Potatoes & Fertilizer

[gary350]

I was doing Google research on correct method of fertilizing potatoes and found this.

Early nitrogen can lead to excessive green vegetation growth at the expense of tuber formation and an excess supply of nitrogen at later stages of growth will keep the crop growing and can also result in a crop with many 'oversize' potatoes and place it under increased risk of blight infection. However, in hot, dry climates, where true yield potential and desired tuber size has not been met, additional nitrogen can maintain canopy growth and prolong bulking.

I already knew too much nitrogen will grow large green plants and smaller potatoes. I was hoping Potassium might be the trick to do something good for a crop of potatoes but no info on potassium. I am surprised to learn nitrogen near the end of the crop can keep plants alive longer to produce larger potatoes. No details???

Kennebec and many other potatoes are a 90 day crop. My Kennebec plants typically start turning yellow 1 week early about day 83. It might be interesting to give my plants nitrogen on day 70 to see what happens.

Another thing I learned from YouTube videos, some commercial growers leave potatoes in the soil until plants are totally dead and dried up before harvesting new potatoes they claim tubers become heavier staying in soil for 1 month.

I'm not interested in larger potatoes but it would be nice to have fewer 1" diameter potatoes. Wife likes 2½" potatoes best. Commercial grower videos show a very high number of 1" new potatoes, video says, small potatoes are sold for cattle feed. Many of my 1" potatoes will be seed potatoes next year if we don't eat them in stew first.

March 1 to 7 is potato planting day for us.

 

[oneeye]

I was doing Google research on correct method of fertilizing potatoes and found this.

Early nitrogen can lead to excessive green vegetation growth at the expense of tuber formation and an excess supply of nitrogen at later stages of growth will keep the crop growing and can also result in a crop with many 'oversize' potatoes and place it under increased risk of blight infection. However, in hot, dry climates, where true yield potential and desired tuber size has not been met, additional nitrogen can maintain canopy growth and prolong bulking.

I already knew too much nitrogen will grow large green plants and smaller potatoes. I was hoping Potassium might be the trick to do something good for a crop of potatoes but no info on potassium. I am surprised to learn nitrogen near the end of the crop can keep plants alive longer to produce larger potatoes. No details???

Kennebec and many other potatoes are a 90 day crop. My Kennebec plants typically start turning yellow 1 week early about day 83. It might be interesting to give my plants nitrogen on day 70 to see what happens.

Another thing I learned from YouTube videos, some commercial growers leave potatoes in the soil until plants are totally dead and dried up before harvesting new potatoes they claim tubers become heavier staying in soil for 1 month.

I'm not interested in larger potatoes but it would be nice to have fewer 1" diameter potatoes. Wife likes 2½" potatoes best. Commercial grower videos show a very high number of 1" new potatoes, video says, small potatoes are sold for cattle feed. Many of my 1" potatoes will be seed potatoes next year if we don't eat them in stew first.

March 1 to 7 is potato planting day for us.

It would be interesting to use potassium nitrate on low-potassium soils.

 

[GFTL]

I've never heard of adding nitrogen later but I'm willing to try anything. I never seem to get good potato production.

 

[Meadowlark]

I've never heard of adding nitrogen later but I'm willing to try anything. I never seem to get good potato production.

Depends on your soil.

If you have a high load of organic matter in the soil no additional nitrogen is needed for the entire growing period.

One of the great benefits of using that approach is that organics releases nitrogen slowly as it decays eliminating the need for synthetics.... been growing potatoes for almost 1/2 century that way...and in fact digging some today to bake with steak for dinner.