MIgardener: Don’t Believe These 4 LIES About Growing Potatoes!
When it comes to growing potatoes there are a lot of lies. But there are four lies that are more prevalent and popular than all the others. I am going to break them down and help you grow bigger and better potatoes.
You should ask your uncle about the importance of boron and calcium to avoid hollow hart inside the potatoes. I would like you to look up the phrase ( hook stage)
I planted some store bought potatoes that had sprouted and were headed for the compost heap – would have been about 1kg/2lb – and months later I dug up 6kg/12lbs of beautiful potatoes. I just shoved them in with some added compost and watered them occasionally. The best part was digging them up – it's such fun, like a little treasure hunt, and boy they were so tasty, much better than store bought. This video is so timely because it's the right time to plant potatoes here in Sydney Australia! Cheers!!
You may be able to leave them in a raised bed longer but inground with alot of rain will rot your potatoes especiallyin cly soil. Got bigger potatoes inground than raised bed. Watched an experiment on lazy dog farm about hilling or not and hilling did better for several purposes. Moisture retention, preventing green potatoes and more tubers=more potatoes. The challenge is how to grow consistently larger potatoes for peeling, baking and longer storage for me.
Last year was my first year growing potatoes, and I got so frustrated because I believed all those myths you just listed. The beauty is that I believed them because they were coming from some "expert farmer in my area", as a result, I didn't grow any this year. Now I will do it again, and thanks to you, I know I will be successful. Please keep these videos coming.
I’m in Australia and he’s right, I’m in Melbourne and I grow the Nicola variety in both Spring and Autumn. The last couple of batches I pulled out only what I needed and left the rest in the ground (I have sandy soil) and I live in a popular potato growing district. Blood and bone as young plants and then some extra potassium for better potato growth after plant is established. Mount dirt? Spread lucerne or sugar Cain mulch, protects potatoes and helps keep moisture. Potatoes are so simple to grow, keep it simple
Makes me wonder if I could bring my potato grow bags into our insulated but not heated potting shed instead of pulling them before it gets too cold in W. Montana.
I also leave my potatoes in the ground as long as possible in my grow zone as I have always believed it’s the best way to store them. Once I do dig them, the bonus is I get even longer storage life overall!! Thanks so much for speaking up about all these ‘myths’!!! What you share in this video is the 💯% truth about potatoes!! I’ll be saving and sharing this video!
What about removing the flowers after they bloom or even before they bloom. The theory is it preserves energy and directs that energy to the tubers instead. Is there any truth behind this theory? Another suggestion I’ve heard is to prune your potato plants .. again preserving energy for the tubers instead. Thanks MIG I love your content.
Yup I learned the hard way that potato towers don’t work… but my sweet potato slips love it! I think I accidentally hot composted my potatoes in that tower… bamboozled 😂
I agree with you Luke about the stacking to get more potatoes. I don't think I get more potatoes from stacking either. It does protect the greenery though. I will try covering my potaties in the planters they are in and they are setting on top of cinder blocks so they can drain good.
I just would be happy to grow one potato! I’m a new gardener, I’m just starting and besides tomatoes and cucumbers, my dream is to grow potatoes. I’m using grow bags and fumbling my way thru, trying to learn everything I can. Since I believe that learning is forever, it’s a great journey! I made one attempt at growing potatoes, hmmm, didn’t work. I guess I need seed potatoes, I tried with a couple of organic potatoes, cut up, and yep: hilling! I think I have just a few rotten potato pieces in the bag. I’m so disappointed! I’m reading every comment, and I like this channel. So I just want to know how to grow potatoes in grow bags? My joy will be full when I discover what works. Zone 8b, Western Washington. Great video with good information. 🥰🇺🇸
i'd advise folk to plant in the soil , covered with loose straw, before thinking o raised beds, grow bags etc . then lots o mulch. i harvest one plant any time after flowering cos i love baby veg, the second plant a week later gives more weight. by early aug i'm finding slug damage so i get the whole lot out cos i know that in my garden the slugs will ruin them once they start, no matter how many control methods i use
im glad you said something about hilling i re planted a store bout potato as well to see if it would re grow in my raised be so far it's vegitave i was gonna hill it but i'm glad you de bunked that one
I think I'm glad I watched this cuz I planted my potatoes. I did the box method thinking oh this is going to be easy. I planted russets and the small gold potatoes. The plants came up beautiful, barely bloomed and then immediately died and then more plants began to come up so I waited. Went ahead and harvested last week and just got all these little bitty potatoes which are still really good for eating but not at all what I really wanted so I'm going to try again. Can't hurt me to go ahead and put some in and hope that I get something this winter
I've heard of that before when I was growing up we did do the heel thing but like you said we didn't have a lot of potatoes there wasn't a lot there in the heel deal and we had to dig for them I mean literally dig deep for the potatoes because they weren't just there and I was trying to figure out why the past 2 years while I wasn't getting a lot of potatoes and now I know it's the potassium My soil is good with an with a nitrogen and all but I didn't know it needed potassium so I'll know next year to add potassium to my soil thank you so much
I gotta admit. When I planted my seed potatoes last May, I fed them a great fertilizer that had both for about a month…never again. I Never hilled. I’m not home much during the summer, and when I was I watered. Potatoes are the easiest thing I grow because I’m not home. I just harvested and wow! I got about 80 pounds-90 pounds. Baseball size too. I grew the same way last year too. Best thing to grow if you’re not home a lot.
You mean potato growers actually fertilize those hundreds of acres of potatoe fields? That has to cost a fortune! Do they put it in the water? I never fertilize my potatoes. 😮
You have some great information in this video! I have some purple potatoes that are about half harvested, and will leave some of them in the ground to harvest later. I do have a question. Last year, I grew purple potatoes and Yukon Gold in the same raised bed. My purple potatoes had gold flesh. Do you know if potatoes can cross pollinate? This year I separated them, and picked all the Yukon blossoms while the purples were blooming, and the purple potatoes are purple inside this year.
31 Comments
Does picking your flowers off help?
In the south the ants ruin them!
You should ask your uncle about the importance of boron and calcium to avoid hollow hart inside the potatoes. I would like you to look up the phrase ( hook stage)
I planted some store bought potatoes that had sprouted and were headed for the compost heap – would have been about 1kg/2lb – and months later I dug up 6kg/12lbs of beautiful potatoes. I just shoved them in with some added compost and watered them occasionally. The best part was digging them up – it's such fun, like a little treasure hunt, and boy they were so tasty, much better than store bought. This video is so timely because it's the right time to plant potatoes here in Sydney Australia! Cheers!!
Thank you for clearing that up I hilled once it didn’t help so I didn’t waste my time 🫤 thought I needed different type lol
You may be able to leave them in a raised bed longer but inground with alot of rain will rot your potatoes especiallyin cly soil. Got bigger potatoes inground than raised bed. Watched an experiment on lazy dog farm about hilling or not and hilling did better for several purposes. Moisture retention, preventing green potatoes and more tubers=more potatoes. The challenge is how to grow consistently larger potatoes for peeling, baking and longer storage for me.
Last year was my first year growing potatoes, and I got so frustrated because I believed all those myths you just listed. The beauty is that I believed them because they were coming from some "expert farmer in my area", as a result, I didn't grow any this year. Now I will do it again, and thanks to you, I know I will be successful. Please keep these videos coming.
I’m in Australia and he’s right, I’m in Melbourne and I grow the Nicola variety in both Spring and Autumn. The last couple of batches I pulled out only what I needed and left the rest in the ground (I have sandy soil) and I live in a popular potato growing district. Blood and bone as young plants and then some extra potassium for better potato growth after plant is established. Mount dirt? Spread lucerne or sugar Cain mulch, protects potatoes and helps keep moisture. Potatoes are so simple to grow, keep it simple
Makes me wonder if I could bring my potato grow bags into our insulated but not heated potting shed instead of pulling them before it gets too cold in W. Montana.
I also leave my potatoes in the ground as long as possible in my grow zone as I have always believed it’s the best way to store them. Once I do dig them, the bonus is I get even longer storage life overall!! Thanks so much for speaking up about all these ‘myths’!!! What you share in this video is the 💯% truth about potatoes!! I’ll be saving and sharing this video!
What about removing the flowers after they bloom or even before they bloom. The theory is it preserves energy and directs that energy to the tubers instead. Is there any truth behind this theory?
Another suggestion I’ve heard is to prune your potato plants .. again preserving energy for the tubers instead.
Thanks MIG I love your content.
I love this segment. ❤
Yup I learned the hard way that potato towers don’t work… but my sweet potato slips love it! I think I accidentally hot composted my potatoes in that tower… bamboozled 😂
I agree with you Luke about the stacking to get more potatoes. I don't think I get more potatoes from stacking either. It does protect the greenery though. I will try covering my potaties in the planters they are in and they are setting on top of cinder blocks so they can drain good.
So Luke what about this one….. if you pick the flowers off you will yield more potatoes?
I just would be happy to grow one potato! I’m a new gardener, I’m just starting and besides tomatoes and cucumbers, my dream is to grow potatoes. I’m using grow bags and fumbling my way thru, trying to learn everything I can. Since I believe that learning is forever, it’s a great journey! I made one attempt at growing potatoes, hmmm, didn’t work. I guess I need seed potatoes, I tried with a couple of organic potatoes, cut up, and yep: hilling! I think I have just a few rotten potato pieces in the bag. I’m so disappointed! I’m reading every comment, and I like this channel. So I just want to know how to grow potatoes in grow bags? My joy will be full when I discover what works. Zone 8b, Western Washington. Great video with good information. 🥰🇺🇸
i'd advise folk to plant in the soil , covered with loose straw, before thinking o raised beds, grow bags etc . then lots o mulch. i harvest one plant any time after flowering cos i love baby veg, the second plant a week later gives more weight. by early aug i'm finding slug damage so i get the whole lot out cos i know that in my garden the slugs will ruin them once they start, no matter how many control methods i use
Down here in the south we have to get the potatoes out of the ground asap. Fire ants love them.
My Yukon Gold potatoes rarely ever flower
First year I waited for flowers that never happened 😂
im glad you said something about hilling i re planted a store bout potato as well to see if it would re grow in my raised be so far it's vegitave i was gonna hill it but i'm glad you de bunked that one
I didn't hear you mention removing flowers. Maybe another video you did, but as a choice maybe to remove? Benefits?
I think I'm glad I watched this cuz I planted my potatoes. I did the box method thinking oh this is going to be easy. I planted russets and the small gold potatoes. The plants came up beautiful, barely bloomed and then immediately died and then more plants began to come up so I waited. Went ahead and harvested last week and just got all these little bitty potatoes which are still really good for eating but not at all what I really wanted so I'm going to try again. Can't hurt me to go ahead and put some in and hope that I get something this winter
Thank you for your honesty❤❤❤
I've heard of that before when I was growing up we did do the heel thing but like you said we didn't have a lot of potatoes there wasn't a lot there in the heel deal and we had to dig for them I mean literally dig deep for the potatoes because they weren't just there and I was trying to figure out why the past 2 years while I wasn't getting a lot of potatoes and now I know it's the potassium My soil is good with an with a nitrogen and all but I didn't know it needed potassium so I'll know next year to add potassium to my soil thank you so much
Mr potato head'd be proud
I'm planting fall potatoes this week. Thanks for tips
I gotta admit. When I planted my seed potatoes last May, I fed them a great fertilizer that had both for about a month…never again. I Never hilled. I’m not home much during the summer, and when I was I watered. Potatoes are the easiest thing I grow because I’m not home. I just harvested and wow! I got about 80 pounds-90 pounds. Baseball size too. I grew the same way last year too. Best thing to grow if you’re not home a lot.
Love your videos Luke….♥️
Learning that potato plants need potassium isn’t surprising because potatoes are a good source of potassium.
You mean potato growers actually fertilize those hundreds of acres of potatoe fields? That has to cost a fortune! Do they put it in the water? I never fertilize my potatoes. 😮
You have some great information in this video! I have some purple potatoes that are about half harvested, and will leave some of them in the ground to harvest later. I do have a question. Last year, I grew purple potatoes and Yukon Gold in the same raised bed. My purple potatoes had gold flesh. Do you know if potatoes can cross pollinate? This year I separated them, and picked all the Yukon blossoms while the purples were blooming, and the purple potatoes are purple inside this year.