interesting. *The Web site I consulted: http://www.gardengatemagazine.com/ex...toplanting.php suggested NOT giving the "eye" too much food, so it won't be lazy about growing, having plenty of goodies available underground. I left some potato, but not a whole tuber. That makes no sense to me. * The taters are cut up so that if you have large tubers you can get more than one plant out of each. *If they are small you don't bother. ***But how can you get more than one plant out of each eye? Now I am confused. A third method is to use a layered raised bed such as a stack of tyres. You plant the tubers in the top layer and when they shoot add another tyre and refill with soil. This has the additional advantage that you don't need to dig your taters but just dismantle the stack. So you plant very deep but allow the shoots to see the sun using one of these methods and then backfill. You end up with the tubers down deep and the shoots above ground which is what you want. ***Using tires has been discouraged here because of toxic problems from the tires. *Anything to this? I don't know, *I don't use this method. *You can do the same with timber frames, like bottomless boxes. I prefer the hole (trench) method as it is easier to fill them in than maintain the mound. Also, the mulch we get from the City every few months is very finely ground. Picture shows more of a straw-like mulch. ??? Sorry I have missed the point. ***The point about the finely-ground compost is that it doesn't resemble the picture on the Web site, which had what I described as a "straw-like" mulch, from which I inferred that the mulch should be more loose. *??. I am still confused, compost and mulch are usually different materials used for different purposes. *What purpose do you have in mind for this stuff? D ***Sigh - finally got my head screwed back on g. The City is distributing COMPOST, not mulch. In my foggier moments I sometimes confuse them. I actually don't have anything on hand to serve as mulch. Would pine needles do? I have an endless quantity Otherwise, will have to scrounge leaves from a neighbor. HB |
#7
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Planting potato eyes
Higgs Boson wrote:
On Nov 27, 8:09 pm, "David Hare-Scott" wrote: Higgs Boson wrote: On Nov 27, 2:53 pm, "David Hare-Scott" wrote: Higgs Boson wrote: Have cut up some red potato eyes to plant. Looked it up on-line. They say to mound up +- 6" of mulch after burying the eyes. I never understood why one has to do this, rather than just let the new potatoes grow underground. You can plant below the surface and mound as the shoots grow or plant them in a hole (or trench) and fill the hole as the shoots grow. The purpose is to get the 'seed' tuber down deeper. The reason to get it deeper is that the new tubers will grow at the level of the old one so if you leave it too shallow the tubers may come to the surface or the plants will fall over. But if you just plant very deep the shoot may not make it to the surface (especially if you reduce the food that it has by not planting whole tubers). ***Interesting. The Web site I consulted: http://www.gardengatemagazine.com/ex...toplanting.php suggested NOT giving the "eye" too much food, so it won't be lazy about growing, having plenty of goodies available underground. I left some potato, but not a whole tuber. That makes no sense to me. The taters are cut up so that if you have large tubers you can get more than one plant out of each. If they are small you don't bother. ***But how can you get more than one plant out of each eye? Now I am confused. More than one plant per tuber just one per eye. D |
#8
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Planting potato eyes
Are these potatoes from the fridge that start to grow nubs on them ?
Jerry http://community.webtv.net/Grandmother300/Urn2011 |
#9
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Planting potato eyes
On Dec 1, 1:11*am, (Jerry Ohio Also) wrote:
Are these potatoes from the fridge that start to grow nubs on them ? Jerry http://community.webtv.net/Grandmother300/Urn2011 No. They were kept in the pantry. What's the importance? Anxious to learn, as I sometimes do keep potatoes in frig in warm weather. Tx HB |
#10
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Planting potato eyes
What I meant was that they were not seeds from the top of the plant . I
have never seen a potato plant grow. Jerry http://community.webtv.net/Grandmother300/Urn2011 |
#11
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Quote:
According to my knowledge.. The potatoes we eat are starchy tubers that grow under ground, swelling and getting larger as the top half of the plant matures. The humble potato can be very finicky to grow, because of pest and disease problems. Potatoes are relatively inexpensive to purchase. |
#12
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Planting potato eyes
Lawyer100gardenbanana.uk wrote:
Higgs Boson Wrote: Have cut up some red potato eyes to plant. Looked it up on-line. They say to mound up +- 6" of mulch after burying the eyes. I never understood why one has to do this, rather than just let the new potatoes grow underground. Also, the mulch we get from the City every few months is very finely ground. Picture shows more of a straw-like mulch. ??? Would appreciate an explanation in the next few, as the pieces set out to callous/harden should get planted soon. The potatoes we eat are starchy tubers that grow under ground, swelling and getting larger as the top half of the plant matures. The humble potato can be very finicky to grow, because of pest and disease problems. Potatoes are relatively inexpensive to purchase. Potatoes are no longer inexpensive. No produce is inexpensive anymore... nothing is inexpensive. |
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