Accidental new potatoes

[tundrabadger]

Some time in june, we had some past-best potatoes. So I took them out and put them in the composter...I hate to waste food, but the way I see it, in cases like that where we just bought too much of a vegetable and something goes rotten, if I can compost it, it's going to assist me in growing future food, so it isn't a complete loss. And then, like you do, I put other stuff in the composter, so the potatoes got covered up.


Today, I pruned dead leaves off one of my houseplants, and I took them to the composter. As I tossed my dead leaves in, something caught my eye in the corner of the bin. My rotten potatoes have sprouted, and I have accidental new potatoes growing in my composter. WHich, if I knew that was going to happen, I honestly would have planted the things in the garden. Lesson learned, I guess, and hey! Clearly I'm making good, rich compost, to the benefit of future vegetable gardening.

[hunter63]

That is they way it goes sometimes....hopefully you get some taters out if it.
Will they have along enough growing season to get some size them ?

Neighbor did the same with a pile of grass clippings, that he dumped some rotten potatoes, in the spring..... kept adding to the pile and ended up with some pretty nice potatoes

[tundrabadger]

if I wanted decent size potatoes, I probably should have got them in the composter a few weeks earlier, I *think*.....but we should get something we can eat out of it.

[hunter63]

LOL...Yeah, well maybe nest year you can plan on it......
I have used a stack of tires with leaf mold...plant in ground, put tire around it....as the plant grows add compost/leaf mold, add second tire an repeat.

Got about 5 tires high....when you harvest, tip over the pile....no dirt on the taters......either.

[tundrabadger]

You know, I actually saw something similar to that, but with a wooden frame on the homesteading/survivalism page on facebook. Thought about trying it....but old tires? There's a mechanic not far from here, could probably score some from him.

[hunter63]

They help warm up the ground in the spring....and plants will keep growing up.....just add more tires.
Got the idea from Mother Earth News Magazine years ago....but a lot of info out there.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Grow-Potatoes-In-Tires/

I used leaf mold....ground up leaves that have started composting, but have heard of straw, or sawdust as well.

As they grow up, you can get more into a small area.

[tundrabadger]

Awesome....bookmarking that for next year! I've got some manitoba maples that I keep not cutting down for some reason and mulching lawnmower. So leaf mould shouldn't be a problem. I might even go completely nuts and clean my eavestroughs.

[LowKey]

I like growing potatoes in a structure that comes apart easily. That way the potatoes fall out on the ground when you take it apart. Pallets lined with chicken wire work pretty good. Hardware cloth would be better but too expensive.

Lately I've been using trenches. I just dig a trench about 2 feet deep, fill it halfway with mulched hay, compost and some of the soil I took out. Bury some potato sections that have just started to sprout. As soon as the plants are 6" -8" tall, I bury them again with another mix of mulched hay, compost and some of the soil I took out, just leaving a couple leaves showing at the top. Keep doing this til you run out of dirt or get a mound about 2' over the trench. Potato tubers tend to stay in the softer mix and don't seem to wander into the harder soil at the sides of the trench. My last row is about ready to harvest. Will try to remember to take pictures.

[hunter63]

Over the years I have had a lot of volunteer stuff growing out of the compost boxes...(I use box made of old pallets).

Funny this is if the seeds for something were place in the box from last year.......they tend to start growing when soil temps warm up and the daylight gets longer......They know what they like.
Problem with that is the compost get warm, or should on a hot box, and even a cold box (composting slowly) so kind of fools the plants.

Then there is the Hybrid reverting back and the odd cross pollination issue to deal with....Had some really nice looking cantaloupes that tasted like acorn squash.....

[tundrabadger]

Okay, I'm probably alone here, but cantaloupes that taste like acorn squash sound kind of awesome.

[hunter63]

Okay, I'm probably alone here, but cantaloupes that taste like acorn squash sound kind of awesome.

Yeah, well maybe not so much...when you head thinks cantaloupe, but the taste buds say squash.....weird.
Happened with pumpkin in a pie once.....tasted like squash.

[LowKey]

Uh...pumpkin are squash...???
I use em interchangeably for pie. Pumpkin, squash, put enough molasses and nutmeg in there, no one knows the difference. LOL. The family only hates it when I make the first pie with the food mill leavings. Hate to waste it. A little stringy. Good for ya. Roughage!

[hunter63]

[QUOTE=LowKey;439594]Uh...pumpkin are squash...???
.................................................. .QUOTE]

Yeah I know, but some are squashy-er than others....LOL

Old private joke between DW and I,..... Back in the days of no money, buying gas a couple of gallons at a time so we could afford formula for a baby...gas station guy was giving away "pumpkins" with gas........I was so proud...brought it home and went to work.

DW made me a pumpkin pie.....she was so proud,....and it tasted terrible...like squash......but I was eating it anyway and bragging on it....till she tried it too...and spit it out........a squash pie......Why? have no idea.....but it gets brought up every year

[Durtyoleman]

Tossed a pineapple top into a bucket of rabbit waste and it grew roots...three years later (after transplanting) I harvested a pineapple from it. Accidents like that are a bonus imo.

[hunter63]

Tossed a pineapple top into a bucket of rabbit waste and it grew roots...three years later (after transplanting) I harvested a pineapple from it. Accidents like that are a bonus imo.

Heard of that...kids used to try to get tops to root.....but when they did. we didn't get them to keep growing....too cold in Wisconsin.