2024 gardens

[Gunner55]

  Are they union?

[tangle tooth]

      In planning the garden, I've been thinking of how to grow potatoes. Both the tower method and the growing the taters under straw interest me. Less work?
      Do any of you use either of those methods? Results or advice? What varieties? Soil amendments?

[KEN W]

First.....varieties.....how do you cook your spuds?

Mashed.....plant Early Red Norland....Easily the best mashed potatoes. Creamy and moist. Plus when they bloom.....you can get some of those early baby red's. And they keep well.

Baked or French Fries....Russets are the best. I always plant Russet Norkota. Early, keep well, and make great baked potatoes.

Now for methods......I plant in the ground now.     Easy to take care of. I have planted them under straw. That works but can dry out easily.

Dig down 4-6 inches. Plant the potato cover with 2 inches dirt. When they get a foot high, pull the dirt up around them with a hoe. They come up faster if not covered with to much dirt.

 2 weeks after they bloom you can scratch under them for some baby reds. I always have my grandkids do this. They love finding those potatoes the size of a golf ball. Just don't take them all or you won't have any left in the fall.

One more thing. I always buy my seed potatoes around the first of may and then put them under grow lights to sprout. They should have stubby green sprouts. If left in the dark, the sprouts get to long and break. Must be in the light.Plant the 3rd week of may to June 1.

[tangle tooth]

      Thanks. We bake, fry and can potatoes.

[KEN W]

Forgot to say that potatoes must be hilled because all the new potatoes will grow above the seed piece you planted. They cannot stick out of the ground or they will turn green and can't eat them.

Straw works but is not sturdy enough to hold up the plant. When I did it I planted them in bales. 2 to a bale. But doesn't work as well as in the ground.

Sounds like you should plant some kind of Russet. Yukon gold works OK also. But not as dry as Russets. Low moisture makes the best fried and baked potatoes .....That's Russets.

[tangle tooth]

      Been watching some videos about the tower method. Makes me lean more towards the buried in straw, no till method. Not like I have to decide today.

[Dotch]

Attached as a home garden fact sheet from the U. It's vague on specific varieties but does a nice job on how to grow them. There's a potato growing area at Hollandale that grows almost exclusively Norlands. They're what Mrs. Gerry uses in her potato salad. Another friend in the Valley raises Norlands, seed & commercial, & one of the newer gold varieties. Pretty sure the commercial mashed potatoes Mrs. Gerry sells are russets. Not sure where she sources those.

Those who have grown potatoes over the years have their favorites. I agree with Ken on russets being the most versatile potatoes. I like Norlands too for an early red variety & have planted red Pontiacs as my late red potato. They were my Mom's favorite. Very flavorful, yield well & have kept well whenever I've raised them here. Auntie Mar Mar likes growing Kennebecs, a white potato. I was never too keen on them as they didn't keep well for us especially if grown in a wet season. The grower from the Valley said they are difficult to grow there as they are fairly disease prone. 

https://extension.umn.edu/vegetables/growing-potatoes#choosing-potato-varieties-292910 

[KEN W]

One other thing I should mention.....Pests

Be on the lookout for Colorado Potato Beetles. Adults are round and striped. They don't do the damage. But they lay eggs on the underside of the leaves. When they hatch the pupa can strip every leaf of the plant .So if you see an adult.....look on the underside of leaves for the orange eggs. Pick off the leaf and crush the eggs.

[roony]

[glenn57]

potatoes are a PITA......i used to plant them years ago when the kids where home. friggin tater bugs!!!!! took up alot of garden space to. now with the 2 of us...i just get them at the store........

seriously thinkin about not planting onions this year too!!!!! i may try it one more year...i was told when the onion starts growing to go out weekly and make a little trench around them????????

[tangle tooth]

      Onions we have to plant. We planted 300 last year. Probably going to do a mini minimum of 500 this year. No cucumbers or zucchini.
      Thanks for all the input folks. I do appreciate it.

[glenn57]

      Onions we have to plant. We planted 300 last year. Probably going to do a mini minimum of 500 this year. No cucumbers or zucchini.
      Thanks for all the input folks. I do appreciate it.

TT..do you do anything special to help the onions along??i really like having them out of the garden but about 1 time every 4 years i get a decent crop???

[tangle tooth]

      Glenn, as far as I know, we don't do anything special. We just buy the sets from a trusted source (Drummers Garden Center in Mankato) and plant them according to the information they provided. We don't pile up dirt around them as they grow. We use a lot of onions.
      We grow a lot of Amish Paste and Roma tomatoes, jalapenos, habaneros, hot banana and bell peppers.

[LPS]

We've been planting red onions and have had great luck with them.  Maybe only about 30 or 40 of them.  Lasts us all winter.  Still eating them. 

[glenn57]

We've been planting red onions and have had great luck with them.  Maybe only about 30 or 40 of them.  Lasts us all winter.  Still eating them.

maybe i'll try them this year......always planted the white. 

[Dotch]

They're baaaaaack! Finally made a reconnaissance mission tonite to the wetland with the Gator. Figured I'd find pussy willows after the weekend. Glad to see they weren't too far gone already. Thought about trying to get down there yesterday but too windy & possibly dangerous as dry as it was. One spark or dry vegetation getting stuck in where it shouldn't and poof! All it would've taken.

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[glenn57]

They're baaaaaack! Finally made a reconnaissance mission tonite to the wetland with the Gator. Figured I'd find pussy willows after the weekend. Glad to see they weren't too far gone already. Thought about trying to get down there yesterday but too windy & possibly dangerous as dry as it was. One spark or dry vegetation getting stuck in where it shouldn't and poof! All it would've taken.

what you wont do to get chased around the kitchen table!!!!!!

[Dotch]

Actually I think she must've found a supply of EB (extra bitchy) pills today so after chores, I was just glad to get the hell away from her. 

[glenn57]

Actually I think she must've found a supply of EB (extra bitchy) pills today so after chores, I was just glad to get the hell away from her. 

so its safe to fire up da grill then?????

[mike89]

 

[Dotch]

It would be if I had anything thawed out. Also busy writing so I might have problems perfectly searing rather than making a burnt offering. 

[glenn57]

been thinking of raking off the leaves that cover my wifes flowers in her flower bed and my winter onion patch but,,, keep seeing stuff bout how pollinators are over wintering in stuff like that! think its to early???????

[Dotch]

Can't speak for everything but it's a little early on stuff like rhubarb yet. It was 18 degrees here this a.m. I see more coming now but think I'll wait a few weeks before getting too excited. Leaving some cover may help conserve some moisture. And there are definitely beneficial insects hibernating in some of those spots as you pointed out. Not all are pollinators. One of the most common ones here is the little native spotted pink ladybeetle. These aren't the Asian ladybeetle winter house guests. Plenty of trees to prune and radishes to harvest here in the meantime. 

[roony]

My radishes have seemed really bitter. Is that because it's so dry?

[Dotch]

Lack of wren poop...

[glenn57]

Lack of wren poop...

okay...i'll wait a bit.......just looking for something to do outside!!!!!!

[Dotch]

Made another pilgrimage to the wetland. PW's coming along nicely & with  warm temps forecast, it could blow them over the dam fast. The one bush is just beautiful right now.

[glenn57]

 

rumor has it there's a radish stand along some rural road around mayberry??? 

[Bobberineyes]

I'm a sucker for pussy willows riding shot gun also Dotch,  don't think I've used a bungee cord to keep em honest tho...

[mike89]

that's the seat belt!!!!