[snoozy]

I've got potatoes growing in big garbage cans and in tires. I read that when they flower, you can begin to harvest little "new potato" size spuds. Does this mean that there will be no new tubers? If I continue to hill them up, will I foster new spudlets, or are what tubers there are now all I'll get for this season and they will just grow bigger? (I don't know if I am being clear in expressing my question.)

 

[Dave in Ohio]

No gaurantees but I read that by keep hilling, you will keep getting new tubers at least till the plants die off, we only hilled to keep weeds down and bugs down plus it put loose soil for the taters to grow. try a few and let us know what happens?

I've got potatoes growing in big garbage cans and in tires. I read that when they flower, you can begin to harvest little "new potato" size spuds. Does this mean that there will be no new tubers? If I continue to hill them up, will I foster new spudlets, or are what tubers there are now all I'll get for this season and they will just grow bigger? (I don't know if I am being clear in expressing my question.)

 

[OD]

My father always had good potatoes, & he said you should pinch the blooms off because they would stop making potatoes if you let them bloom. I always pinch mine off, too. I don't know if it's true or not, but it sure doesn't hurt them.

 

[Guest]

OD, you can save yourself the effort in pinching off those blossoms. It indeed is true that the plants won't produce any more tubers if the blossoms are left on. It's also true that the plants won't produce any more if the blossoms are removed. The flowers only come on after the plant has "set" all of the tubers that it is going to produce. Potato plants in blossom are a sign that things are going fairly well underground. But having said that, there are some early varieties which seldom produce blossoms. Red Norland is one example. Growth on them is so rapid that they often don't have time to produce flowers before the plant's programmed maturity peak is reached. When they do bloom, it is a lovely pink flower.

Martin