Greetings, fellow gardeners!
I have a question about sweet potatoes. I'm thinking something similar might apply to regular potatoes but I'm thinking primarily of sweet potatoes.
How do you keep your own going from year to year?
I understand the theory. With a sweet potato, you let some of your sweet potatoes grow sprouts and use them for starters. Not that difficult. And for white potatoes, allowing an eye to sprout will make another potato plant.
Here's where the fun starts. The sweet potatoes come out of the ground in maybe September. But it's not time to plant sweet potatoes here until mid May at best, early June typically. Now, if I wanted to immediately start a new crop when harvesting them, I could keep some of the vines and just keep on going. Or I could allow a sweet potato to sprout and use those sprouts. Sounds easy. BUT... I don't want them now, I want sweet potato sprouts after first frost 6 or 7 months after harvest, after winter. We're in zone 6a so we do get winter.
Irish potatoes do have the ability to have a spring crop and a fall crop here. I did do that this year. The last of them got harvested in early November, pretty late, but I had some row cover. But I am pretty sure those potatoes wouldn't keep well until it's time to plant again the next spring, especially the red ones, my favorites. So I'm kinda at a similar place with them though I do know that diseases can be a problem with keeping your own. It's one reason I'm more focused on sweet potatoes.
So what's the answer? In the past, I've just bought seed potatoes at the local coop for my white / red potatoes. And for sweet potatoes, I've just bought bundles of slips from a local greenhouse. With things getting a little tight with supply lines these days, I'd like to do a little better.
One thought that came to mind, maybe a heated greenhouse could do a minimal "winter crop" for the white / red potatoes, as long as they don't freeze, they should be ok. (I have a small 16 x 24 high tunnel on order, had hoped it would be here by now, but... covid. GRRRRRR....) If not a greenhouse, some potted indoor plants might work. I kinda wondered the same thing about sweet potatoes, especially knowing that propagating by cuttings might make that way easier if I had even just a few "mother plants".
The method of our ancestors was probably storage in something like a root cellar. I don't have one of those though it is a good idea and might be something to consider in the near future. Such things are difficult here as the soil isn't all that thick before layers of rock make digging quite a challenge. There aren't many basements around here for that reason.
So whatcha think? Any of you already been down this road? I've already been saving pumpkin seeds, bean seeds, tomato seeds, okra seeds and a few others. But neither of these work like the things I'm already familiar with.
Anyway, very interested in your thoughts, especially if you actually been doing it!
Thanks!!
I have a question about sweet potatoes. I'm thinking something similar might apply to regular potatoes but I'm thinking primarily of sweet potatoes.
How do you keep your own going from year to year?
I understand the theory. With a sweet potato, you let some of your sweet potatoes grow sprouts and use them for starters. Not that difficult. And for white potatoes, allowing an eye to sprout will make another potato plant.
Here's where the fun starts. The sweet potatoes come out of the ground in maybe September. But it's not time to plant sweet potatoes here until mid May at best, early June typically. Now, if I wanted to immediately start a new crop when harvesting them, I could keep some of the vines and just keep on going. Or I could allow a sweet potato to sprout and use those sprouts. Sounds easy. BUT... I don't want them now, I want sweet potato sprouts after first frost 6 or 7 months after harvest, after winter. We're in zone 6a so we do get winter.
Irish potatoes do have the ability to have a spring crop and a fall crop here. I did do that this year. The last of them got harvested in early November, pretty late, but I had some row cover. But I am pretty sure those potatoes wouldn't keep well until it's time to plant again the next spring, especially the red ones, my favorites. So I'm kinda at a similar place with them though I do know that diseases can be a problem with keeping your own. It's one reason I'm more focused on sweet potatoes.
So what's the answer? In the past, I've just bought seed potatoes at the local coop for my white / red potatoes. And for sweet potatoes, I've just bought bundles of slips from a local greenhouse. With things getting a little tight with supply lines these days, I'd like to do a little better.
One thought that came to mind, maybe a heated greenhouse could do a minimal "winter crop" for the white / red potatoes, as long as they don't freeze, they should be ok. (I have a small 16 x 24 high tunnel on order, had hoped it would be here by now, but... covid. GRRRRRR....) If not a greenhouse, some potted indoor plants might work. I kinda wondered the same thing about sweet potatoes, especially knowing that propagating by cuttings might make that way easier if I had even just a few "mother plants".
The method of our ancestors was probably storage in something like a root cellar. I don't have one of those though it is a good idea and might be something to consider in the near future. Such things are difficult here as the soil isn't all that thick before layers of rock make digging quite a challenge. There aren't many basements around here for that reason.
So whatcha think? Any of you already been down this road? I've already been saving pumpkin seeds, bean seeds, tomato seeds, okra seeds and a few others. But neither of these work like the things I'm already familiar with.
Anyway, very interested in your thoughts, especially if you actually been doing it!
Thanks!!
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