Growing Potatoes

[sarahangela]

Hi people

I'm having a problem with my potatoes. What I've tried doing is using the sprouting potatoes from my veggie rack as the seed potatoe. The plant appears to grow well and the foliage always looks healthy. Then after the plants have flowered I dig up the first one. This is when the disappointment comes because sometimes there is absolutely nothing to show except the mother potatoe - I even had one occasion when there was nothing but a bunch of roots (clearly something had eaten the mother spud).

Is the fault that I don't buy proper seed potatoes? (I should say I live in Cape Town and have never seen them for sale at any of the nurseries I go to).

Any input will be appreciated

[Lesley Jay]

The general advice is always to plant seed potatoes as these are certified disease free and potatoes bought from supermarkets are sprayed with an inhibitor to stop them sprouting.

However, people do plant supermarket potatoes and they do get a crop of home grown potatoes.

You say that the foliage is healthy so I assume that there are plenty of roots. All I can think of is that you are digging the plants up too early. First Early potato varieties need about 13 weeks to grow and Main Crop potatoes need up to 22 weeks to grow. I'm guessing that the supermarket potatoes were probably a Main Crop variety. Potatoes need plenty of water when they are growing.

I've had disappointments in the past when I have dug up potato plants too early and there was nothing but roots. How long have you left the plants in the ground?

Oh! I nearly forgot - welcome to our forum!!

[sarahangela]

I'm unsure how long I've left the plants in before digging up, but for a couple of plants, I waited until the foliage started to look very wilted in the hopes that I would have more luck.

Should I continue to water right up until I start to harvest?

I think for my next crop, I will seek out a farm-supply shop and try for seed potatoes there.

And thanks for the welcome - the forum has already answered quiet a few of my questions (i.e. how to correctly use my hoe).

[Lesley Jay]

While the foliage is still green I carry on watering. I leave main crop potatoes in the ground until the plants have completely died down but they could be dug up earlier. It's just that I find I get a crop of much larger potatoes. The only down side is that they stand a good chance of being attacked by slugs!

When you dug up the plants were there any tiny white marbels on the root ends?

[sarahangela]

Yes, I seem to remember quite a few little nobbly bits on the roots.

[Lesley Jay]

The tiny marbles on the root ends will have been tiny potatoes so leave the plants in the ground alot longer for the potatoes to grow to a nice size. Good luck with the next crop!

[malcolmx]

potatoes need water to swell specialist farm potatoes on 110 acre plot will need about 45000 cu meters of water between jun and august so it may be in your tiny plot you are still not getting enough ground water to your spuds i would hoe one day and water next from as soon as you see the shoots until crop is edible