The remnants of last year's (terrible) attempt at growing potatoes have sprouted in my pantry. Is it worth planting them? Last year I tried grow bags with potting soil and leaf mulch, and had a dismal harvest. I don't want to get my hopes up again only to fail!
by ImaginaryMountain298
6 Comments
Plant them but set your expectations to zero!
Why not?
I personally grow for the enjoyment of gardening. The whole process. The harvest is a bonus. I grow things for the challenge even if the harvest is mediocre. I’m in hot, dry Northern California. Potatoes aren’t a great crop for me. Especially Russets. But I grow them anyways.
So, if you enjoy gardening, find it rewarding and at least get a harvest…then go for it. Maybe change up your method to try to get a better harvest. If you’re not happy with your harvest last season then try growing them in a different way.
If you just trimmed the long ones and planted normally, wouldn’t it grow just fine?
I had some yukon gold volunteers pop up last year that ive saved as seed potatoes for this year. My logic is that if it grows on its own while neglected then they’ll take off with minimal effort. Its why my acorn squash and garlic are so big now too
yeah potatoes don’t really like grow bags in my experience as well. I’ve given them perfect soil, perfect water, perfect sun, but I think it has something to do with being above ground and the temperature variations, The quickness with which water evaporates from the soil, given I live in a place that has warm summers. they’re just not happy when their roots are exposed to excessive changes in temperature. weirdly, some store bought potato scraps thrown into my compost bin in a mostly shaded area growing almost entirely in unfinished compost absolutely flourished on their own last year so I’ll be moving my potato production to that area this year.
If you have the space plant them , getting some great meals from potatoes we planted in a similar condition at the moment. Planted a lot worse . Gust plant quite close together as yield will probably be a bit low