does anyone have experience growing redskins.... they did so great at the beginning of the season the plants were growing good and looking healthy but now that everything thing else is starting to produce the plants died we dug up a dead one and it only had 2 potatoes under it so im not sure if the tomotatoe and watermelons that i planted the between are choking them out or they arent getting enough nutrients or what

Hi BeckyJo, here in NW PA there has been a lot of rain. I planted red potatoes and put straw between the rows. Other than that I did nothing special.

I've dug up a few hills and for each one there are maybe two or three large to mid-sized potatoes and a few walnut sized ones. There are also white dots all over some of the potatoes. I wash the potatoes immediately and then totally air dry them. Someone said the white spots are some kind of harmless mold. I've eaten them without any harm (and lots of enjoyment!).

 

 

bw

beckyJo:

im not sure if the tomotatoe and watermelons that i planted the between are choking them out or they arent getting enough nutrients or what

 

I don't know if the tomato & watermelon stole the nutrients, but they probably took most of the water, & potatoes need lots of water.

 I was about to post about my potatoes, too. My plants grew tall and healthy. When I went down to dig them, there were no potatoes at all, just shallow roots.

Any idea what happened here? They had for sure plenty of water, and were so healthy.

seaturtle:

Any idea what happened here? They had for sure plenty of water, and were so healthy.

Did they bloom well? Too much water is just as bad as not enough. This doesn't seem to have been a good year for potatoes for many people. The late blight that affected the tomatoes may affect your potatoes, too.

Pat,

Yes, they bloomed beautifully. But the rain has continued and continued to the point where every time it rains, an inch or so of water collects on top of my garden soil.

I live on the border of a used car lot, surrounded by pavement, so drainage is more likely to come my way than leave my garden.

Blight -I am on only just now beginning to get it on tomatoes and potato leaves. My tomatoes have had a chance to largely mature, so am just harvesting the immature ones before they get mushed by the blight. No sign of it on potatoes, though.

My pole beans are about the only thing that will keep me gardening, I think. It's been 2 years in a row of struggle with not much result.

seaturtle:

My pole beans are about the only thing that will keep me gardening, I think. It's been 2 years in a row of struggle with not much result.

I can understand the frustration with that, but even if you get a little harvest, it's better than nothing.

As far as your potatoes, it's probably too much water, or maybe toxins in the runoff water from the used car lot. Oil, rubber, grease and so on, are not good for growing things. Is there any way you can build a short dike or wall around the end of your garden that gets the runoff? Even a few inches, like a row of bricks, would help.

seaturtle:

My plants grew tall and healthy. When I went down to dig them, there were no potatoes at all, just shallow roots.

Any idea what happened here?

Did they get too much nitrogen? I've never fertilized my potatoes, so I don't know for sure. But I do know that you shouldn't add too much nitrogen to root vegetables (especially beets). Nitrogen stimulates leaf growth, sometimes at the expense of root growth.

Just an idea...

I had some success last year growing potatoes over the winter by planting the tiny potatoes that were too small to eat.  I put them in pots indoors, and put them by a south-facing window and they grew all winter.  I didn't get a whole lot.  By spring, I had enough seed potato to plant for the summer, and for a side dish to eat.  But it was a fun experiment and I'm going to try again this winter.