Potatos

[wfmdfm]

If you grow early potatos are you able to harvest and replant for more in the Fall. We are in New England so I am not sure if our season would be long enough?
Wally

[Joe Malinowski]

I don't grow potatos but I have never seen any of the farmers around me have more than one harvest a year.

[beaconlight]

We grow them most years and only get one crop. This year map prove me wrong. Seems I missed a couple and they sprouted. I don't think any thing will come of it before frost kills the plants.

Staten Island is blessed with quite a favorable climate. We are past the normal first average killing frost (October 20) date but have had a couple of mild frosts

[SONNY]

Due to their nature,--only one crop per season here too!!----even to get that, they have to be planted around 100'th. day,--good friday, etc.!---the volunteer ones make little golf ball sized spuds,--IF bugs dont consume the plants! thanks; sonny

[MaineDad]

Too short of a season for it to be planted twice... Wish I could though...

[wfmdfm]

Do you harvest with a middlebuster like this one on ebay?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... K:MEWAX:IT
Or should it be wider?

[SONNY]

I made/use this;

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c105/ ... igger1.jpg

It is a 30 inch wide pan type digger! I also made a middlebuster type, BUT it wouldnt get all the spuds and cut a lot of them!---I even added a big ole rod section to the back and still did not work well! ---Mostly depends on how wide your spuds grow out to the sides of the mounds,---mine completely fill and stick out of 30 inch wide ridges,--so this should give you some idea of what you need! thanks; sonny

[strutz3921]

Sonny,
I would like to see that pan digger in person so i can build one. Does it work well? I am up in the Morris area.


Chad

[SONNY]

You are welcome to come down and look at the equipment any time you want to!----EVERYONE is welcome to come and look at my equipment!















2 years ago when I made it we had 1,800 feet of rows to dig and had it not been for this digger we never would have gotten the 8,000+ pounds of spuds dug + the 150 feet of sweet taters!
I now have plans to install a powered drag chain in it to pull the dug spuds/dirt/rocks/snakes/toads/whatever else that comes up , back over the rod section and POSSIBLY dump into the little wagon that I made to use in the garden.
I think then the 72 will pull it ok (used the 56 last time). If I hook it to the 3-point hitch, that will give me the inch-close depth adjustment that can be used on the go! (will control the cut a lot better!---not sure how much this thing weighs, but hitting 10 inch dia. rocks dont faze it or bend/break anything on it (does stop tractor dead in its tracks! LOL!)
It can also be used in the garden to dig/pick rocks up and sort them from the dry dirt, so it would be used fore more than just tater diggin' thanks; sonny