Farmall Cub

When you guys dig new potatoes do you just dig up the entire plant, or do you try and be careful to let the smaller tubers continue to grow?
Thanks,
Todd

The ones I grew, I will walk up and down the row and look for the ground that is 'cracked' and pushed up. Dig a little to get the big one that is pushing up the dirt, cover the hole back up and leave the others be, so that they can get bigger. I did this for about two-three weeks before I broke down and dug them all up before a big rain that I knew was coming.
Once the flowers bloom on the bush, you know that potatoes are under there!

Thanks. I dug up a few tonight and made beef stew in the dutch oven. Very good. But I noted several that could have grown up more so I'll leave them next time.
Todd

I too, just "scratch" carefully and get the bigger ones first! thanks; sonny

By accident I discovered how to make easy new potatos. I had made a small 3x3 wire basket one day bored and put some leaves and some scraps into layers. I had rolled it one time but it wasnt enough time to turn it by hand than my larger pile I turn with the skid steer. Well this summer I was out there and had 4 potato plants springing up in it. I waited 2 weeks after the blooms appeared and reached in and felt around and found several new taters. Then I let them got a week or 2 and did it again. Then i let it work its course and pulled up the cage and got the rest of the new taters and the big ones to. All clean and grit free. Also will work if you middle bust a furrow then plant the taters and pile on leaves or well rotted sawdust or compost. You can feel throu them and they grow allot faster and biggers not having to fight the soil here. I plan to put a raised wiremesh bed of taters in my green house this comming week to make some winter taters.

every year i have problems with them staying really tiny. i don't know what i do wrong because i follow that when it blooms and dies then the potatos are ready but i dunno what's happening to them

What are your soil conditions like, Amanda?

TractorChick wrote:every year i have problems with them staying really tiny. i don't know what i do wrong because i follow that when it blooms and dies then the potatos are ready but i dunno what's happening to them

Your soil maybe too hard, they say to add some sand in it to soften it up so the potatoes can expand when they grow. Do you hill them? We hill them 3 times because they do grow up. I'm going to add some sand and more manure this year. I only got the red potatoes his year and nothing else. Again nothing with my sweet potatoes for the second year.

My corn, califlower, cabbage and potatoes did ok this year. My newly planted blueberries and strawberries are doing great. My tomatoes took a hit with all the wet weather we been having. In the past all my gardens have been raised gardens so i never had a water problem with the better drainage. This is my first garden thats flush with the lawn.

Bill, your tomatoes may have been a victim of Late Blight. After only a week of getting ripe tomatoes, I pulled all my vines yesterday. Here's an article on Late Blight...

http://www.nysipm.cornell.edu/publications/blight/