Potatoes, Potatoes, & saving Fingerlings for seed potatoes?

[Kim_NC]

We've been digging and digging potatoes - red pontiac, white kennebec, yukon gold and red fingerlings. They're fabulous! A couple night's ago DH actually cooked addtional potatoes after dinner for his dessert! LOL

We had to mail order the fingerling seed potatoes. I'd like to save some of what we have for seed potatoes for next year.

Usually we store potatoes in our root cellar, eat all we want. If any make it to Feb and grow eyes we use them for planting. But I'd like to be a bit more 'scientific' with the fingerlings so that we're sure to have seed potatoes from them.

Any suggestions?

 

[digitS']

Kim, I'll offer these 2 sites for your look-see. I hope they are helpful.

I'll be back later as harvest progresses and see what else I can find from Dr. Olsen, especially.

Potato Storage

Specialty Spuds

Steve

 

[ducks4you]

Okay, I'm a potato newbie. This is 2nd year I've planted them, but last year they got smothered by weeds. Now my 14 Yukon Gold plants are gosh, darn glorious, and I've done my best to mulch the bottoms. Okay, WITHOUT starting a new thread, help me with the harvesting. I still have some flowers on two of them, and I understand that I can harvest some "babies" in about 3 weeks.
How long should I wait before I start pulling up plants?
Can I wash the dirt off of them?
Can I start storing them, and will Yukon Gold store well? (Not a big problem, since DD's and I intend to cut, double-bag and freeze them for mashed potatoes this winter.)
Has anybody here ever planted a 2nd crop, like about NOW?
Anxious for your thoughts!!

 

[BetterHensandGardens]

You really shouldn't "harvest" the potatoes until the foliage has completey died off later in the fall, continue to let them grow and make potatoes down there.

If you want to start harvesting "new potatoes", you need to gently dig down in the soil they are growing in (don't pull the plants out) and find some of the small potatoes that are down there. Gently fish them out, and then wash them off and use.

When you actually do harvest in fall, you generally "dig" the potatoes up, or turn the earth the potato plant is growing in up so you can harvest all the potatoes in the ground.

When you harvest them for storage, it's best to generally just brush the dirt off them if you're going to put them in a root cellar, you don't want to bruise them.

I'm in Ohio and I've never planted a second crop now, so I can't help you with that. However, I've had excellent luck storing Yukon Golds in our root cellar, we've still got a few down there from last year. They're not beautiful any more, a little shriveled - but they still make good mashed potatoes.

Rather than planting potatoes, the past two years I've tried the lazy bed method, you can read about it at my website if you're interested:
http://www.betterhensandgardens.com/2010/05/02/planting-potatoes-lazy-bed-method/
http://www.betterhensandgardens.com/2010/06/23/lazy-bed-potato-update/

 

[ducks4you]

I've had excellent luck storing Yukon Golds in our root cellar, we've still got a few down there from last year. They're not beautiful any more, a little shriveled - but they still make good mashed potatoes.

Thanks for the reply and great advice. I have ENOUGH to do this summer, and I'd rather wait to harvest them right now, anyway.
DD's and I DO want them for mashing this winter. I will probably dig up one of the plants because I'm worried that I just have beautiful foliage. I'm pretty sure that they were well covered, since I mulched them and they are growing with squash, beans, corn and sunflowers with green cover and lots of shade.

 

[Beans & Corn]

As for storing potatoes canning them works best. You can fry, mash, bake, boil etc with them. We have mice bad so no storing root crops for us.

 

[ducks4you]

, Beans & Corn!
Thanks for the advice! WE have cats and dogs that eat the mice that would get into MY pantry. My SIL toured my garden on the 4th and asked if the fences (on the raised) beds kept out the rabbits. I said, no, they keep the DOGS from running through them. The rabbits need to watch for my dogs, who find rabbit nests and share the babies with their friends, the cats!!

 

[The French Gardner]

Hello,

I am very new to gardening, you might even say a virgin....I have tried gardening but nothing ever grew so I guess we can't count those times but I am trying again all anew....we shall see what we shall see...

anyway in regards to Potatoes....I am in Zone 9, when is the best time to plant potatoes here in Florida...can we plant more often here because of our weather or is it just the opposite...?? Do potatoes need a cooler enviornment ? Should I plant directly into a raised garden bed or should I be using something else ?

Thanks for all your help

Pat