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 The Pitchfork’s survival projects, Idaho Potatoes 

Pitchfork © 2010
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Freely quote with attribution

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Introduction

Here’s the second survival project Pitchfork and The Missus have chosen to present, among several – buying seed potatoes – Idaho potatoes; namely Russet Burbank potatoes – and growing these white potatoes.   

This survival project, as with all the others, is a survival experiment; Pitchfork and The Missus do not grow potatoes for a living, indeed, have never grown any potatoes – until a couple months ago. 

Pitchfork and The Missus decided to grow potatoes generally to supplement nutrition with home-grown and specifically to work with the potatoes they appreciate most – in this case, the Idaho, and, separately here under, sweet potatoes. 

So

What’s involved?  What to look for?  Where to buy?  How to handle?  What to expect?  What to avoid? 

Pro vita sua 

These sustenance projects are about a survival commitment to stay-put.   

The inspiration to grow potatoes as herewith came from backyard farming, the urban homestead; “Backyard Potatoes” by Megan & Mike Knorpp, January 14, 2008 at http://backyardfarming.blogspot.com/2008/01/backyard-potatoes.html. 

Idaho potato experimental growing barrels almost topped out

The Idaho heirloom seed potatoes worked better than the sweets for this bucket-based experiment – sweets crawl – vine and roots – all over the place.  These Idaho potato plants started over grade at about 8"-10" above the barrel bottom.

AG and The Missus followed the above-reference close as possible – buckets, holes, stone, seed potatoes, fill and fill again, water periodically, fertilize a little now and then (mostly 5-5-5 lightly and less often 0-20-20 more lightly).

You can read all about growing potatoes from Web sources.

You can get the low-down about growing Idaho potatoes in a bucked by reading on. 

What got learned?

1. The Idaho seed potatoes came from Coeur d’Alene.  (Nope, you don’t special discompensation, gubmint license, or whatever . . . just a few bucks . . . reading French could help.)  Got healthy, little, itty-bitty spuds, cut ‘em in half, laid ‘em face down over referenced dirt over rock over holed barrel bottom, and covered ‘em some.  (This methodology is different from sweet potato propagation, in that the entire potato section is intact on planting with sprouts to not only form on the sectioned potato but also to stay attached to the sectioned potato from which they sprout; whereas, sweet potatoes are planted one stem - with or without leafing - and root taken from the potato by twisting or 'slipping' it off - origin of the term sweet potato 'slip' or cut out from mothership potato in a piece including the stem.) Weather got cold for weeks, and Pitchfork and The Missus figured those seed potatoes were over and done with.  They checked now and then by gently scratching down to a couple of buried chunks and got whole pieces, not at all rotted. 

Lesson: make sure you’ve got a good passive drainage plane; trust the potatoes to git-r-dun if you do your part.
 

2. One day, into a few warm ones, and up came shoots.  Growth of the seed potato shoots was fast, but not evenly fast; therefore, backfilling to 6” stems visible got uneven contours as some reached aggressively for the sun and others were just starting. 

Lesson:  next time, AG and The Missus’ll start ‘em from seed potatoes indoors for a more controlled [read:  even heights of plants, rising same time more or less] sprouting. 

3. Lesson: It’s taking about 5 cubic feet of fill to fill a bucket (20” diameter, 28” height) 

AG’s been using mostly cheapest potting soil, because pricier wares include nitrogen more than he’d care to put to the plants, and cheaper ‘top soil’ is not only denser but also scattered throughout with stones and sticks.  Tried wheat straw alone and as filler and hated it, hated it – shed all over the place, got caught up in plant stems and leaves, under compression faded to bubkes.  Passed on mulch – too full of solids.  Please note that the seed potatoes that started these plants to a-growing are about 8" from the buckets' bottoms.

An Idaho potato experimental growing barrel, plan view

4. Lesson:  5 cubic feet of fill’s 5 bags at 40 pounds each, plus stone and water makes for more weight per bucket than you’d normally be handling (to move, to empty, to reset on the slipped-off standoffs) under most any other circumstance

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BLOG OF THE WEEK OF UPDATE: NOVEMBER 29, 2010:  IDAHO POTATO UPDATE

Monumental waste of resources:  anticipation; expectation; materials; and time.  For a lot of money and effort, ended with maybe a dozen spuds of golf ball size or less.  Not recommended.

Conclusion:  Stick to the sweets for growing.