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Post by daylilydude on May 31, 2014 9:40:53 GMT -5
Wifey wants me to grow taters next year so... I'm going to try them in my raised 3 foot wide beds and wondered if I could get away with three rows? Has anyone experience in this.
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Post by bestofour on Jun 3, 2014 10:19:46 GMT -5
Potatoes do well here but I'm constantly having to cover them with dirt. How will you do that in a raised bed?
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Post by horsea on Jun 3, 2014 10:29:13 GMT -5
Potatoes do well here but I'm constantly having to cover them with dirt. How will you do that in a raised bed? I heap mulch (chopped straw and/or grass clippings) where the plants emerge from the soil, and all around, really. Works good to prevent greening. If it wasn't for raised beds, I could not garden because of our high water table. There's an area at one end of the garden that doesn't need raised beds; it is a nice variety to have both methods of gardening in one plot. Good luck to you!
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Post by spacecase0 on Jun 4, 2014 18:44:33 GMT -5
I bet 3 foot wide with 3 rows will work just fine, I usually pack them in that tight and it works just fine
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Post by bestofour on Jan 28, 2017 22:48:53 GMT -5
daylilydude how did the potatoes work out for you? I'm definitely trying to grow them in a raised bed this year.
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Post by coppice on Jan 29, 2017 14:57:58 GMT -5
If you can get to both sides of your three-foot-wide beds, then yes you can fit three rows in that width bed. If your stuck with access from one side only, you might want to go with two rows.
From one side only your hoe will reach, but hands and knee work will not be fun.
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Post by bestofour on Jan 30, 2017 20:55:56 GMT -5
Thanks coppice. I can get to both sides. I read where someone got 100 bushels of potatoes from 2 raised beds and I just can't picture that in my mind. I always get a lot when I've ground planted but I can't wrap my brain around that happening in a raised bed. I hope to prove it to myself.
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Post by daylilydude on Feb 1, 2017 4:29:27 GMT -5
bestofour, sorry for not getting back sooner with you on this, but we didn't get to try it as my wife's father planted way more taters than they could eat so we just ended up trading our collard greens for his taters so it worked out for both of us. Now I will be watching this as my FIL has gotten down and may not be planting a garden any time soon, so we may end up growing them in the long run for them.
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Post by spike on May 21, 2017 13:29:02 GMT -5
daylilydude Try growing them in tubs? That is what I do. 5 sets a tub. Easy to harvest as you just dump the whole mess out on a tarp/ground/whatever and there are the taters!! img images
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Post by bestofour on May 22, 2017 21:35:30 GMT -5
Good idea spike. I ended up planting in buckets.
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Post by daylilydude on May 23, 2017 4:44:36 GMT -5
spike, how big are these tubs your using, and do you use a special potting mix to fill them with?
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Post by spike on May 23, 2017 10:40:13 GMT -5
daylilydude I use those 'rope handled' 'laundry/yard tubs' you can find at Walmart for under $10. If you need me to take a better picture let me know. I have garlic and onions growing in a couple right now!! This is what I do that works for me. I take my tubs and drill a couple small holes in the sides about a couple of inches up from the bottom. That way if we get heavy rains my taters don't drown. Then I fill the bottom with a mixture of garden soil and straw, 3 -4 inches worth. Put in my 5 potato starts and cover with dirt. Every time they grow about 6" tall, I recover the stems (not the top leaves) with more dirt. Eventually the tub is full and the plants are out the top like in the picture. BAM Potatoes!!
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Post by brownrexx on Jul 19, 2017 7:24:35 GMT -5
spike ,that doesn't look like it gives the potatoes enough space to me. I have found that you will get bigger potatoes by giving them more space. I would probably only plant 2 seed potatoes in a tub of that size.
I had some volunteers pop up this year and I let them grow right in the middle of an empty space so they had plenty of room. I just dug them last night and I was totally amazed at the size I have never had potatoes this big. They are Kennebec and most of them weigh almost a pound each! I weighed the harvest and it was 8 1/2 lbs from 2 plants!
I have 2 rows of seed potatoes planted but they are not ready to harvest yet. I wonder what they will produce?
DSC01986 by Brownrexx, on Flickr
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Post by daylilydude on Jul 20, 2017 5:17:05 GMT -5
brownrexx, what variety of seed taters did you plant?
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Post by brownrexx on Jul 20, 2017 9:20:40 GMT -5
I planted Kennebec because I like big baking potatoes and I also planted some French fingerlings.
The ones in my picture were volunteers from pieces of Kennebec that must have been left in the ground from last year. I also have some Red Pontiac volunteers from last year's potatoes.
This garden was tilled in the Fall so pieces must have been moved all over the garden.
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Post by spike on Jul 20, 2017 11:15:04 GMT -5
spike ,that doesn't look like it gives the potatoes enough space to me. For the size of the potatoes you are growing it wouldn't be enough room. I do smaller potatoes and it is perfect. OMG I was only selfishly thinking of myself gosh!
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Post by brownrexx on Jul 24, 2017 20:04:26 GMT -5
I do smaller potatoes and it is perfect. I am looking forward to seeing your harvest. My row of plants from seed potatoes is just starting to die back. I always enjoy digging up the potatoes because it is such a mystery as to what is below ground. I have never grown such huge potatoes as I showed in that picture before. I used to try for big baking potatoes and was never successful.
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Post by bestofour on Jul 24, 2017 22:23:08 GMT -5
My bucket potatoes are a good size. Not a pound a piece but a nice size and surprisingly I'm getting a lot from each bucket.
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Post by bestofour on Jul 26, 2017 23:41:27 GMT -5
Took a picture of what I brought in yesterday.
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Post by brownrexx on Jul 27, 2017 12:28:50 GMT -5
Those look like nice sized potatoes. Honestly, I was not looking for potatoes that were a pound each. I would be happy if they were half that size. I have never had potatoes get so huge. I just like to get potatoes large enough for baking, not just a bunch of small round ones.
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Post by brownrexx on Aug 6, 2017 15:07:41 GMT -5
I dug my potatoes today. I never have much luck with red potatoes and this year was no exception. They have splits and some scab but will be fine if I peel them. That's them on the left, Kennebec in the middle and French Fingerlings on the right. 20170806_154413 by Brownrexx, on Flickr
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