spud question

[redbrick]

Is anybody an expert of fingerling potatoes? I need some ID help. :confused:

There's a "Scratch 'n' Dent" type grocery near my home that gets odd lots from time to time, and right now they have fingerling potatoes for 99 cents a bag. Well, me bein' cheap ol' me, I picked up two bags for seed, thinking even if they are sprayed with sprout inhibitors, it's a cheap enough gamble. :cool:

When I started cutting them up, I realized there are three varieties! :eek: One's white skinned, well, more like a pale yellow, with creamy white flesh. Another has a light tan, almost pinkish skin, again with creamy white flesh. The last one was red skinned with white flesh shot with pink.

BTW, you should have seen the kiddies' faces when they asked me what I was doing, and I said I was "Chitting spuds"! :D

[deb65802]

Andy there are over 500 different kinds of spuds. I think the pinkish ones are german. Sounds as though You got a real good deal. Gotta love those taters.

[redbrick]

This weekend I decided that the 'taters just weren't coming up. After all, it's been about a month-month-and-a-half, and no show. :( Then I took another look tonight. Yippee, they're a-sproutin! :D

[bluelacedredhead]

Redbrick, I'm surprised with you planting back in March that they didn't just up and rot on you in the cold ground?
Congratulations on sprouting, and I hope you get a boomer of a crop from just .99 cents worth of investment...
And 3 varieties to boot, LOL

[lovetogarden]

I'm happy about your success with sprouting spuds. Congrats. But there is something I was wondering about.
If a person is against GMO's, how do you know this is not a GMO product?

[redbrick]

Lovetogarden, to be honest, I don't have a good answer for you. All I can offer is this: All of the GMO crops I have heard about have been grains, and all have met serious resistance against entry to the food market (so far). Also, the potatoes were distributed by Progressive Marketing from WA state and labelled product of USA, under full regulation by the USDA. Not that I trust a government agency, but barring a conspiracy of Illuminati proportions, I doubt they're pulling a fast one. Also, most GMO crop experimentation so far has been in Third World countries, to avoid "troublesome" regulations. Finally, even if they're grown near a non-food GMO crop, most potatoes are propagated vegetatively, so there's no risk of genetic drift through cross-pollination. As paranoid as I am, I still feel comfortable planting them. Hope I don't sprout a third eye, though! :eek: :D

Bluelacedredhead, around here all the old Dutch farmers swear by planting spuds on St. Patricks Day. I've also read articles from people who plant theirs in the fall!:eek: I'm not brave enough to try that one yet, though. Then again, maybe this year... :rolleyes: You know me, always on the grow! :D

[Cliff Timmons]

Bluelacedredhead, around here all the old Dutch farmers swear by planting spuds on St. Patricks Day. :D

That's what I do here as well.
I'm not Dutch, but I'm normally in Dutch.

[Brook]

Hmmmmmmm? 'Roun heah we plant 'em on Good Friday.

[redbrick]

Doesn't the fact that Good Friday "floats" from year to year give you difficulty? I remember hiding Easter eggs in the snow one year!

You'll never guess what I found in the garden tonight! A volunteer spud! I guess that answers the cold factor question.

[bluelacedredhead]

in Home Gardening Wisdom (Gardenway 1982), author Dick Raymond said that they "planted early potatoes in April (in Vermont) as soon as the frost is out of the ground. But in mild climates, such as down South, planting can be done in September. January, February are common in Florida and GA...
(He also said) The soil, not the calendar, will tell (you) when it's time to plant. Soil should not be so wet that it sticks together and is hard to work...potato too can rot in ground that is too wet. "

So I'm thinking that Drought can be good for something. Early planting of potatoes '-)

In February of 2006, we went to visit friends in OK. It was 81F the day we arrived. My g/f bought some seed potatoes at the feedstore that week, encouraged by the warm weather, and planted them by March 1st..They sprouted quickly but two weeks later, the temperature plummeted (as it's known to do in the Plains, lol) and it snowed..The first leaves took some frost damage, but she tells me that it wasn't long before the plants recovered.

[Brook]

That's a typical scenerio, Wen. So long as the roots have developed, the plants will likely survive, even if the tops get frozen.

[bluelacedredhead]

Well this is a first for me. I was weeding in the herb garden today and to my surprise, dug up a small potato plant in amongst the mallow.
So not only did I learn something from this thread, I also learned that some potatoes can and will survive -30 and 4 months of winter. Granted it is in a sheltered corner by the house, not in full force of winter winds and driving snow, but still.

So, I replanted it in a place of honour. I moved it to the front of the herb garden by the driveway. I figured that a spud that can live through that should be in full view of everyone that passes by..

[redbrick]

Update time!

I dug one of the varieties yesterday (the other two weren't ready yet), and got two bags of spuds. These are the bags they came in. Yeah, I save just about everything! If I remember right, I had planted three bags of cut spuds, so I don't think I did too badly.

BTW, I also found several pieces of the original seed potatoes, looking like they were planted the day before. Makes ya wonder what kind of sprouting inhibitors they spray of "food grade" potatoes, anyway. I also found two pieces that never grew tops, but did grow one tiny potato each.

[newbiedigger]

Since this is a spud thread I have a spud question.

How do you know when it is time to dig your potatoes up?

[mobi]

Good for you Andy ! did they taste good? mobi

[redbrick]

Mobi, don't know. I didn't get a chance to try them yet.

Newbiegardener, when the plants die back, it's time to dig.