about potatos?

[Marianne]

Hard to say, depends on how often you eat potatoes each week.

I usually plant around 50 potato chunks, half Kennebec, half Pontiac - maybe 3 lbs of seed potatoes (each variety)? Since I have good luck with these, I haven't tried the other varieties.

The last two years I planted Yukon Gold for a friend. They seem to have a smaller yield, I heard that's why they are more expensive to buy in the grocery store. Both years I noticed that there are very few eyes on the seed potato Gold's, too.

Right now I still have bags and bags in the freezer from last years harvest (there are two of us, but we have family over for dinner probably once a month). This past winter wasn't as cold as the previous year, so I didn't make as many pots of potato soup, etc. The previous year, I had just a few bags in the freezer by the time I was robbing new potatoes from the plants.

I don't have a cold room for long term storage, so I process most of them.

 

[i_am2bz]

Right now I still have bags and bags in the freezer from last years harvest (there are two of us, but we have family over for dinner probably once a month). This past winter wasn't as cold as the previous year, so I didn't make as many pots of potato soup, etc. The previous year, I had just a few bags in the freezer by the time I was robbing new potatoes from the plants.

I don't have a cold room for long term storage, so I process most of them.

When you say you have bags of them in the freezer, I assume you partially cooked them first? Or maybe dried?

Frankly, I don't think I'm planting enough to worry about an over-abundance to store, but it's best to be prepared.

Sorry, bornthrifty, looks like we hijacked your thread after all...:/

 

[Marianne]

Yes, I slice, chunk, quarter, halve, wedge..whatever shape I want for however I want to cook it later.
I finally ended up using the microwave so I didn't heat up the kitchen as much. I spray a dish with non stick cooking spray, also spray the spuds, microwave on high for about 7 minutes. Spread on cookie sheets to cool, into the freezer for an hour and then bag.

Sometimes I roll wedges in butter or a bit of oil, season and bake until 3/4 the way done. Then cool, freeze and bag.

Or make mashed potatoes and freeze in meal size containers.

Little red potatoes I leave whole, microwave, etc. Those I use when I cook a roast.

I haven't tried shreds. A friend did, swears they were cooked enough, but they all turned black...I tend to think they weren't cooked enough.

I was going to try dehydrating some this year. Mostly because I'm OCD about trying new stuff.

Ya, sorry about the hijack!

 

[bornthrifty]

marrieanne,

so if you don't mind what size potatoes have you gotten (just an approximate pls, just wondering if I can get some big bakers, or if for big bakers maybe i need to do some in proper soil?)

do you mean you don't even cover the intial set with dirt, you only cover with the straw?

thanks

 

[Marianne]

On the Kennebec's (white potatoes), I had potatoes that were 4-1/2" long, anyway. The biggest ones are always set aside for bakers, but since I don't have a cold room, I keep an eye on them and use them within a couple months. There were some that were longer, plenty that were shorter. Do not wash them before you put them in storage.

The first year I planted in straw, my garden soil was pretty bad, new spot, rock hard. So I put down some straw, a dab of dirt where I was putting the potato piece, and then more straw on top of that. I added straw as the potato plant grew. I never added any more dirt, but I did give them some Miracle Grow, probably 3 times during the growing period.

Now I put the potato piece directly on top of the soil and cover with some straw. My garden soil improves each year (I don't till, ever). I let my few chickens in there in the fall to help with garden cleanup and they get that straw broken down into small pieces as time goes on and fertilize. I haven't used any Miracle Grow since that first year. But since I'm down to two hens, this year I'm going to 'fertilize' with grass clippings (high in N).

The straw will keep the soil cooler in the spring, so it might take longer for your potatoes to peek through. I have friends that always plant in soil at least two weeks after I do, but their plants are up before mine. They don't mulch, till like crazy, dig to plant their potatoes, water, water, water, etc. They don't have a better crop than I do, but they sure spend a lot more time working in the garden.

The good thing about the straw is that it holds the moisture so well that I hardly have to water. If you put your hand into the straw by the plant, it will feel moist. The potatoes are easy to harvest, clean, nice shaped, easy to rob plenty of new potatoes...works for me. I leave the straw and other garden debri right there to break down and add another layer of good stuff to the garden.

There's nothing that says you can't add compost or soil on top of the straw. You just want it to be really loose so the potatoes can easily form. I know the first year I tried this, I wasn't sure it was going to work. But your potatoes form above the seed potato piece, so as long as the roots get some nutrients, you should be fine. As you can see by other posts, we all do things differently with good results.

Holy cow! Sorry for the long ramble...

 

[Neko-chan]

...

 

[Marianne]

There was a small debate on here about seed potatoes vs. store bought potatoes. Really, you have nothing to lose in trying it. You might give it a rinse of water to see if that helps any. Many people feel that the store bought spuds are sprayed with something to retard the sprouting unless they are labeled as being organic.

I know nothing about Dutch Creams, but the name sounds wonderful!

 

[Neko-chan]

...

 

[elijahboy]

i got a bag of red potatoes from the grocery and didnt eat them fast enough and they started sprouting on the counter so i plopped them in the ground and 3 months later it had babies and some are the size of golf balls

 

[kimlove2]

I have used potatoes from the store as opposed to seed potatoes before. the thing to remember (especially if it's a really large potato) is to cut each chunk of tater with an 'eye' in it. give it enough of the mother tater to grow, and you should have plenty of baby tater plants!