Potatoe Drum

[Builder Ken]

I have been reading about planting potatoes in a 55 gal. drum. My question is as the plants grow and before adding more dirt do I add more seed potatoes or do the orginal ones I planted just continue to put on more potatoes. I feel kinda stupid but I gotta ask. Ken

[AlchemyAcres]

I have been reading about planting potatoes in a 55 gal. drum. My question is as the plants grow and before adding more dirt do I add more seed potatoes or do the orginal ones I planted just continue to put on more potatoes. I feel kinda stupid but I gotta ask. Ken

The original ones will continue to grow, but a 55 gallon barrel is overkill....you can only get the stems to elongate so far...and it's essential that you use long season potatoes.

IMHO, barrel or caged potatoes are just for fun...you'll get bigger and better potatoes if you plant then in the ground and use a few "tricks".

1. Limit each seed piece to just ONE eye...never ever more than two! The only reason to have two is if the eyes are too close to easily split the piece, but that rarely happens.
Plants grown from the cluster of eyes on the crown end (rose end)...that's the end opposite the end that connected to the stolon...will yield smaller potatoes. I grow those separately and use them as baby 'new' potatoes or salt potatoes.
2. Spacing...to encourage large potatoes...space the pieces of seed potato as least 12 inches apart.....15 inches is better, if you have the room.
3. Even moisture...never too much or too little.

I also feed very lightly with fish emulsion and pull off any blossoms.

The neighbors think I have some secret 'fertilizer' that I use to get lunker potatoes...but it's just those 3 'little' secrets (or 5)...don't tell 'em!!!! LOL


~Martin

[Builder Ken]

Thanks Martin the reason I was thinking about the drum thing last year we had so much rain that I harvested a total of 0 spuds..... I thought I could control the moisture content better this way. Ken

[neparose]

Now its my turn to feel kinda stupid.lol. Why do you pull off the flowers? I've never done that, but then again, I've never been able to get a decent crop in. Right now a third of my garden is dedicated to potatoes just because of the crappy harvest.
rose

[MrGreenJeans]

The original ones will continue to grow, but a 55 gallon barrel is overkill....you can only get the stems to elongate so far...and it's essential that you use long season potatoes.

IMHO, barrel or caged potatoes are just for fun...you'll get bigger and better potatoes if you plant then in the ground and use a few "tricks".

1. Limit each seed piece to just ONE eye...never ever more than two! The only reason to have two is if the eyes are too close to easily split the piece, but that rarely happens.
Plants grown from the cluster of eyes on the crown end (rose end)...that's the end opposite the end that connected to the stolon...will yield smaller potatoes. I grow those separately and use them as baby 'new' potatoes or salt potatoes.
2. Spacing...to encourage large potatoes...space the pieces of seed potato as least 12 inches apart.....15 inches is better, if you have the room.
3. Even moisture...never too much or too little.

I also feed very lightly with fish emulsion and pull off any blossoms.

The neighbors think I have some secret 'fertilizer' that I use to get lunker potatoes...but it's just those 3 'little' secrets (or 5)...don't tell 'em!!!! LOL


~Martin

I have to ask about pulling the blossoms, been growing taters many years and have not heard of this, always want to know something new. Found out about the fish emulsion from a neighbor one year, caught them putting it on. They hated to give it up but they did. But i had to swear an oath LOL before. See it's 5 not 3 come on give it up. LOL!

[AlchemyAcres]

The idea being that removing the blossoms shuttles all the plants energy into tuber production.
Some think it's worth the time and makes a difference, some don't.

I collect old gardening and farming books.
I found references to pinching off potato blossoms all the way back to at least 1850.


~Martin

[nhlivefreeordie]

Thanks for all the info guys. I am enlarging the garden area....again ....this year to enable me to plant a few rows of potatoes, we used to plant lots up in NH, but haven't tried it here yet.