A New Way to Grow Potatoes + A Way NOT to Grow Potatoes

[@Mastadex]

I grew potatoes this way! Back in March when we had a heat wave, my potatoes that were in storage sprouted long and leggy shoots. Didn't want to waste them, I cut them off and dug a really deep hole in my garden beds and chucked them in there. It was warm for a couple weeks. Then it snowed for the rest of March. And it wasn't warm until mid-May when all the sprouts emerged! This was a really neat to see in zone 5b. I harvest my potatoes earlier than normal because then they're the perfect size for roasting. I did not see a size difference between the early sprout bed of potatoes and my regular seed potato bed. Yield was about the same per plant.

[@ml.5377]

Yeeeey, I have a basket full of potatoes of all colors and shapes and was ready to plant them next week (I am located in the Peruvian Andes at almost 10,000 feet above sea level). We are potato country! I can use your method and the regular method beside it to compare. Maybe try some in grow bags, Hmmmmm, interesting.

[@trish3580]

Very much looking forward to your results! Exciting!

[@nancyseery2213]

I tried grow bags and food grade plastic buckets for potatoes, but sadly neither worked very well. My potatoes will be going back into my regular garden soil next spring.

[@ml.5377]

@@nancyseery2213 I have tried grow bags very successfully. This year I planted the same varieties in bags and in the ground and will be harvesting in a couple of months (Sangre de Toro and Malwas). Others I just planted in bags because we were fixing beds in the garden and I could move them around. Plants are huge and have flowered beautifully. Fingers crossed.

[@catreeves963]

Cut flower grower and home vegetable gardener here - dahlias and potatoes are very similar in nature and we do this with dahlias so can definitely see this working! I’ve heard some people getting about 6 cuts from each tuber and then can plant that same tuber. Generally the later in the season they are planted the less tubers are produced. As a way to get a bunch of slips earlier you could try taking your cuttings at a much younger stage and root them in other crates - dahlia growers often do this like v early spring or in winter to build up stock then plant out more or less at one time. Good luck 😊

[@heidigendron3638]

I did it this year. With All Blue and Yucon gold. I got 15row ft each out of only 2 spuds each. My yield was 25# per row. They were about 10% smaller in average size. Both rows were amended with rabbit manure before planting. Each plant was also potted up for additional root formation before planting for 2 weeks. I planted 1 week after my last frost and had my harvest ready at the same time as my traditional pre last frost planted tubers. Tuber plant yields were about the same, but had more cases of scab and/or higher baby to mature tuber ratio compared to the rooted sprouts.

[@TrappManSC]

I live just north of Columbia South Carolina. I am thoroughly enjoying your channel. Learning a lot about how to take care of my soil. I've been treating it pretty poorly and in some cases brutally. I'm going to make some big changes in the coming months. I took over the care of my mom's garden in 2021 when my dad passed away. Basically started from scratch not knowing much at all about gardening. I have the potential to have about 20,000 square feet of cultivated space. Plus about 90 muscadine vine. I would like to start making a little money off of it. Trying to figure out how to do that as efficiently as possible. Learning tons from your channel. Thank you.

[@czerniana]

I think this is a brilliant option for me, as a disabled gardener who is just growing for my own health. Thank you!

[@DawnMaria-8]

I have grown potatoes from “pull starts” in the past just like you described. I recommend using late maturing varieties for this method of growing. Early maturing potatoes, like Yukon Gold, are not going to do as well with this method since it speeds up their growth cycle. A typical result was that I would get fewer potatoes per plant (3-4 potatoes) but they would all be a good size instead of some large potatoes and multiple small ones per plant.

[@jennablorezone8Band9A]

Love the apocalyptic names at the end 😂 but glad they all survived unlike the straw potato experiment. Always enjoy your knowledgeable and creative brain. 😊

[@brentonwalters]

Ooh, good on you for reffing. Haven't taken the plunge myself yet.

[@elizabethb8789]

Love the new format! Thanks for all of your hard work and experiments. You are one of the best gardening and farming content out there.

[@klauskarbaumer6302]

It's always exciting and interesting to try new ways of planting.

[@jvin248]

I've grown potatoes this way for several years. Super simple method: in the spring when the potatoes overwintered in the basement have sent up shoots, after last frost date, pull the shoots off the plants and put in a bucket of water to get to the field. Lay the shoots in a trench so the tips are above ground (I lay them parallel to slightly diagonal not perpendicular to the row with the tip up exposed after closing the trench). Then go plant the potatoes the shoots were removed from as normal. Some shoots don't survive but most do plus you have the seed potatoes growing.

[@brokenmeats5928]

I love ALL No-Till Growers videos!

[@DustySplinters]

So glad you are trying this and sharing... so many people do not know about it. There is a fellow who did some detail videos on how to get started. But... nothing on the final results and yields. I tried this this year with success but not high yields. I blame the lower yield by a late start in Feb/Mar instead of Dec/Jan. This is not a new process, it was first recorded in S America where a lady would chit spuds and then place the chits in small starter pots with soil and grow them as starts for the farmers to pant out at the right moment. While I tried 3 methods, The thing I did different than you was the chits I slipped off went into pots and were grown indoors until last frost was gone. When O left the spuds to chit and grow further, I too planted the with spud attached after the slips were ready to go out in pots. I agree, the main benefit to this is to reduce disease and have more plants. This is also a similar concept by saving True Potato Seed and starting plants by seed indoors till after frost giving you clean disease free spuds to plant the following year. I still believe the best yields come from small to med spuds chitted and planted whole. There might be some sort of lifeline connection to the mother plant via the whole or cut spud. I still get huge yields from planting chitted whole spuds. Oh.. and another part of my trial was planting in grow pots, in new ground under compost and wood chips and in old grow beds under wood chips. The better, older and deeply mulched planting did the best. Can't wait to do some more trials over Winter and into 2025. ps: One other reasong as you mentioned I did the potato slips was I paid $30 for one pound of a new variety of spud and got 6 med tubers, buy taking one slip off each I effectively doubled my plants and therefor the clean seed potatoes for next season.

[@wildedibles819]

I use pine shavings with rabbits waste in it on top of my no dig potatos with great results... I have a potato experiment going of my own Have a good one much love xoxox

[@nappier2009]

Yep! Help kids and get yelled at by adults 😂😂😂 Nailed it!

[@TheFarmacySeedsNetwork]

Very interesting results! I usually cut potatoes into chunks and then plant, based on some reading this spring (and some scale upgrades) I decided to plant whole potatoes... Good results thus far but I am intrigued to maybe run some side by side using this starting method. I certainly have the ideal lab space for it. Thanks as always!

[@SparksWilly]

You have a brilliant mind… i enjoy and learn from your videos. I’m basically just a backyard gardener/homesteader. I’m strictly organic with roughly 600 row feet of area ( 2,000 sq feet oa) Just want to say thank you for all the hard work!! I will most likely join the Patreon group soon.

[@annekec4666]

I saw your video this spring, and I grew some potatoes from slips. I was completely underwhelmed, and left the tiny little spuds they formed in the ground and let them regrow in the autumn. In the autumn, I got a decent amount of tasty potatoes. I'll try it again next spring, but the slips need to have more developed shoots before separation from the seed potato. Zone 6a

[@sethl3702]

We save our small potatoes, about the size of a golf ball or smaller and keep them in plastic bags over the winter in our walk-in cooler. Then about 2-3 weeks before planting We take them out and allow them to sprout. Then we dig a trench about 4-6 inches deep down the center of our beds, plant them every 6 inches, and barely cover them. We fill in the trench and hill as the plants grow over the next month. This method consistently produces 2+ lbs per linear foot on a 30in bed. Then we sell for $5 per pound at our lowest price point.

[@BryanHice-sr8gc]

I did this method and got some potatoes earlier this year. Next year I’m experimenting growing from true potato seed (TPS). Ordered seeds from Cultivariable. Using TPS is waaay cheaper ($9 for 100 seeds), I’ll get more seeds from my plants next year and diseases don’t transfer thru seeds. Downside is varied genetics because they’re not clones which isn’t really a downside. Harvest isn’t huge but should average around 2ish pounds per plant. Potentially up to 5 lbs per plant.

[@fourdayhomestead2839]

Interesting. Ill trial a few come spring. Zones 3 & 4 ..

[@downtoearthsewing]

I tried growing potatoes from a sliver of skin with an eye, and they did well. Obviously not for profit. But I was just trying to see if I could both eat the store bought organic potatoes and get seed from them. Seed potatoes can be pricey! I will try your method in the spring. Seems like perfect for smaller successions.

[@glyncaemawr6957]

Having your potato and eating it, brilliant!

[@heathermaries7251]

Bummer about the failed Stout experiment! For anyone reading this, context is important as you said. Ruth Stout's method for growing potatoes, along with Hugelkultur, are German methods and they work GREAT up here in the PNW (a very German climate). You're in Humid Subtropical, we're in Temperate Mediterranean. Enjoy your peaches and okra, we'll enjoy easy growing potatoes. 😘

[@SgtSnausages]

We've always planted just the sprouts. Our saved seed gets those funky 2-footer sprout vines from basement storage over Winter. In Spring, we break those off and chit the Potatoes as per normal. They'll resprout with nice fresh growth. Instead of tossing the Sprouts we removed, we plant those. Even if they're feet long, they'll develop a plant at every Node point. Two crops for the price of one set of seed. The ripped-off sprouts are good for many multiples as each long viney sprout will have half a dozen, or more, nodes. I've been telling this to folks for 25 years ... nobody believes me.

[@Freeland-Farm]

I believe you enough to give it a try. I've been planting the potatoes with the attached sprouts running along and up the side of a trench. I'll try it your way in the spring to see. How are you planting the sprouts?

[@cliffpalermo]

Do the sprouts transplant well? Could you start them in the greenhouse and grow the plants at this certain point where they're pretty big and then put them in the ground?

[@kirstypollock6811]

That totally agrees with my experience l, SgtSausages! (Love the name) I got my best yields in the year before last when I planted (tiny) potatoes with nearly metre-long sprouts in trenches and mulched with fresh conifer cuttings I ran through my small garden chipper. Also chips as pathway. They grew amazingly and out into the paths. I heard potatoes like acid soil. Lots of plants grew from each sprout and I got a brilliant yield. Especially from my late reds (Laura or Rosara, I can't tell them apart). But even the Belanas (the most popular potato to grow better in Germany) were great.

[@zekew2418]

Similar results for me with chitted chunks vs sprouts/slips. My variables were different, planted chitted chunks on good Friday and the sprouts in July, after garlic harvested, for a fall harvest of new spuds. To much seasonal variation to make a valuable comparison. I also spaced the sprouts 1/2 the distance of the Chunks, do to DTM and wanting small "new" potatoes for market.

[@FriedaTheFowl]

Awesome idea!

[@sandi2005]

Thank you 🥔🍠

[@paullageman4782]

I spoke to my UK extension office back in the spring after hearing your earlier video on this subject and they were not familiar with this and questioned why you would do this!

[@kirstypollock6811]

Given how many tatties are grown in the UK, you'd think someone would have tried it! Give it a go! I have had best experience with tiny tatties with 1m sprouts in trenches mulched with chipped trimmings from my Leylandii hedges (also the chippings as pathway). I'm in N Germany, roughly same latitude as Birmingham, climate like E coast Scotland (with a bit warmer summer, sometimes. Not this year!)

[@dawnteskey3259]

Great video, thanks!

[@goatsofwar7181]

thank you for the USDA knowledge bombs. Super valuable.

[@ursamajor1936]

In Wisconsin zone 4, I've grown potatoes from long chits and they did well but the spuds were small. At harvest, all are cured in a warm, airy, dry and dark shed for about a month. For keeping, smalls get fall planted, mediums get stored for spring planting or shredded, blanched and dehydrated and larges are kept for bakers. There's nothing tastier than home grown potatoes.

[@trenomas1]

Please consider an economic analysis of growing potatoes from true seed for new lines and strains. Thank you. Love the content.

[@KJ-vs2om]

Interesting about the potatoes. I may give this a try. I’m always trying potato experiments here in Texas. I’ve been reading up about this idea for quite some time. You might poke around cultivariable website; he produces true potato seeds and is where I first heard about what he calls tissue culture plantlets. I haven’t tried this method yet. I’m still trying to figure out how to get a decent sized fall potato crop. I’m excited for you to follow up on potato experiments next year!

[@Bizarreparade]

Great video. You wrote a great book that I bought and enjoy. I am firmly in the fan category. You know what comes next though😂 What I didn't notice in this video is what made it so good no I could be way off base and totally misinterpreting things I'm prepared for that inevitability... but in a lot of your videos you seem to be uncomfortably self-censoring yourself. I'm not sure what that's all about. I have some ideas and those ideas are why I don't want to do KZbin content creating. But you do a good job and I reckon by this stage the subscribers you got are the subscribers you got and we don't care that much about politics or at least not your politics. It shows that you're a very decent intellectual kind person. So just say what you got to say and don't say what you don't want to say. If I'm way off base my apologies sir. I'm a Live and Let Live conservative and I don't care if you stay up till 3:00 a.m. slow dancing with Hunter Biden himself😮 I think I speak for a lot of people when I say I come to you for information because you're one of the best men for the job. So just keep doing a great job and may you do it comfortably!

[@chipper6729]

Would love to hear you go through some of the numbers. For this case, I'm curious what the cost of fencing this area would be? Compared to cost of bales of hay purchased. These types of things and also how much your grass quality has changed from year one to present.

[@williambehling7816]

I did my PhD in a potato breeding lab. I think you idea is interesting, but probably only successful in certain circumstances. Seed producers in Africa use cuttings to produce certified potato seed, so people are doing it but not for food production. In North America and Europe you may be able to use that method to grow seed potatoes cheaply, if you have them covered year round to keep it insects. Growing from sprouts may help you avoid SOME soil born bacterial and fungal diseases, but if will never protect you from viral diseases that are spread by aphids like potato virus Y, potato virus X, or potato leaf roll virus. Optimal yields are usually obtained from seed pieces that are 2-3 ounces (55-85 grams). You can dip you cutting knife in a thin slurry or horticultural lime and water between cuts to prevent the spread of virus between tubers as well.

[@cuznclive2236]

Thank you.

[@iancolburn4054]

Wow great summary of the 90/120 rule! Also, how much are yall paying for seed potatoes?! In my neck of the woods we can pick up certified seed at $1/# and dropping um whole in the ground keeps labor costs down so even when they suck its mostly just a loss of the space.

[@marycain7424]

Can you please describe or show video of the plant being removed from the potato for planting? I can’t visualize it. And can you tell me how many weeks before last frost do you plant, original method versus this method being tested?

[@iowaviking]

I did a few slips this year. I got a mix of large and small potatoes. The cut potatoes only got medium and small this year different verities. Still got my 100lbs I was looking for.

[@alanpowell522]

I tried planting just the eyes indoors last year, l transferred them to the garden in spring. Had a good amount of vegetation but only pea sized potatoes

[@shandysgarden]

This is an edited comment so I only have one question. Everybody keeps talking about "clean seed potatoes" for the next year. I suppose I don't understand that part. What does that mean? There are so many ways to do this. Some people are saying plant the seed potato after you've gotten a few slips, some are saying that on the last round they are leaving the seed potato attached, i guess after reading the comment section have realized I can just about do this anyway I like! I'll be trying a few different things. So many answers here. Except for the clean seed potato part.... That was amazing!

[@aileensmith3062]

Interesting, as always, Thank You! So far we have only raised potatoes in 4X8 raised beds with good production. We purchase all of our seed potatoes from Wood Prairie Farms. We have thought about "saving" one 4X8 bed and trying the Ruth Stout method of growing potatoes. I do agree and initially a good dose of nitrogen is essential. We chit our potatoes as well feel a lot of people do. Doing some reading and during the depression. Some people may have done a bit of LIGHT chitting and slips. As food was basically very scarce at the time!

[@MrTexaninNC]

You should do one for garlic as well

[@KorvidRavenscraft]

+1 for this comment

[@KateIlesFealy]

Growing potatoes from slips sounds almost like rooting dahlia cuttings from tuber pulls. Interesting idea

[@oneoveralpha]

It was, maybe eight years ago we had some extra potatoes and some old hay, so I dumped the potatoes out in a section of our yard and covered them with the hay. I did get some potatoes, but I also had a lot that were chewed on by rodents or scratched and pecked by chickens.

[@alexpowell9]

I am very interested in learning more economical ways to grow potatoes - such a popular crop and the worst to grow, especially for a CSA with no tractor 😭 learning to grow potatoes better is on my research list for the winter, and I am wondering if a new BCS implement would help make the process better (because currently, digging up potatoes is the worst.)

[@marksketchley2607]

Regarding manure use - can I count the 90 to 120 days during the winter? In other words is there a daily temperature minimum for a day to count?

[@thegriffinwithin]

Used ro ref Netball when I was in school.

[@maryhysong]

Not a farm per se but I think @Hollar Homestead did plant some sprouts like that but I don't remember the outcome.

[@StephenVermeulen]

Can you describe in more detail how to prepare the slips? I'm in zone 3 and have been having success with starting my spuds indoors and once the plants are about 6 inches tall transplanting into grow bags outside. When I do this I pretty much burry the whole plant so a frost doesn't hurt much

[@DawnMaria-8]

@StephenVermeulen The potato slips will have roots at the base; coming out from the eye of the potato. You just break off each slip with its roots and plant it separately. Potato slips are incredibly resilient so even if you break some of the roots they will be okay as long as the soil doesn’t dry out.

[@StephenVermeulen]

@@DawnMaria-8 Thanks! I'll give it a try next spring.

[@Elense957]

Gave up on potatoes. 2 years in a row attracted blister beetles to the garden. Millions. They swarmed the potatoes.

[@dr.b865]

fascinating!!!

[@tarjei99]

You could try to plant deeper in a trench and fill in with soil as the leaf grows. It requires a potato which is either determinate or indeterminate. I don't remember which one is suitable. I think it is the indeterminate potatoes. So you can have a small farmer version of the potato bags. I suppose you have to make sure that there is enough nitrogen and minerals.

[@kirstypollock6811]

You want indeterminate.

[@nedweeks6964]

I listened to your tater video last spring and gave it a try. The "slip" plants grew lanky compared to those with tubers. My results were quite similar to yours in coastal Maine. I do a bit of indoor growing as well which is nice for experimenting. Most nightshades tip clone very easily. I haven't found any time savings in potatoes this way and the are prone to edema if it's too humid. Cloned tomato plants on the other hand can be a huge time saver. I'm not a real farmer, is this a technique that is used by anyone?

[@4evermetalhead79]

Can we have spring already? I am so ready to get going. 😅

[@stevehatcher7700]

Noooo! My hips, knees, shoulders, wrists, and elbows are NOT ready to get right back going again!!! Finished my season 2 weeks ago and I'm DONE!

[@HeatherNaturaly]

Hmm interesting. I grew potatoes in straw in Australia MANY moons ago. I got a beautiful crop. However, I had never heard of a potato beetle till I moved to the USA.

[@andrewsusen3154]

So if we avoid the Organic label for compost. Does that mean we can sell that 10 year old pile or a homemade blend without recourse?

[@esmysyield2023]

I heard Congressman Massie was suppose to be put in charge of the USDA I sure hope he simplifies all this stuff

[@4115steve]

How about artisian potatoes in a cold frame with irrigation?

[@stemochit7960]

Recommended varieties of potatoes?

[@ArtFlowersBeeze8815]

Taters from seeds. Actual seeds. Clancy. I grew these 2 years ago and was disappointed on yield. They did ok, just small size. Like 2 inches. I suspect just like slips, they need a second year as tubers to become bigger. I think a 2 1/2 - 3 inch 'seed potato" results in bigger tubers. Considering, with other varieties, short, med and long season taters, you should plan accordingly.

[@Blynn-md4dx]

Same

[@karenmccleary7616]

Nothing to do with growing, but…on Saturday, BYU played the University of Utah (cross town rivals) in football. The University of Utah athletic director verbally slammed the referees. SSSOOOOO very unsportsmanlike behavior, especially for an athletic director of a major University. Well, he got slapped with a $40K fine. Maybe, just maybe someday, parents and coaches and athletic directors will leave the refereeing to the referees. You guys deserve every penny you make. PS…❤ your podcasts and your No Till Growers YT channel. I have learned much from them. Love my NTG hat and refer to my copy of NTG often. Thanks and keep up the good work❤

[@ursamajor1936]

I dust my potato plants with lime dust and the potato bugs go away. 😊

[@dorcasrodriguez2901]

❤❤❤

[@peterellis4262]

Sounds a lot like using sweet potato slips

[@MrTexaninNC]

First

[@dantheman9135]

Crush on...

[@thewilderfarm4462]

I did a test of the potato slip method this spring with Natascha and pinto gold potatoes from Johnnys. I pulled all the sprouts off and set them super closely into very light potting mix and waited about a week until they grew decent roots and then transplanted them (1" spacing) into clear storage bins so I could 1)keep the lid on and protect them from frost and 2)see what they're up to as far as making roots. A few weeks later when they had developed more roots again, I put them in the ground, essentially like I would for lettuce, etc. *The ones that I buried deeper than they were in the container rotted and died, rather than developing roots where they were buried like I expected*. Makes no sense but it's what happened. I also planted the whole seed potatoes in the same bed for reference. The slips took much longer to get going, and needed way more fertilizer. I absolutely could have gotten a crop of radishes done between them. I also lost quite a few to frost, as mentioned because they just don't have any real resilience without the tuber. Overall, they need to be babied much more than the full potatoes in the beginning, but once they got maybe 6" tall they took off and actually outperformed the whole seed ones for me. With an extra dose of nitrogen to start off with, more careful attention to burial depth, and a row cover I bet they would have done even better . I didn't get too nerdy about measuring but just eyeballing it either they produced more, or the gophers got more of the full tubers earlier on. The slip method may actually be a bit better to avoid attracting gophers etc. The Natascha were the only ones that I had success with doing this btw, but I put the pinto's at a huge disadvantage with a new bed, low fertility and then ultimately gopher infestation got most of them, so no real results there. The price of seed potatoes makes this totally worth it to me for expanding a 5# bag into the equivalent of a 100# bag. I guess it depends on how many times you want to abuse your seed potatoes before planting them, but I got maybe 20 slips off of many of mine and could have kept going.