Organic Gardening Info from Peaceful Valley

Beautiful colorful organic potato varieties!

(Taken from PVFS October In the Loop Newsletter) if you would like to receive this newsletter email us at orderdesk@groworganic.com with your full name and email address.

First of all, a Customer Success Story:
Bill Bird and his wife Venus planted one pound of potatoes in their 4′x8′ raised bed and harvested nearly 100 pounds of potatoes this summer! They enjoyed many Cranberry Red and All Blue potatoes this year.

Bill said he fertilizerd two to three times a month with a mixture of Omega 2000 and diluted Maxicrop, which he believes aided in their success. Great job Bill & Venus!

And Now….How-to Grow Potatoes:
by Dan Lake, Peaceful Valley Employee

Since I was 12 years old, my family has grown about 4 or 5 different varieties of potatoes in our garden at home every year. I would love to brag about my tater planting abilities, and with all of that experience one would think that I was a spud growing expert, but after reflecting on what I knew, I came to a different conclusion: I devoted most of my time harvesting & eating the delicious potatoes and have a lot to learn about the process of planting them!

Now that I have my own garden, I’ve done some research, talked to a friend who happens to be a farmer, and have compiled some good tips below.

Crop Rotation: When planting potatoes from season to season, they should be kept on a 3 year rotating cycle in terms of location in your garden where you choose to plant as to not plant in the same location. This means, 3-4 suitable sites are needed if you want to grow potatoes every year, rotating the site where you plant every season.

Soil & Sun: When it comes to soil, potatoes are not very picky. They are very adaptable and will usually produce a decent crop even when the soil conditions are less than perfect. What they do require, however, is as much sun as possible because of how aggressive their root systems are, so keep that in mind when picking your spot(s) to plant.

Preparing Seed Potatoes: When you have your seed, which are potatoes certified for growing, set them somewhere where they will be exposed to some light and warmth (between 60 and 70 degrees F). This will help them to start sprouting. A day or two before planting, use a clean knife to slice the larger potatoes into smaller sections that contain at least 1 or 2 “eyes” or buds on them (seeds). Each seed should be approximately 1 1/2-2 inches square, and the smaller potatoes may be planted whole. In the next day or so, your seed will form a thick callous over the cuts, which will help to prevent it from rotting once planted.

Planting Seed Potatoes: After you have trenched a 4′” deep furrow, plant the seeds or small potatoes 4″ deep in the furrow about 12″ apart and cover lightly with soil. The soil should be evenly moist, but not wet or soggy. If the soil is water logged when you dig, your seed potatoes will probably rot before they even get started. Depending on how cold it gets in your area, it might be a good idea to put a layer of mulch or straw on top of the furrow for a little extra frost protection. Two to Four months later, you will hopefully be enjoying some of the most delicious potatoes ever!

You can also reference our Potato Planting & Growing Guide online.

PVFS Customer Email with Staff Response

Question:

Question for you: I’ve grown garlics for many years for the Seed Savers Exchange and agree entirely with the tips given in this In the Loop release! I also have grown bunching onion, topset onion, and shallot varieties for the SSE for years, and this past year took on close to 100 additional allium and garlic varieties:

Should I provide any different care for shallots than I provide for garlics? I have experienced dwindling vigor and yields, even loss, of a few shallot varieties over the past 20-30 years, and while I will try hard to get these newly-acquired varieties out and in the hands of other growers as quickly as possible, I really need to find out what is causing them (and topsetting onions) to decline and fail over time in my garden, while garlics and bunching onions thrive. [I took on Louis VanDeven's collection last summer, close to 100 alliums and garlics, when at 89 he feared he would not be able to continue to maintain them. He passed away this summer, knowing that only two varieties had not survived the move, and all the others had produced a healthy abundant yield in their new home....]

Answer:

The first thought that comes to mind is, Are you using a three-year crop rotation and not planting the shallots (any alliums) in the same place every year? The second thought is if you have had a soil test done to see what nutrients are missing form the soil? Also, I would check with your county agricultural office as they may have been asked this information from other farmers in your area. Other farmers would be another source.

It sounds like you have something pretty special and I hope you find the information you need!

Customer Email - PVFS staff response.

Question:

Hi everyone at Peaceful Valley –

I’ve grown your wonderful Music hardneck garlic for a few years but this year most of my heads have turned brown, although they did grow scapes, and upon pulling them up they smell funny and have no roots!  Wonder what is going on.  Any ideas?

No sign of rodent or insects.

Would like to hear from you in this regard.  – No hurry.

Many thanks.

Answer:

Hi Judy,

Two possibilities came to mind when reading about your garlic. Could they have been standing in water for an extended period? The forming bulb may have had enough energy to produce a scape before it rotted.

The other possibility is that a soil born disease affected your garlic. Have you been rotating your garlic crop? Most garlic growers use a minimum 3-year rotation. Did you use saved seed-garlic?

Hope my questions help,

I live in Upstate New York and have a small vegetable garden.  There really isn’t enough room to rotate my crops.  Every year my tomato plants get various viruses and powdery mildew.  I would like to know if there is a mulch of some kind that I can put on the soil around my plants so that the soil doesn’t splash on the tomatoes.  This is the only way I can think of to stop all the viruses, etc.  Does anyone have any thoughts on this??