It goes a little something like this – kick it!
I built my concrete block raised bed garden last fall with the intent of building another this spring and planting all kinds of stuff. As usual, my desires and interests exceeded the reality of my available time. Kids, both parents work, no day care – what was I thinking? After writing my mighty potato post, and – of course – living in Maine, I also had a big potato patch visions. I never bought the seed potatoes, and figured . . . next year.
Then an older lady I know came by, and said, “Here” and handed me bags of seed potatoes and other seedlings. It was past the ideal date that they should’ve been in the ground, and I had no ground prepped, but what was I to do? Quick! I dug into the ground, loosened up soil, stuck ‘em in the ground, covered ‘em up, and fenced the area to keep out the damn deer. This constituted my first attempt at backyard potato action.
I didn’t hill the plants as early as I should have. My father came over, and said, “You need to get those covered!” Then grabbed a shovel. I had a pile of aged cow shit and screened loam – AT THE OTHER END OF MY PROPERTY – so I had to mix that action and haul it in a wheelbarrow. I gave the plants some water here and there in the beginning, but other than that, and hilling them until I couldn’t fit in the space any more, I left them unattended.
If I’d had the time (and additional fencing on hand) I would have planted these things in rows, but alas . . . next year. Instead I just dug a circular area up about 12′ wide in diameter and planted the potatoes. The space grew in fast, and hills started hitting hills, but today . . . after work . . . I harvested a few of these bad boys.
I know some of you are old time potato people, and since I’m writing this anyway, spare me the Google time and tell me your technique for getting them out of the ground. I used a spade fork and gingerly dug deep into the pile and lifted the potatoes out. Needless to say, I speared a number of the big, juicy potatoes – doh! Then I just rolled up my sleeves and dug in with my hands, but that wasn’t as effective as I’d hoped. I’m thinking a pitch fork might be the best solution. What do YOU use?
Below is a picture of the potato patch with the part that I dug up. I think the soil could have been improved beyond the nitrogen components so that more of the lovin’ would’ve gone to the actual potato rather than the plant stalks. Ideas? I can say one thing, that soil would’ve been AWESOME if I was going fishing. The worms were plentiful and huge. The kids had fun with those.
- Ranger Man
BTW: Why didn’t the damn deer eat those sweet smelling home brew stout grains? What are they stupid!?
Anyone offer up potato storage solutions? Eventually, some day, I’d like to get to the stage where I could grow a good portion of the year’s potato belly intake. I’m thinking part of that would include buying a french fry cutter, processing the potatoes into fries, and freezing them. Beats buying them that way at the grocery store, and kids ALWAYS love french fries.
Related posts:
- Food, Famine, Fuel – and the Mighty Potato
- Backyard Blackberry Adventures at the Ranger Man’s Keep
- “Deadly Harvest” – SHTF Movie Review
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{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
I’ve been planting potatoes in the garden for years. Bing from “The County” it’s sort of inherent. NO need for any more soil amendments than what you’ve been doing, unless you’d like to spend a bunch of money on chemicals that’ll probably give you cancer in 20 years anyway. I haven’t added to my garden much at all, and yields are quite good. I got over a hundred pounds of potatoes from 10 and a half pounds of seed. This is pretty decent for not putting any fertilizer whatsoever.
As for digging them up, those you speared were most likely because of how they were planted. In rows, I’ve speared very few over the years, just keep the fork to the side of the hill and push straight down. Then Lever up the potatoes, dirt and all. As for the impaled spuds, they are still quite edible, just clean out the dirt. Nothing harmful about a speared potato, if you eat it quick enough. It might be a bit funky if you try and keep it until Mid-winter. Think of a speared potato as a vegetarian’s version of bow-season venison. Better yet, when you do get that dear, make a boiled dinner with one of the haunches and some speared potatoes. serve it up with some good home-brew.
Best place to keep potatoes is in the cellar/basement. The cooler the spot the better, just keep it above freezing. 40-50 is ideal. I’m not so lucky, my basement is closer to 60, but it’s better than keeping them in the kitchen.
Glad I’m not the only one who planted late!
First year for potatoes for us, too.
I have been storing potatoes in my root cellar for years. I use drums from old clothes driers up on 2×4 stands. The holes in the drums allow for air circulation. About once a month through the winter and spring I turn the tubers in the drum so none stay on the bottom too long. By may 1st we are usually out of fresh anyway. I also can about 50 pounds in quart jars for use in soups and stews. you should try to use as low of moisture spuds for canning otherwise they turn to wallpaper paste over time.
Just read a bit in the Nat. Geo. Magazine that came the other day. It seems that the government of Peru is promoting bread that is made with, you guessed it, potatoes. They have it served to the prisoners, schoolchildren, and soldiers. This makes perfect sense, as potatoes have loads of starch. In fact besides that and water, there isn’t all that much else to a potato.
I saw a very interesting technique for growing potatoes on youtube. I don’t recall the link but it consisted of preparing a 4 foot diameter circle on the ground and planting your spuds there. Then using chicken wire make a coral for your spuds and as the shoots grow add a covering of manure and straw. You continue doing this through out the season as the shoots grow up you add another covering…. and so on. Any how at the end of the growing season you just undo the coral and the potatoes fall out. I haven’t had a chance to try this but am looking forward to doing it next year, lol! The guy said you can expect anywhere from 50 to 100 lbs of potatoes by doing this. It seems that the green shoots have a node that will continue to produce potatoes as long as they get covered. Best part I saw was increased production from a smaller area and no real major digging to get your winter stock. My dad says you don’t even have to dig the soil to plant them. Just place them on the ground and cover ‘em with a layer and this technique should work excellent. He said when he was a kid the best potatoes the got every year were from using horse manure and stable straw. Happy Gardening Rangerman! Pure out!
You can also do the same thing with old car tires, just keep stacking the tires as you go up. I’ve also seen the same method used with boards on a frame. All works the same way.
Have just planted out some potatoes from my pantry that had started to shoot ,just put a rusted out (bottom ) 44 gallon gallon drum in a corner of my garden and laid out about a dozen potatoes and covered them with soil, when the sprouted out I covered them over with some sugar cane mulcu and compost and as they continued to poke through I kept vovering them ,the greenery is no above the top of the drum and I am waiting for them to flower and die down, I will then just loosen the soil round the inside of the drum and lift up and see what sort f production I have got from my cupboard by not putting them in the waste . Fred Gardner