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Re: Growing potatoes?

Square Foot Gardening List - http://www.flinet.com/~gallus/sqft.html

Debra,

I planted potatoes last year, as you described, mostly to see what would
happen.  I planted potatoes that had sprouted in my pantry.  (I had read
that potatoes from the grocery store were treated so that they wouldn't
sprout, but I've never found that kind, as just about every time I buy
potatoes, I have a few that end up sprouting..)  I figured I had nothing to
lose, so I planted them.  I planted them at 1/sqft. and had decent success.
 I mounded them when they got to be about 8 inches tall, which was really
bigger than I should have let them get, I think.  I never got around to
mounding them a second time.  I don't recall the depth... I think I just
pretty much stuck them in the ground..  I don't remember when I planted
them, exactly, but it seems that it may have been as late as early July.

Then, we left and travelled for a month, and the frosts came and killed
everything in my garden off....  After we got back, I kept forgetting about
the potatoes, and finally, near the end of October went and dug them up.
Imagine my surprise to find that from 6 smallish potatoes, I had four
pounds of potatoes!  At least that was how many I found, I may have missed
some.  We got a couple of nice meals that included our own home grown
potatoes.  

Oh, I also saw my first potato bugs!  I had no idea what they looked like,
but boy, they show up quick when those potatoes sprouted!  It was
amazing... I was tempted to believe that the eggs must have come on the
potatoes, as there hadn't been a garden in our garden area in many years,
and the 92 yo lady we bought our house from certainly hadn't been planting
potatoes back there!  Fortunately, the potato bugs don't move very fast, so
it was easy enough to pick them off, and squash them.  

Well, hope all these ramblings were at least a little helpful!  Also, if
you go to the archives for the lists, there were LOTS of discussions about
a year ago on different potato planting methods!

Dawn G.
Still waiting for spring in Northern Michigan....

At 04:42 PM 4/12/00 -0400, you wrote:
>Square Foot Gardening List - http://www.flinet.com/~gallus/sqft.html
>
>Hi Everyone,
>
>Any advice on growing potatoes in a sqft garden?  I've read 1/sqft but any
>comments on the depth, mounding, etc?
>
>When to plant?  How warm does it need to be?
>
>Where to purchase?  I saw seed potatoes at the local Agway (farm and
>feed store).  Would these be good?
>
>I basically just want to try a few out as a new gardener and see if they
>are worth the effort or the resulting amusement.  I'm not trying to feed
>the family on them.
>
>TIA,
>Debbie
>Zone 6a
>
>
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