Potatoe Problems
 

I have six 25' rows of potatoes in the garden this year. I've grown them for
many years now but this year has presented an unusual potato situation.

As a background, we live in Maryland, U.S.A., about 25 miles northeast of
Baltimore. We till a bit of horse and sheep manure into the garden every
Fall so that it has a chance to rot and compost before planting season.
During the Winter, we scatter the ashes from the wood stove on the garden
area. In the Spring, we till the garden several times to get all of the
additives properly spread.

This year, some of the potatoes aren't doing so well and the bad ones are in
a strange geometric pattern. The bad potato plants are about a third the
size of the good ones, although all were planted on the same afternoon. Let
O be a good potato plant and * be a stunted one. The pattern is something
like:

O O O O O O O O
O O O O O O O O
* * * * O O O O
* * * * O O O O (LAWN)
* * * * O O O O
* * * * O O O O

The garden plants on all three sides of the potato section are doing well;
to the right of the potato section is the lawn.

We have several varieties of potatoes, each variety being found in both the
stunted and normal section, so it's not a varietal problem. Spacing between
the plants and between the rows is the same in all areas.

There doesn't seem to be any reason why the soil in the bad-plant area would
be different from the rest of the garden, given the spreading and mixing
that's done in both the Fall and the Spring. Should be the same pH and
nutrient mix.

They all get equal amounts of water and drainage should be the same
throughout the garden.

Very puzzling; any ideas will be appreciated.


Paul

"Pavel314" wrote in message
...
I have six 25' rows of potatoes in the garden this year. I've grown them
for
many years now but this year has presented an unusual potato situation.

As a background, we live in Maryland, U.S.A., about 25 miles northeast of
Baltimore. We till a bit of horse and sheep manure into the garden every
Fall so that it has a chance to rot and compost before planting season.
During the Winter, we scatter the ashes from the wood stove on the garden
area. In the Spring, we till the garden several times to get all of the
additives properly spread.

This year, some of the potatoes aren't doing so well and the bad ones are
in
a strange geometric pattern. The bad potato plants are about a third the
size of the good ones, although all were planted on the same afternoon.
Let
O be a good potato plant and * be a stunted one. The pattern is something
like:

O O O O O O O O
O O O O O O O O
* * * * O O O O
* * * * O O O O (LAWN)
* * * * O O O O
* * * * O O O O

The garden plants on all three sides of the potato section are doing well;
to the right of the potato section is the lawn.

We have several varieties of potatoes, each variety being found in both
the
stunted and normal section, so it's not a varietal problem. Spacing
between
the plants and between the rows is the same in all areas.

There doesn't seem to be any reason why the soil in the bad-plant area
would
be different from the rest of the garden, given the spreading and mixing
that's done in both the Fall and the Spring. Should be the same pH and
nutrient mix.

They all get equal amounts of water and drainage should be the same
throughout the garden.

Very puzzling; any ideas will be appreciated.


Are there any trees nearby ? I had this problem in the first year on the
allotment. All the rows were tall at both ends, getting smaller towards the
centre like a very shallow "V", even though each row was a different
variety. It turned out that roots from a tree in an adjoining garden was
stealing the nutrients/water. I cut the roots, (the tree's owner said it
was for the chop anyway) and no problem since.

Steve

shazzbat wrote:

"Pavel314" wrote in message
...

I have six 25' rows of potatoes in the garden this year. I've grown them

for

many years now but this year has presented an unusual potato situation.

As a background, we live in Maryland, U.S.A., about 25 miles northeast of
Baltimore. We till a bit of horse and sheep manure into the garden every
Fall so that it has a chance to rot and compost before planting season.
During the Winter, we scatter the ashes from the wood stove on the garden
area. In the Spring, we till the garden several times to get all of the
additives properly spread.

This year, some of the potatoes aren't doing so well and the bad ones are

in

a strange geometric pattern. The bad potato plants are about a third the
size of the good ones, although all were planted on the same afternoon.

Let

O be a good potato plant and * be a stunted one. The pattern is something
like:

O O O O O O O O
O O O O O O O O
* * * * O O O O
* * * * O O O O (LAWN)
* * * * O O O O
* * * * O O O O

The garden plants on all three sides of the potato section are doing well;
to the right of the potato section is the lawn.

We have several varieties of potatoes, each variety being found in both

the

stunted and normal section, so it's not a varietal problem. Spacing

between

the plants and between the rows is the same in all areas.

There doesn't seem to be any reason why the soil in the bad-plant area

would

be different from the rest of the garden, given the spreading and mixing
that's done in both the Fall and the Spring. Should be the same pH and
nutrient mix.

They all get equal amounts of water and drainage should be the same
throughout the garden.

Very puzzling; any ideas will be appreciated.



Are there any trees nearby ? I had this problem in the first year on the
allotment. All the rows were tall at both ends, getting smaller towards the
centre like a very shallow "V", even though each row was a different
variety. It turned out that roots from a tree in an adjoining garden was
stealing the nutrients/water. I cut the roots, (the tree's owner said it
was for the chop anyway) and no problem since.

Steve


Paul, I'm wondering if you over did it with the wood ashes. Tilling,
even repeatedly, may not be moving additives around the garden as much
as you think. Do you have a test kit to check the pH? It's easy to check
and I would wonder if the bad section has a higher pH than potatoes like.

Steve (the other one)

Steve wrote:

shazzbat wrote:

"Pavel314" wrote in message
...

I have six 25' rows of potatoes in the garden this year. I've grown them


for

many years now but this year has presented an unusual potato situation.

As a background, we live in Maryland, U.S.A., about 25 miles
northeast of
Baltimore. We till a bit of horse and sheep manure into the garden every
Fall so that it has a chance to rot and compost before planting season.
During the Winter, we scatter the ashes from the wood stove on the
garden
area. In the Spring, we till the garden several times to get all of the
additives properly spread.

This year, some of the potatoes aren't doing so well and the bad ones
are


in

a strange geometric pattern. The bad potato plants are about a third the
size of the good ones, although all were planted on the same afternoon.


Let

O be a good potato plant and * be a stunted one. The pattern is
something
like:

O O O O O O O O
O O O O O O O O
* * * * O O O O
* * * * O O O O (LAWN)
* * * * O O O O
* * * * O O O O

The garden plants on all three sides of the potato section are doing
well;
to the right of the potato section is the lawn.

We have several varieties of potatoes, each variety being found in both


the

stunted and normal section, so it's not a varietal problem. Spacing


between

the plants and between the rows is the same in all areas.

There doesn't seem to be any reason why the soil in the bad-plant area


would

be different from the rest of the garden, given the spreading and mixing
that's done in both the Fall and the Spring. Should be the same pH and
nutrient mix.

They all get equal amounts of water and drainage should be the same
throughout the garden.

Very puzzling; any ideas will be appreciated.



Are there any trees nearby ? I had this problem in the first year on the
allotment. All the rows were tall at both ends, getting smaller
towards the
centre like a very shallow "V", even though each row was a different
variety. It turned out that roots from a tree in an adjoining garden was
stealing the nutrients/water. I cut the roots, (the tree's owner said it
was for the chop anyway) and no problem since.

Steve



Paul, I'm wondering if you over did it with the wood ashes. Tilling,
even repeatedly, may not be moving additives around the garden as much
as you think. Do you have a test kit to check the pH? It's easy to check
and I would wonder if the bad section has a higher pH than potatoes like.

I agree with the above. Potatoes do not like sweet soil. If you
start with seed potatoes and divide them, we used to roll the cuts in
sulfur to make them acid and to prevent infections. The wood ashs
would be wrong.

"Stubby" wrote in message
...
Steve wrote:

shazzbat wrote:

"Pavel314" wrote in message
...

I have six 25' rows of potatoes in the garden this year. I've grown
them


for

many years now but this year has presented an unusual potato situation.

As a background, we live in Maryland, U.S.A., about 25 miles northeast
of
Baltimore. We till a bit of horse and sheep manure into the garden
every
Fall so that it has a chance to rot and compost before planting season.
During the Winter, we scatter the ashes from the wood stove on the
garden
area. In the Spring, we till the garden several times to get all of the
additives properly spread.

This year, some of the potatoes aren't doing so well and the bad ones
are


in

a strange geometric pattern. The bad potato plants are about a third
the
size of the good ones, although all were planted on the same afternoon.


Let

O be a good potato plant and * be a stunted one. The pattern is
something
like:

O O O O O O O O
O O O O O O O O
* * * * O O O O
* * * * O O O O (LAWN)
* * * * O O O O
* * * * O O O O

The garden plants on all three sides of the potato section are doing
well;
to the right of the potato section is the lawn.

We have several varieties of potatoes, each variety being found in both


the

stunted and normal section, so it's not a varietal problem. Spacing


between

the plants and between the rows is the same in all areas.

There doesn't seem to be any reason why the soil in the bad-plant area


would

be different from the rest of the garden, given the spreading and
mixing
that's done in both the Fall and the Spring. Should be the same pH and
nutrient mix.

They all get equal amounts of water and drainage should be the same
throughout the garden.

Very puzzling; any ideas will be appreciated.



Are there any trees nearby ? I had this problem in the first year on the
allotment. All the rows were tall at both ends, getting smaller towards
the
centre like a very shallow "V", even though each row was a different
variety. It turned out that roots from a tree in an adjoining garden
was
stealing the nutrients/water. I cut the roots, (the tree's owner said
it
was for the chop anyway) and no problem since.

Steve



Paul, I'm wondering if you over did it with the wood ashes. Tilling, even
repeatedly, may not be moving additives around the garden as much as you
think. Do you have a test kit to check the pH? It's easy to check and I
would wonder if the bad section has a higher pH than potatoes like.

I agree with the above. Potatoes do not like sweet soil. If you start
with seed potatoes and divide them, we used to roll the cuts in sulfur to
make them acid and to prevent infections. The wood ashs would be wrong.

Thanks for your responses. I did a pH test this morning, taking samples from
the good area and the bad area. The good area came out slightly
bluish-green, probably around 8.0, while the bad area came out plain green,
about 7.0. Darn, I'd hoped that pH was the problem. Maybe I'll try a
nutrient test between the two areas tomorrow.

There are no tree roots in the area, although that's something to watch out
for in the future.

On the bright side, I did get last year's compost transferred to the new
bins this morning. Details at
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/rbfarm/mgarden.html

Paul

Well, in your subject heading, "POTATOE" itself has a problem... LOL...

Sorry... but I couldn't help point that out... esp. after than Dan Quayle
debacle ;)


"Pavel314" wrote in message
...
I have six 25' rows of potatoes in the garden this year. I've grown them for
many years now but this year has presented an unusual potato situation.

As a background, we live in Maryland, U.S.A., about 25 miles northeast of
Baltimore. We till a bit of horse and sheep manure into the garden every
Fall so that it has a chance to rot and compost before planting season.
During the Winter, we scatter the ashes from the wood stove on the garden
area. In the Spring, we till the garden several times to get all of the
additives properly spread.

This year, some of the potatoes aren't doing so well and the bad ones are in
a strange geometric pattern. The bad potato plants are about a third the
size of the good ones, although all were planted on the same afternoon. Let
O be a good potato plant and * be a stunted one. The pattern is something
like:

O O O O O O O O
O O O O O O O O
* * * * O O O O
* * * * O O O O (LAWN)
* * * * O O O O
* * * * O O O O

The garden plants on all three sides of the potato section are doing well;
to the right of the potato section is the lawn.

We have several varieties of potatoes, each variety being found in both the
stunted and normal section, so it's not a varietal problem. Spacing between
the plants and between the rows is the same in all areas.

There doesn't seem to be any reason why the soil in the bad-plant area would
be different from the rest of the garden, given the spreading and mixing
that's done in both the Fall and the Spring. Should be the same pH and
nutrient mix.

They all get equal amounts of water and drainage should be the same
throughout the garden.

Very puzzling; any ideas will be appreciated.


Paul

That's ancient history, Apoplexy.
At least you don't have to worry about Dubya.
He can't even spell the word at all!!!

"Apropos" wrote in message
...
Well, in your subject heading, "POTATOE" itself has a problem... LOL...

Sorry... but I couldn't help point that out... esp. after than Dan Quayle
debacle ;)


"Pavel314" wrote in message
...
I have six 25' rows of potatoes in the garden this year. I've grown them
for
many years now but this year has presented an unusual potato situation.

As a background, we live in Maryland, U.S.A., about 25 miles northeast of
Baltimore. We till a bit of horse and sheep manure into the garden every
Fall so that it has a chance to rot and compost before planting season.
During the Winter, we scatter the ashes from the wood stove on the garden
area. In the Spring, we till the garden several times to get all of the
additives properly spread.

This year, some of the potatoes aren't doing so well and the bad ones are
in
a strange geometric pattern. The bad potato plants are about a third the
size of the good ones, although all were planted on the same afternoon.
Let
O be a good potato plant and * be a stunted one. The pattern is something
like:

O O O O O O O O
O O O O O O O O
* * * * O O O O
* * * * O O O O (LAWN)
* * * * O O O O
* * * * O O O O

The garden plants on all three sides of the potato section are doing
well;
to the right of the potato section is the lawn.

We have several varieties of potatoes, each variety being found in both
the
stunted and normal section, so it's not a varietal problem. Spacing
between
the plants and between the rows is the same in all areas.

There doesn't seem to be any reason why the soil in the bad-plant area
would
be different from the rest of the garden, given the spreading and mixing
that's done in both the Fall and the Spring. Should be the same pH and
nutrient mix.

They all get equal amounts of water and drainage should be the same
throughout the garden.

Very puzzling; any ideas will be appreciated.


Paul

"Apropos" wrote in message
...
Well, in your subject heading, "POTATOE" itself has a problem... LOL...

Sorry... but I couldn't help point that out... esp. after than Dan Quayle
debacle ;)

Just wanted to see if anyone would notice.

Regarding our crop, we had a fairly good yield in the areas that didn't
wither early. We're going to reserve part of the garden for potatoes and not
throw any wood ash on it over the winter. I also plan to scatter some
sulfate there to get the pH to proper potato levels.


Paul

I went to school in Massachusetts and was taught that spelling potatoe and
potato was acceptable. I never understood why the fuss over Quayles
spelling..
I think it is where "you" went to school that changes things.
But this is like bellybuttons, everyone has one.


"Apropos" wrote in message
...
Well, in your subject heading, "POTATOE" itself has a problem... LOL...

Sorry... but I couldn't help point that out... esp. after than Dan Quayle
debacle ;)


"Pavel314" wrote in message
...
I have six 25' rows of potatoes in the garden this year. I've grown them
for
many years now but this year has presented an unusual potato situation.

As a background, we live in Maryland, U.S.A., about 25 miles northeast of
Baltimore. We till a bit of horse and sheep manure into the garden every
Fall so that it has a chance to rot and compost before planting season.
During the Winter, we scatter the ashes from the wood stove on the garden
area. In the Spring, we till the garden several times to get all of the
additives properly spread.

This year, some of the potatoes aren't doing so well and the bad ones are
in
a strange geometric pattern. The bad potato plants are about a third the
size of the good ones, although all were planted on the same afternoon.
Let
O be a good potato plant and * be a stunted one. The pattern is something
like:

O O O O O O O O
O O O O O O O O
* * * * O O O O
* * * * O O O O (LAWN)
* * * * O O O O
* * * * O O O O

The garden plants on all three sides of the potato section are doing
well;
to the right of the potato section is the lawn.

We have several varieties of potatoes, each variety being found in both
the
stunted and normal section, so it's not a varietal problem. Spacing
between
the plants and between the rows is the same in all areas.

There doesn't seem to be any reason why the soil in the bad-plant area
would
be different from the rest of the garden, given the spreading and mixing
that's done in both the Fall and the Spring. Should be the same pH and
nutrient mix.

They all get equal amounts of water and drainage should be the same
throughout the garden.

Very puzzling; any ideas will be appreciated.


Paul

I'll bet you eat tomahtos, also.

BetsyB wrote:
I went to school in Massachusetts and was taught that spelling potatoe and
potato was acceptable. I never understood why the fuss over Quayles
spelling..
I think it is where "you" went to school that changes things.
But this is like bellybuttons, everyone has one.


"Apropos" wrote in message
...

Well, in your subject heading, "POTATOE" itself has a problem... LOL...

Sorry... but I couldn't help point that out... esp. after than Dan Quayle
debacle ;)


"Pavel314" wrote in message
...

I have six 25' rows of potatoes in the garden this year. I've grown them
for
many years now but this year has presented an unusual potato situation.

As a background, we live in Maryland, U.S.A., about 25 miles northeast of
Baltimore. We till a bit of horse and sheep manure into the garden every
Fall so that it has a chance to rot and compost before planting season.
During the Winter, we scatter the ashes from the wood stove on the garden
area. In the Spring, we till the garden several times to get all of the
additives properly spread.

This year, some of the potatoes aren't doing so well and the bad ones are
in
a strange geometric pattern. The bad potato plants are about a third the
size of the good ones, although all were planted on the same afternoon.
Let
O be a good potato plant and * be a stunted one. The pattern is something
like:

O O O O O O O O
O O O O O O O O
* * * * O O O O
* * * * O O O O (LAWN)
* * * * O O O O
* * * * O O O O

The garden plants on all three sides of the potato section are doing
well;
to the right of the potato section is the lawn.

We have several varieties of potatoes, each variety being found in both
the
stunted and normal section, so it's not a varietal problem. Spacing
between
the plants and between the rows is the same in all areas.

There doesn't seem to be any reason why the soil in the bad-plant area
would
be different from the rest of the garden, given the spreading and mixing
that's done in both the Fall and the Spring. Should be the same pH and
nutrient mix.

They all get equal amounts of water and drainage should be the same
throughout the garden.

Very puzzling; any ideas will be appreciated.


Paul

snipped the spelling nonsense

"Pavel314" wrote in message
...
I have six 25' rows of potatoes in the garden this year. I've grown them
for
many years now but this year has presented an unusual potato situation.

As a background, we live in Maryland, U.S.A., about 25 miles northeast of
Baltimore. We till a bit of horse and sheep manure into the garden every
Fall so that it has a chance to rot and compost before planting season.
During the Winter, we scatter the ashes from the wood stove on the garden
area. In the Spring, we till the garden several times to get all of the
additives properly spread.

This year, some of the potatoes aren't doing so well and the bad ones are
in
a strange geometric pattern. The bad potato plants are about a third the
size of the good ones, although all were planted on the same afternoon.
Let
O be a good potato plant and * be a stunted one. The pattern is something
like:

O O O O O O O O
O O O O O O O O
* * * * O O O O
* * * * O O O O (LAWN)
* * * * O O O O
* * * * O O O O

The garden plants on all three sides of the potato section are doing
well;
to the right of the potato section is the lawn.

We have several varieties of potatoes, each variety being found in both
the
stunted and normal section, so it's not a varietal problem. Spacing
between
the plants and between the rows is the same in all areas.

There doesn't seem to be any reason why the soil in the bad-plant area
would
be different from the rest of the garden, given the spreading and mixing
that's done in both the Fall and the Spring. Should be the same pH and
nutrient mix.

They all get equal amounts of water and drainage should be the same
throughout the garden.

Perhaps the wood ashes were spread mostly in the "*" area? That would
raise the pH and potatoes like acidic soil.

Just a guess.

John