Deleted
Posts: 0
Joined: January 1970
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Post by Deleted on Apr 23, 2011 15:37:36 GMT -5
I've been playing with this idea of a permanent potato bed. Yes, I know, not recomended but....................
I've seen where others have used the same tomato beds for decades with great results, using great care to prevent disease mainly by using outstanding clean up habits through and after the growing season.
Why would I want such a thing? My Iowa soil tends to be too alkaline for tators. They grow fine but I fight scab something terrible. I'd like to lower my ph to stop the scab while not bringing my ph lower than ideal for my other crops. I cant see adjusting the ph from spot to spot each year lowering my ph over time in the whole garden when the rest of the garden doesn't need it.
Has anyone tried this before or read about it? Any ideas or advice? I've been gardening for a long time but this is a new idea to me so I cannot see not asking other experienced gardeners for ideas.
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joseph
Junior Member
Market farmer
Posts: 30
Joined: December 2010
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Post by joseph on Apr 23, 2011 16:43:27 GMT -5
I've been playing with this idea of a permanent potato bed. Yes, I know, not recomended but.................... I've seen where others have used the same tomato beds for decades with great results, using great care to prevent disease mainly by using outstanding clean up habits through and after the growing season. Or approach it from another perspective: Encourage potato diseases, don't clean the beds, and then grow your own potato seeds and select for potatoes that thrive in spite of the diseases and insect pests.
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Post by paquebot on Apr 23, 2011 19:16:27 GMT -5
I established my potato patch in 1990. It's had nothing but potatoes ever since. In fact, it was a study by one of the Iowa schools which turned me on as to how to do it. That study used only oak leaves for nutrients since the NPK value is about what the potatoes need. Worked great until I added Carola from Pinetree and scab came with it. Now I add sulfur every other year and hill the plants with a mix of soil and fine-shredded pine boughs and needles. Also use some leaf-based compost in the trenches. Mulch heavy with shredded leaves and always expect a bigger harvest than the year before. Haven't been disappointed yet.
Martin
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Post by coppice on Apr 23, 2011 20:10:45 GMT -5
It should well work if you have a hard frost every year that freezes soil. Eventually a perfect storm of late blight will hit your area.
IMO there is nothing you can do about that. Big-box and centralized mega-greenhouses will be the vector again of this blight. It takes the extra shoe-to drop, of a very wet-cold summer.
Grow your spuds where they grow best.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Joined: January 1970
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Post by Deleted on Apr 23, 2011 20:51:22 GMT -5
I established my potato patch in 1990. It's had nothing but potatoes ever since. In fact, it was a study by one of the Iowa schools which turned me on as to how to do it. That study used only oak leaves for nutrients since the NPK value is about what the potatoes need. Worked great until I added Carola from Pinetree and scab came with it. Now I add sulfur every other year and hill the plants with a mix of soil and fine-shredded pine boughs and needles. Also use some leaf-based compost in the trenches. Mulch heavy with shredded leaves and always expect a bigger harvest than the year before. Haven't been disappointed yet. Martin I,also, have my potato bed in a permanent spot.My town gives away free compost (leaves mostly)and thats what they grow in. I'm by no means a potato expert but the harvest every year sure makes me look like one, and the taste of these taters don't EVEN compare to the store bought variety. good luck!
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rintintin
Pro Member
Posts: 150
Joined: December 2010
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Post by rintintin on Apr 29, 2011 14:39:29 GMT -5
Oddly enough. Canabis sativa has been shown to be a good companion plant to ward off the potato blight. The native Andean potatoes never had a problem with blight until the local governments eradicated the canabis crops (with assistance from the U.S government). Now, they are experiencing crop losses.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Joined: January 1970
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Post by Deleted on Apr 29, 2011 21:26:41 GMT -5
Woooo Hoooooo! Harvested my 1st taters today them promptly ate them. So... gonna do the same tommorrow!
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Post by daylilydude on Apr 30, 2011 18:55:31 GMT -5
WAIT... We need pics butterbean...
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