BackYard Chickens › BYC Forum › Miscellaneous › Gardening › Potatoes finishing early this year? Anyone else? Or is it my husbandry skills?
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Potatoes finishing early this year? Anyone else? Or is it my husbandry skills?

post #1 of 7
Thread Starter 

I know it's a wierd drought/no rain/too much sun kind of summer.  That's obvious.  (I'm in Chicagoland).

 

However, our potato plants are seeming to start to go dormant on me.  Yesterday's deep soaking watering session and the plants were green and bushy and doing well.  Today's deep watering session and the lower leaves are dried and gone and the remaining leaves are turning "crispy" around the edges. 

 

Sunburned?  Not enough water?  Too much water at the wrong time of day?  (I water both in the early a.m. and just after dinner when the sun isn't so strong as to fry me completely)

 

Anyone have an idea?  Is this happening where you are as well?

-- Blessed are the flexible, for they will not break --

Beloved spouse of wonderful husband, Mom to two men-in-training, 6 Eastern 3-toed box turtles, 1 spoiled parrotlet, 1 pompous feline and a jealous dog.  Growing Black Java laying flock - 5 hens (hatched 4/1/11) - with 1 hen added (5/20/12)  - with 5 incubated models (2/7/13) and now 5 eggs in the bator!  Love our Java's!  Meaties on order...

Reply

-- Blessed are the flexible, for they will not break --

Beloved spouse of wonderful husband, Mom to two men-in-training, 6 Eastern 3-toed box turtles, 1 spoiled parrotlet, 1 pompous feline and a jealous dog.  Growing Black Java laying flock - 5 hens (hatched 4/1/11) - with 1 hen added (5/20/12)  - with 5 incubated models (2/7/13) and now 5 eggs in the bator!  Love our Java's!  Meaties on order...

Reply
post #2 of 7

Depends on the variety, when you planted them, etc.  An early red potato like a Pontiac, planted in early April, is finishing up.  Did they blossom 3 or 4 weeks ago?

 

 

Practicing Sustainable Agriculture At The 45th Parallel

Reply

 

 

Practicing Sustainable Agriculture At The 45th Parallel

Reply
post #3 of 7
Thread Starter 

Variety is "Red Norland" planted end of March in northern Illinois.  Since the spring was so warm, I took advantage of the earlier weather.  Last year's crop planted just 3wks later, did not mature until mid-late September.  So this seems very very early to me.  I suspect blossom was just two weeks ago (just before the heat hit), as that's when the neighbor's bees were all over them.  I still think it's a bit early... 

 

I really need to keep more documentation on what I plant, date planted and date harvested....that would help my brain some!

-- Blessed are the flexible, for they will not break --

Beloved spouse of wonderful husband, Mom to two men-in-training, 6 Eastern 3-toed box turtles, 1 spoiled parrotlet, 1 pompous feline and a jealous dog.  Growing Black Java laying flock - 5 hens (hatched 4/1/11) - with 1 hen added (5/20/12)  - with 5 incubated models (2/7/13) and now 5 eggs in the bator!  Love our Java's!  Meaties on order...

Reply

-- Blessed are the flexible, for they will not break --

Beloved spouse of wonderful husband, Mom to two men-in-training, 6 Eastern 3-toed box turtles, 1 spoiled parrotlet, 1 pompous feline and a jealous dog.  Growing Black Java laying flock - 5 hens (hatched 4/1/11) - with 1 hen added (5/20/12)  - with 5 incubated models (2/7/13) and now 5 eggs in the bator!  Love our Java's!  Meaties on order...

Reply
post #4 of 7

Well, obviously, as you know, when the vines die and dry off, there's nothing more "happening".  You said it.  That has been a strange and brutal year all the way around.  We normally harvest a return of 10 to 1.  10 lbs of harvest for each pound of feed planted.  I'd be delighted with a 5 or 6 to 1 harvest this year.  

 

 

Practicing Sustainable Agriculture At The 45th Parallel

Reply

 

 

Practicing Sustainable Agriculture At The 45th Parallel

Reply
post #5 of 7

At least you are getting something. Our potatoes were planted too late, the heat hit too early....

 

Be lucky to get anything here.

 

At least some of the other garden stuff done ok.

I have never let my schooling interfere with my education. - Mark Twain

Whippoorwill Creek Farm, Glen, Mississippi

Hatching eggs, chicks and started birds available in season

 

 

My Barn and Coop Page

About Me

Reply

I have never let my schooling interfere with my education. - Mark Twain

Whippoorwill Creek Farm, Glen, Mississippi

Hatching eggs, chicks and started birds available in season

 

 

My Barn and Coop Page

About Me

Reply
post #6 of 7

I have a whole mess of volunteer potatoes that are already flowering and will finish up about a month before the potatoes I planted. (And, yes, I know I shouldn't let potatoes go two years in a row in the same soil but when they started sprouting and I realized how many I missed digging up last year it made me so mad I wanted to get something from those darn taters so I left them to produce this year!)

 

Funny story--when I started digging them last year our little terrier puppy came over, sniffed the pile of freshly dug potatoes and started digging. She was amazing! She found tons of potatoes I was missing. All I had to do was put my hand behind her back legs and wait for her to shoot out another potato--easiest digging I've ever done. And, about the only time she has ever been helpful in the garden!

 

Of course now I see that even she missed a bunch because it looks like nearly the whole plot volunteered. Maybe she didn't dig deep enough or get to the sides of each nest?

Backyard farming with my flock of super talented manure composters and bug hunters.

Reply

Backyard farming with my flock of super talented manure composters and bug hunters.

Reply
post #7 of 7

Southern Michigan here. Had taters in mid-April, All Blue, Yukon Gold & Red Chieftan. Yukon Gold went dormant first, about a a week ago. Red is going dormant now. Both the All Blue that I planted AND the volunteers are green and growin strong. They are a VERY LATE potato for me though. This is my third year trying to increase my seed stock and harvest...they are always the very last to get harvested.

Dinka the showgirl, 3 silkie youths, Weeble the braindamaged Polish frizzle roo, 2.5 domestic cats, 3.5 ferile felines, 1 surviving white goldfish, 1 ooold rescued retired champion cardigan welsh corgi, ,1 city-raised patient spouse & nosey neighbors around every corner.........daily laughs, priceless.
Reply
Dinka the showgirl, 3 silkie youths, Weeble the braindamaged Polish frizzle roo, 2.5 domestic cats, 3.5 ferile felines, 1 surviving white goldfish, 1 ooold rescued retired champion cardigan welsh corgi, ,1 city-raised patient spouse & nosey neighbors around every corner.........daily laughs, priceless.
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Gardening
BackYard Chickens › BYC Forum › Miscellaneous › Gardening › Potatoes finishing early this year? Anyone else? Or is it my husbandry skills?