Potato question

[Botany]

I live in central Ohio can I plant potatoes now and will they be ready
by the first hard frost? ...... about 10/15

I have some redskins that have buds on them and I just had to build a large planter / retaining wall behind my house.

[hippywife]

1. Not sure but...

what do you have to lose by trying? Good luck! :hi:

[Agony]

2. Sure, I just planted potatoes last week and it sound like our frost date is about the same

If you have healthy soil and they grow right along you will be fine. Potatoes should be left in the ground to suberize for at least 2 weeks after the tops have died or been killed by frost. During this time the potatoes will continue to increase in size as they pull in nutrients from the roots. If you make sure and hill up the potatoes with lots of soil it will protect them from freezing and you can leave them in the ground even longer ( I have dug potatoes during a break in the weather in December and they are sweet! ( potato starch converts to sugars under cold storage conditions))


Fertilize with well aged compost as raw organic matter promotes potato scab. Watch for Colorado Potato Beetles, yellow and black stripes on their back, you can grab the adults and crush them as a control works just fine for a patch your size. Check the undersides of the leaves regularly for clusters of long bright orange eggs and crush them as well if you find them. MAke sure that the cluster of eggs that you crush are BRIGHT orange and not yellowish because then they might be lady bug eggs, they look almost identical except for the color. The orange larvae from the eggs that you miss will eat a lot of potato foliage in just a couple of days but don't worry you can pick them off too.

Enjoy your potatoes, and of course enjoy growing them as well

Cheers!
Agony

[Raven]

3. Post #2 sounds just like the New Hampshire Cooperative Extension

Service. Great advice, Agony. I planted my potatoes in mid June. I have just completed my 3rd hilling. We don't get a hard frost up here until the end of October. Your weather is probably similar and maybe a little more temperate. Go for it. There is nothing like digging for potatoes. It has alsways reminded me of finding Easter eggs as a kid on Easter morning. :-)

[Agony]

4. I just love growing potatoes

among other things. Your post made me laugh because while they are well meaning I am often at odds with the Coop Ext.

Did you know that Potato Scab can also be minimized by making sure there is adequate soil moisture especially during tuber initiation? Since tuber initiation happens about the same time that your potatoes flower.... bingo! when you see your potatoes start to flower make sure they are well watered esp during droughty periods for at least the next 2 weeks (tuber init).

Lower pH (down to 5.2) also helps control scab but that means that you have to have a special spot for potatoes because other crops should have a pH of 6.5 - 7 for optimal nutrient availability


Thanks and
See Ya!

Agony

[Raven]

5. You are a wealth of information! Did you know that there still are

ancient potato hills in Ireland. They have been left as a kind of memorial to the famine.

[Paper Roses]

6. I wish I saved a couple of Maine Spuds for planting.

I am a real New Englander. Maine or PEI Potatoes. Dumb me, I ate the last of them ages ago and now there are none in the stores. I like any Northeast potato and expected to put some in but screwed up my timing.

Prices of other spuds are through the roof right now. If I planned better, I'd have my own easy-to-grow crop in the fall. Just plant and forget.

I think I am one of the few people who would not prefer the more exotic spuds.

[mod mom]

7. Don't know but if you have a mashed potato party please invite me!

:hi: I love spuds!

[Botany]

8. I will bring a bag to your house my friend

:fistbump: