Saturday, July 20, 2013

spuds at the iuncg

i have been saying that the potatoes in the bed at the back corner of the garden were about done for some time... the two plants in the top photo were the most obviously finished when i got to he garden this morning so i decided to dig them just to see what kind of production we might expect from the others...it was time...there were a couple of exposed spuds and i didn't want them in the light...the results are okay...not record shattering, but for a bed that got a bit of shade on a daily basis the results are pretty good...i popped them up with the spading fork and found a variety of sizes from bite size up to about a quarter pound...two plants yielded almost two pounds which should leave around fifteen pounds still in the bed...some people i know ask me why i grow them instead of just buying them...this is the payoff...you never know what to expect...like growing peanuts ( something i am pondering for next season ) you are always surprised at the dig...not always in a positive way...but still surprised...personally i am satisfied with the work the plants have done since april...as the rest die back anyone who cares to should dig them...it would be nice to get some yield data though.

2 comments:

  1. thanks for the photo...one batch of mine have been looking like this and i thought something was wrong...they wilt in the heat but with water and cooler night temps look a little better but still not "healthy" so maybe they are just reaching an end point? The other variety look much better and even may flower.....was getting concerned.

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  2. yes coach, they die back when their season is done and the reds are pretty much finished...the yukon golds have a bit to go yet but they'll do the same thing next month...if your spuds are dying back they are ready to dig ( you don't have to yet, but the longer you leave them the more likely they could be subjected to viruses or bugs, probably better to store them in the basement ) even the potatoes under the ones that are still green aren't going to get much bigger. if no-one cleans that bed out by the end of the month i will.

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