What do Potaotoes Need?

[Mackay]

Although I garden organically, I'm wondering what all those large inorganic potato growers put on their soil to make their potatoes grow year after year on the same spot. Any ideas?

 

[Chickie'sMomaInNH]

well, if they are doing crop rotation with something that can put the nutrients back in, i'm sure it is some sort of chemical.

 

[journey11]

Blood meal, bone meal and amend with compost. You'll get huge taters! pH should be more acidic too, around 5, so don't lime.

 

[so lucky]

Hmm. My soil is definitely not acid. Wonder if this has been affecting the way my potatoes have (not) done.

 

[Chickie'sMomaInNH]

i admit, i do move my potatoes back and forth between 2 areas from one year to the nex. but i usually do my coop clean out and that is my fertilizer.

 

[Mackay]

thanks for the replies.. well blood meal is nitrogen and bone meal is calcium, and calcium reduces ph doesn't it? . I can try that and I can add buckets of forest compost made of pine needles and bark.. a very fine half composted mix. I was going to put in a bunch of egg shells this year.

Farmers around here put the potatoes in the same spot every year far as I can tell. .. this is Idaho, but I don't know any potato farmers.. I had been using aged cow, goat and chicken poo. If potatoes need all this stuff how do people grow them in bales of hay?

 

[Carol Dee]

@Mackay I am sure other will tell you to add this or that. We have never added anything other than some compost. Often plant in the same spot for many years. They seem to do just fine! Here are two photos from last falls harvest.

 

[flowerweaver]

Wow @Carol Dee that's a great haul! Texas is not known for it's potato growing although I know folks who successfully grow little red potatoes in the eastern part of the state where the soil is better.

I don't know anyone other than us attempting it in the southwest. To lower the pH we added peat and probably fifty gallons of used commercial coffee grounds plus natural crushed sulfur. We also grew tepary beans there for added nitrogen. We also add a weak solution of vinegar to our irrigation. We don't use any chemicals, or blood or bone meals since we are vegetarians. We add donkey and chicken manure. Each year our harvest improves although we have a long way to go!