How warm for potatoes?

[boggybranch]

I'm in zone 8b and planted my taters (in the tater tower) during the 2nd or 3rd week of January. Have been covering them as they grow and they are, currently, at a covered height (or depth, depending on your train of thought) of 16 inches.

 

[Ariel301]

I'm supposedly in 8A, but based on the description of that zone, and our wacky weather this spring, I think we're more like zone 7, even bordering on 6, now. I put the potatoes in the end of January, they got frozen six or seven times and snowed on twice, but I checked them today and they're starting to grow. According to people who have lived here a while, we shouldn't normally get freezes after early January, but we've been hot one week and snowing the next for the last two months. Two weeks ago we had a freeze, and today it was nearly 80. :/

 

[AmyRey]

As an interesting aside to this soil temp discussion, I was tilling for a fellow last spring and he said his grandpa was a crop farmer. After he'd work the soil he'd drop his bibs and boxers, sit down in the soil and if it wasn't uncomfortable on his backside, it was time to plant!!!

I am SO going to talk my teenagers into doing this! lol

 

[April Manier]

As an interesting aside to this soil temp discussion, I was tilling for a fellow last spring and he said his grandpa was a crop farmer. After he'd work the soil he'd drop his bibs and boxers, sit down in the soil and if it wasn't uncomfortable on his backside, it was time to plant!!!

Never tried this and don't intend to!!!

THANX RICH

Love it!

We're planting potatoes in about 2 weeks. ONly because it's too wet to till and we are waiting on a dry spell.