sphinxeyes
gardener
Suburbia, small garden in side yard, containers on larger back deck. Hot humid summers.
Posts: 154
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Post by sphinxeyes on Aug 7, 2010 0:16:07 GMT -5
I've been growing potatoes in big plastic tubs, similar to the garbage can method of growing them.
They were doing really well and growing quite tall, past the top of the plastic tub. So a few weeks ago I got a sheet of bendable thin plastic and wrapped it around the inside of the tub to give it more height. I then added about a foot of extra dirt and buried the plants up to the last few leaves. About two weeks have passed now and most of the plants have turned brown and wilted. One stem is still green, but it's fallen over on it's side and doesn't look good. I'm thinking that maybe the sides of the plastic sheet were too tall and it kept it from getting the sun that it needed. It's been very hot and humid, so I've been watering a lot, but maybe I had soaked them too much as well.
Whatever the reason they don't seem to be recovering, but none of the plants have flowered yet either. Should I dig them up now or continue to wait until September or October?
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Post by garnetmoth on Aug 7, 2010 7:54:42 GMT -5
Were these spring planted? my guess is that you hilled up a little late and they didnt get around to flowering- if theyre dying down id dig them and take a look- Hope it turns out well!
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Post by Joseph Lofthouse on Aug 7, 2010 12:00:58 GMT -5
With modern potato varieties blooming can be unusual.
I grow about 30 types of potatoes. Some types turn brown by the end of July, and other types stay green until frost. I dig them when they turn brown.
Regards, Joseph
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Post by mnjrutherford on Aug 7, 2010 12:19:43 GMT -5
I think you hilled them a bit late as well. I also agree that you might have over watered. I would concur with digging them to check out what is going on. Even if the worst has happened, you could probably start over with whatever seed are on the plant. Our potatoes don't like a lot of water. Even with the drought we don't water them. When they start to brown, that's our clue to dig them. Not all our plants make flowers either. If I were to hazard a guess, I'd say that only half to 3/4s of the plants make flowers. Hopefully, Martin will see this and put in his advice as well. His thoughts are right on the money.
Nice to see you round!
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sphinxeyes
gardener
Suburbia, small garden in side yard, containers on larger back deck. Hot humid summers.
Posts: 154
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Post by sphinxeyes on Aug 7, 2010 20:40:47 GMT -5
I think you're right about the over watering. I dug them up this afternoon and couldn't find any potatoes, only a few shriveled up skins that looked like they have been rotted from the inside out. I didn't see any other signs of insect damage, so I'm guessing it was all from being too wet. No potatoes for me, maybe I'll have better luck next year.
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Post by Joseph Lofthouse on Aug 7, 2010 23:29:31 GMT -5
I dug them up this afternoon and couldn't find any potatoes, only a few shriveled up skins that looked like they have been rotted from the inside out. That grosses me out so bad... To be digging up this years potato crop, and to stick my finger into the rotten goop left over from the seed potato. Shudderingly, Joseph
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Post by atash on Aug 7, 2010 23:54:16 GMT -5
Sphinxeyes, next year you might try a more "breathable" container. Potatoes need good drainage. Personally I've thought of using used rice bags. Some people use landscaping fabric sewn into containers.
You might also try some of Tom Wagner's potatoes. His seed-grown strains tend to be a little more vigorous than typical commercial potatoes. They have performed better in my own back yard than commercial strains, which seem to be constantly either diseased or prematurely senescent on me.
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sphinxeyes
gardener
Suburbia, small garden in side yard, containers on larger back deck. Hot humid summers.
Posts: 154
|
Post by sphinxeyes on Aug 8, 2010 0:21:03 GMT -5
I might have to try that, if I do potatoes again next year. The plastic tubs I used have holes drilled in the bottom and the sides, but I guess that was not enough this year. The seed potatoes I used were actually what I had grown last year from Tom Wagner's TPS. So I was excited to see the results, but lucked out this time.
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Post by canadamike on Aug 13, 2010 17:18:32 GMT -5
I am not sure over watering is the culprit. EVEN if you watered a LOT your potato tower, unless you watered the dirt itself IN the tower, there is a fair chance they actually were underwatered. When water is put over the top of the plants, it ends up mostly on the ground besides the tower, the canopy of potato leaves acting like a roof. It happened to a lot of my readers after my column on potato towers last year.
An easy way to solve the problem is putting a lenght of flexible drain ''pipe'', the one used around the foundations of our houses, verticaly right in the middle of the tower. You simply put water in it so it goes everywhere in the apparatus.
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