For those keeping score. There is news to report on the potatoes we planted in 5 gallon buckets.
Our earlier post “What’s In Your Bucket” walked through the process from purchasing seed potatoes, chitting and planting in the buckets.
According to the Cornell University College of Agriculture it should be 2 to 4 weeks before they sprout. Guess what?
It took a mere 10 days for these to pop out. That’s good news for Operation Green Thumb.
We have kept the soil as warm as possible by leaving them in the garage overnight most nights during this cooler than normal spring. That probably helped.
Now that they are growing above the soil level, we will need to add some soil every one or two weeks. Nightshade plants like potatoes grow roots at the soil surface. Potatoes form at the roots. Potatoes that are exposed to direct sunlight turn green and are poisonous.
We will also begin spraying a water and aspirin solution on the potatoes and tomatoes to ward off fungus and blight.
We are hoping that this news means that our potatoes will be ready to harvest before the 110 to 120 days listed on the label.
The next 4 evenings are expected to be near the 32 degree freezing range. Frost warnings will be out. That is not good news for the tomatoes in bed C…but that post is for another day…
Ron's Ramblings 