Potato Family

[lrivetz]

Anybody got any idea where I can find pictures of the potato family?
When I buy bags of potatoes, they usually sprout before I could cook them.

When I first try to plant the potato, it did not go well it rotted out.
Second, I had half of the potato on water and half dried and some pest got into and rotted out.
I am thinking, that if the potato would grow without dirt and water and die with water, then I must be doing it wrong.

Now, I planted my potato where the dirt are very dry and it is growing.

Except the leaves is not right.

I am looking for a different potato within the potato family, but not sure which potato name.

I bought two different potatoes last week and the one that I am looking is on a separate plant with other different plants.
The price of this plant is more than twenty dollars. The color of the leaves that I am looking for is light green. Some are dark green and purple, which I have.

Anyway, I hope you got any idea of what I am talking about.

I am also looking for some malabar purple spinach seeds and water spinach seeds.

I have search using goog and yaho and no luck.

[ajrsmom]

Is this along the line of what youre looking for?

http://www.gardenaction.co.uk/fruit_..._1c_potato.asp


Let me know yes or no. Ill keep looking if not.


Tami

[lrivetz]

I am hoping to find something that is potato and on the side of the potato is the leaf the belongs to that particular tato.

[Monnie]

Are you looking for potatoes to grow to eat or just a plant? If just a plant, how about a sweet potato plant? It gets nice light green leaves.

I just started one about a month ago. I couldn't find a sweet potato so I used a yam (I don't know what the difference is as I have never eaten either one of them.

Try and find one with the most eyes. Cut off the bottom, stick four tooth picks around it so some of the bottom is below the toothpicks and then put it in a glass or jar of water so the toothpicks sits on the rim. Keep in water until it has a good start of sprouts and then can be planted in dirt. When you first make it, put it in a dark area until it sprouts and then put it in the sun.

At one time I had a list I got off the web of all kinds of vegetables you could make house plants out of, but I have lost it and can't find it again. Oh well, I just have to play around.

Hope this helps you.
Monnie :-)

[sunny_mom]

I am interested in potato plants too. But my question is more about after you have your plant growing. How would you know when to harvest the potatoes? You know as they are under the earth and all...

[Monnie]

Boy, a potato grower I am not. I grew up on a farm and all I can remember is my mother planted potatoes, I had to pick the ugly potato bugs off and it seems like in the fall she would just dig some up to see how they were growing and if big enough, we ate them. If not, she would leave them a while before she would dig some more up. How's that for being a farmer?

Sorry!!!
Monnie :-)

[sunny_mom]

Monnie, So basically your mother just took them out and looked to see if they are still green or some thing? If they were still not ready, did she bury the plant again? Would it survive like that?

sunny_mom

[Monnie]

All I was saying is what I kind of remembered. I think she just dug close to the plant and pulled up a little to look at them???? I really don't know. Maybe the plant was all dried and wilted????

Come on you potato growers - help her out here. I can't!!!

Monnie :-)

[jhawkgarden]

Good Morning.

I'm not sure if anyone has answered your potato question. I'm trying to decide what you have. Since you indicated that there are 3 colors of your potato, I think you have an ornamental vine. It grows well in soil. There are typically 3 colors of leaves - bright light green, dark black/purple, and then a tri-colored leaf. If this is what you have, it is grown specifically for ornamental use. It really doesn't produce edible potatoes. You can check out any seed catalog online - such as www.whiteflowerfarm.com.

As far as growing edible potatoes is concerned....the potatoes that you purchase in the store don't grow very well. They have chemicals on them for growth retardation. You should go to your local plant nursery and ask about their varieties they have for sale. Potatoes grow best in cool weather. I don't know how well they will do in FL. For you, they probably should have been planted in Nov or Dec. Here we plant them in March. If you do raise potatoes, checking to see if you have new potatoes is the best part. It is thrilling to find your first new potato. First of all, the ground around your potato plant should be very loose to allow the roots to spread out, on which the potatoes are formed. When checking for new potatoes, you will gently just lift up one side of the plant - preferably away from the plant. You really don't bother the main plant. You are just moving dirt away to see if you can spot any new potatoes. As the potato plant grows, most gardeners add mulch on top, such as straw, to keep the soil loose. We plant in March for May or June harvest of small potatoes.

I hope this helps,
Carolyn

[sunny_mom]

jhawkgarden, Thanks a bunch! That sure helps.

sunny_mom