Incidental Potato Plant

[Andy M.]

wIn the spring or early summer, I was looking for some potato for dinner and found a russet that had seen better days. It was soft and had 4-5 inch-long sprouts. I showed it to SO and suggested she go out and stick it in her garden to see what might happen.

We watched a potato plant grow all summer, wondering what might be waiting for us below. She was eager to pick it several times but I kept telling her to wait until later in the Fall. Well, she was working in the garden yeaterday and saw that a critter had been at the potato plant. She dug it up and we had tiny baking potatoes growing. One had been eaten but we salvaged two little one which I will cook up along with dinner tonight. It was just an experiment. Maybe next year we'll plant earlier and get a bigger harvest.

 

[Alix]

Cool Andy! Ken dug up our potatoes just yesterday and along with the Red Norlands we planted he found a "volunteer" russet from last year. There were about 6 decent sized potatoes under that plant. I love surprises don't you?

 

[Andy M.]

I wonder how much bigger they would have gotten given another month.

 

[YT2095]

LOL @ Alix, we call `em "Volunteers" also here in the UK

when I lived in my penthouse, I had a 3x8 foot balcony, I used to grow potatos in pots on there, the flowers had died the year before, I had a few I found that had been in the back of the larder hidding and had plenty eyes, so I shoved em in the pots, I had over 3 pounds next year and they were Great!, I left the baby ones in the soil and year after year for about 5 years we had free spuds for a meal or 2.

Splendid work Mal

 

[Caine]

Well, she was working in the garden yeaterday and sa that a dritter had bet at the potato plant.

So you made vodka out of these potatoes, eh?

 

[Andy M.]

Sadly, I don't have vodka to blame it on.

 

[Caine]

In that case, slide your chair a bit to the right, then reposition your fingers on the keyboard.

 

[Andy M.]

PL@

OOOPS, too far to the right.

OK!

 

[Ken]

I wonder how much bigger they would have gotten given another month.

Wait another month around here and you might be digging through a foot of snow to get at them.

The tops were almost completely withered...so it was time...while I could still see where they were planted.

 

[Constance]

I always heard that to get the most produce out of your potatoes, wait until the tops die down to pick them.

My Grandpa White used to plant a whole acre of potatoes, which they stored in the "cave" along with other produce and home canned goods.

Can you imagine digging a whole acre of potatoes by hand?

 

[jennyema]

I can't imagine digging even a fraction of that by hand!



Andy -- what in interesting experiment. I will def do this next year. I planted some sprouted garlic in the spring but nothing happened.

 

[Andy M.]

It's my understanding that you can cut up one potato and plant individual chunks as long as there is an eye on each piece.