Posts tagged ‘potatoes’

May 13

DIY Potato Tower Update

Back in March I put together 3 potato towers {How to Build a Potato Tower}. Now that the towers have begun to sprout, I thought I would post a few pictures so you can see how they are doing.

This is my second year growing potatoes in towers. Last year I tried and it was pretty much a disaster. I think it may have been my fault though, I had placed the potato towers in a spot that was to hard for me to reach with the hose. As a result they were only watered handful of times or when it rained.

So this year I built my towers behind our greenhouse where I know they’ll get watered on more of a regular basis.

Potato Tower #1 - I covered the potatoes with 6 inches of dirt. My plan with tower #1 is to add additional dirt {but no more potatoes} as the potato leaves begin to pop through the soil. So far this tower is coming along nicely. The potatoes are sprouting as they should and I will add about 6 inches of dirt tonight to bring the soil line about 2 inches below the greens.

Potato Tower #2 - I covered the potatoes with 6 inches of dirt, then added 5 more potatoes. I ended up doing this 3 times. Someone had suggested I try this method to see if it would grow more potatoes. I have no idea if it will or not, but I think it will be interesting to see what happens.

Tower #2 looks the best so far. Potato foliage is coming out of the sides of the tower in two places and as well as on top. I’ll add a little more dirt to the top once the foliage gets a little higher. I’m surprised that with the amount of soil that is in the tower, I see any foliage on the top at all.

Potato Tower #3 - This tower was planted with alternating layers of potatoes, dirt, potatoes, straw, potatoes, dirt. Again, someone suggested this growing method because it had worked for them. Nada. Zilch. Nothing going on with this tower so far.

If you are growing your potatoes in towers this year I’d love to hear how they are doing so far. Or, if you’ve tried growing potatoes in towers previously, how they worked out and if you were happy with the results.

Have a great night,

Mavis

To find out how I built my potato towers go here: How to Build a Potato Tower

May 12

7 Comments

Help! My Potatoes Plants Are Falling Over

Zac from Berkeley, California was worried about his potato plants flopping over so I asked him to send in a picture. I thought maybe YOU and I could help him.

Here is what Zac had to say:

I have six 30 gallon plastic grow bags full of potato foliage and now flowers on some. After hilling them in as much as possible, I’m now staking the stakes to keep them upright.

This is the photo I took this morning. Not all of them have been staked (yet). But I’m on the alert if I have to do so. I’m figuring that they’ve reached their height potential now as flowering buds are starting to form on most.

I did some searching on the Internet and got mixed opinions about what’s going on with them. Some folks said not to worry about it since its the roots we care to eat. Others thought it would be best to prop them up to allow them to grow more! I just began staking them after a few of the larger stems snapped off!

Cheers!

Zac

(Berkeley, CA)

Well Zac, I think your potato plants look great. But, I am worried your grow bags are not deep enough. If there was a way to set your grow bags in deeper ones, remove the old bags and add some more soil, you might get a larger crop of spuds. But otherwise I think you are right, your potatoes are nearing the end of their cycle.

Stay Green,

Mavis

May 7

7 Comments

Square Foot Gardening – Potatoes, Onions, Strawberries, Kale and More

I snapped a few pictures of our square foot garden while I was out working in the backyard today. For the most part things are growing as planned. I think I’ll set out some cucumber starts and more lettuce next week, and tomatoes, tomatoes are totally on the list as well. I just need to find the right variety, some thing that won’t get too big.

The purple potato I planted a few weeks ago is growing like crazy. I still think it was kind of a bad idea to plant the potato in the square foot garden, but I think I’ll keep it there anyway and see what happens. It will be interesting to see how many we get.

The kale is back. Yipee. My family will be so pleased. Ha!

I counted 8 strawberry blossoms so that must mean Mr. Gnome Guy is doing an excellent job at keeping the slugs away {so far}.

5 Walla Walla onions.

Purple Kohlrabi. Have you ever tired kohlrabi before? It goes great with hummus, but I think it’s kind of an acquired taste.

Celery. I think I may have planted these too close together.

And last but not least. Broccoli. For some strange reason, the broccoli likes living/growing in the square foot garden bed better than it does 2 beds down with the radishes. The thing is, the soil is the same so I’m not sure what’s going on. Maybe planting all different kinds of vegetables this close together really is beneficial.

Who knew?

Stay Green,

Mavis

Are you thinking about putting together a Square foot garden? See the how I built a square foot garden grid HERE.

For more information, check out All New Square Foot Gardening. It is an amazon bestseller and the author, Mel Bartholomew is basically the king of square foot gardening.

Mar 27

28 Comments

DIY – How to Build a Potato Tower

Last year I built a few potato towers and had minimal success. But in hindsight, I think the lack of watering {and pretty much neglect on my part was to blame}. So I decided to give the potato towers another try.

First let me say, I personally believe the best way to grow potatoes is in the ground in a traditional trench method.

But, what fun would having a garden be if we all didn’t experiment from time to time and try new techniques. Right?

After reading everyone’s comments, I decided to try growing this years potato towers 3 different ways.

I used a 4′ x 4′ piece of coated fence wire and bent the edges of the wire inward to secure the two ends together. I then pressed straw into the sides of each wire cage and added about 6 inches of dirt to the floor of the potato tower.

I then placed 5 seed potatoes on top of the dirt.

Potato Tower #1 - I covered the potatoes with 6 inches of dirt. My plan with tower #1 is to add additional dirt {but no more potatoes} as the potato leaves begin to pop through the soil.

Potato Tower #2 – I covered the potatoes with 6 inches of dirt, then added 5 more potatoes. I ended up doing this 3 times. Someone had suggested I try this method to see if it would grow more potatoes. I have no idea if it will or not, but I think it will be interesting to see what happens.

Potato Tower #3 – This tower was planted with alternating layers of potatoes, dirt, potatoes, straw, potatoes, dirt. Again, someone suggested this growing method because it had worked for them.

I guess we’ll all find out in about 80 days or so which method works better.

What do you think?

Have you ever tried growing potatoes in towers before? Did it work out for you? What method did you use?

~Mavis

Follow the progress of the potato towers below.

Update 5/13/2013

The Complete Book of Potatoes: What Every Grower and Gardener Needs to Know

Feb 28

55 Comments

If I Plant 10 Pounds of Seed Potatoes How Many Will I End Up With?

If I Plant 10 Pounds of Seed Potatoes How Many Will I End Up With? Is probably what a normal person would ask. But if I start with 90 pounds of seed potatoes, how many pounds do you think I will end up with? Anyone want to guess?

But I’m pretty sure the chit is going to hit the fan tonight when the Handsome Husband gets home because I ended up buying 90 pounds of seed potatoes. Clearly, I should be able to donate a few boatloads to the Plant a Row for the Hungry program by the end of summer and still have plenty left over to feed my family.

I hope. I mean, do you think I bought enough?

Here are the 5 potato varieties I’ll be growing this year:

15 Pounds Yukon Gold
15 Pounds All Blue
20 Pounds French Fingerling
20 Pounds Red Pontiac
20 pounds Russet

In my opinion, kitchen tables are highly overrated. That’s what I’m going to tell the Handsome Husband when he comes home from work and finds the floor full of seed potatoes and the kitchen table missing.

If you have any other “words” I can use to help him from hauling me off to the loony bin after he sees the potato bomb that has gone off in our kitchen {and will stay that way for the next few days}, please leave them in the comment section below.

I think I’m going to need them. A man can only take so much after all.

~Mavis

Feb 27

16 Comments

Watson’s Greenhouse and Nursery Puyallup, Washington

I was over in Puyallup today so I stopped by Watson’s Greenhouse and Nursery. In a nutshell, if I ever owned a nursery center, this would be it. Not to big, not so small, and knowledgeable employees within 20 feet no matter what direction you look.

Oh, and flowers, plants, and housewares galore too. If they allowed me to camp out there and arrange displays on the weekends for free, I probably would. That is how much I am in love with the place.

I stopped by to see if their seed potatoes had arrived. And they had. In fact they had JUST arrived, which meant I was able to get the cream of the crop. This year they are selling Yukon Gold, Russet, Reds, All Blue and French Fingerlings starting at $2.49 for 2.5 pounds. Be still my Irish heart {well, actually the HH’s heart. That man does love his potatoes}.

Asparagus is also in stock – Only $1.49 per crown.

Bare root grape vines, raspberries and blackberries.

Wait, people actually BUY blackberry plants? I thought they were considered a nuisance in Western Washington {a pretty good one too if you ask me}.

And they also have a few bare root fruit trees in stock too! Ha Ha Ha. Just a few.

Actually they have pretty much everything under the moon there. So my advise is to walk into the store with cash and a set of blinders so your don’t overspend. Because you will want to buy everything in stock and take it home with you. And let me tell you from experience, it’s pretty hard to hide trees and shrubs under the bed or in the closet so your husband doesn’t see.

Not that I would know anything about that though. Nope. No Sir.

Do YOU have a favorite garden center? Please tell me it calls your name every time you drive by too.

~Mavis

P.S. I got so caught up in tossing sacks of seed potatoes in my cart, I didn’t add up how many pounds I bought exactly. And to tell you the truth, I’m still a little afraid too.

Feb 11

5 Comments

Easy Side Dish Recipes – Herb Roasted New Potatoes

Frieda’s Specialty Produce Company sent me a bag of Terrific Trio new potatoes {a sampling of blue, red and yellow potatoes} to try out, and let me tell you Bob, they were good.

The last time I posted a recipe for roasted potatoes a few of you suggested I use Worcestershire sauce and Dijon mustard, so I did. Holy canolies people, what have I been missing all these years?

Here is my super simple recipe for Herb Roasted New Potatoes:

Ingredients

1 pound new potatoes, unpeeled
2 gloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Place all the ingredients in a bowl and toss until the potatoes are coated with the mixture. Place on a baking sheet and bake, uncovered, at 375 degrees for 30 – 45 minutes or until potatoes are tender, giving pan a shake about half way through cooking.

Serve warm.

What is YOUR favorite way to serve new potatoes?

Feb 6

18 Comments

Easy Crock Pot Recipes – Fully Loaded Baked Potato Soup

Last week Robin from SoCal mentioned she served loaded baked potato soup for dinner. I couldn’t stop thinking about it. After 3 attempts I finally came up with a recipe I not only LOVE, but my family loves too.

This recipe for loaded baked potato soup is perfect for a busy weeknight or any weekend you plan on tooling around in the garden all day, and don’t want to cook when you finally come inside. The best part {in my opinion} are the toppings. Load your soup up anyway you like it and dig in!

Ingredients

3 pounds baking potatoes, peeled, cut in 1/2 -inch cubes
1 quart chicken broth
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup butter
2 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 cup milk {I used 1%}
3 tablespoons chopped fresh chives {topping}
1 /4 cup sour cream {topping}
8 slices bacon, cooked & crumbled {topping}
1/4 cup cheddar cheese {topping}

Directions

Combine the potatoes, chicken broth, garlic, butter, salt and pepper and cover and cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours until the potatoes are nice and tender.

Once the potatoes have softened, gently mash them {do not puree, as you still want the potatoes to be a wee bit chunky} and stir in 1 cup of milk.

Ladle soup into bowls and top with sour cream, bacon, chives and cheese.

Yummalicious!

My favorite Crock Pot – Crock-Pot Cook’ N Carry 6-Quart Portable Slow Cooker

My Favorite Slow Cooker Cookbook – Fix-It and Forget-It Big Cookbook: 1400 Best Slow Cooker Recipes!

Jan 22

11 Comments

Mavis Garden Blog – Freshly Dug Potatoes in January? Say What?

mavis butterfield

Yesterday I was out in the backyard garden working on a new project, as I was digging up one of our raised garden beds, my shovel dug in to something.

russet potato

A potato.

I thought I had cleared all the potatoes out last fall, but apparently not.

russet potato garden box

Not wanting to loose any more potatoes, I got down on my hands and knees and started to carefully move the dirt away in hopes of finding more hidden gems. And guess what. There WERE MORE! I might as well have been digging for gold it was so exciting. So how many potatoes was I able to harvest?

cool kitchen scale

2 pounds 9 ounces to be exact. Holy mashed potatoes people, that’s enough for a meal! Wahoooo! I may just have to forget to harvest some potatoes again this fall so there will be some to eat next January.

Are you planning on planting potatoes this spring? If so, what are your favorite variety to grow?

I think Yukon Golds are my favorite.

~Mavis

The Complete Book of Potatoes: What Every Grower and Gardener Needs to Know
Taylor Kitchen Scale
Seed Potatoes

Jan 6

18 Comments

Baked Potato Casserole Recipe

baked potato cassarole

I made this baked potato casserole last night for dinner and it was so stinkin’ awesome, I’m making it again as soon as I get my hands on another head of broccoli.

The Handsome Husband had 3 servings and couldn’t stop talking about how good this dish was. Simple food baby, that’s what I’m talking about!

baked potato cassarole picture

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 head broccoli, chopped into small florets
3 sweet sausages, sliced { I used Aidells chicken apple sausage}
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
1 cup Monterrey jack cheese, shredded {thanks Francisco!}

recipe Baked Potato Casserole with Sausage and Broccoli

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Butter a 9×13 casserole dish and set aside.

In a medium saucepan, bring 1 cup of water to a boil. Toss in potatoes and boil/steam for 5-7 minutes or until softened. Add broccoli and boil/steam together for 1 minute. Drain water and place potatoes and broccoli on a large cookie sheet.

Saute sweet sausage in olive oil until browned. Place sausage on cookie sheet with potatoes and broccoli. Sprinkle spices and garlic over the potato/broccoli/sausage mixture and toss together.

Place mixture in a buttered 9×13 casserole dish and cover with shredded cheese.

Cover casserole dish with aluminum foil and bake in the oven for 30 minutes. Remove foil and serve.

Looking for a few more awesome possum casserole recipes? Check out the book The Best Casserole Cookbook Ever. Amazon currently has it in stock, and ready to ship.

Posts tagged ‘potatoes’

DIY Potato Tower Update

Help! My Potatoes Plants Are Falling Over

Square Foot Gardening – Potatoes, Onions, Strawberries, Kale and More

DIY – How to Build a Potato Tower

If I Plant 10 Pounds of Seed Potatoes How Many Will I End Up With?

Watson’s Greenhouse and Nursery Puyallup, Washington

Easy Side Dish Recipes – Herb Roasted New Potatoes

Easy Crock Pot Recipes – Fully Loaded Baked Potato Soup

Mavis Garden Blog – Freshly Dug Potatoes in January? Say What?

Baked Potato Casserole Recipe

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