Root crops - onions or potatoes?

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I'm really interested in growing onions or potatoes, but I've read so many warnings on potential diseases and bugs that can destroy an entire patch of them (potatoes in particular). Normally this wouldn't stop me from trying at all, but the fact that they're underground scares me because I wouldn't know there was a problem until it was too late.

Does anyone have any words of advice or experience with something like this? Should I try it anyway just to say I tried it?
 
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Grow your spuds. Grow your onions.
Take reasonable actions to minimise the risks.
Enjoy the flavour of your home-grown veg.
It's what we all do.
 

Jed

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I grow both potatoes and garlic which has similar requirements and diseases as onions. I have now disease in both spuds and garlic and could kick myself from introducing disease to both. I persist but have a reduced crop harvest.:(
The potato disease I brought home from potatoes I bought from an agricultural store selling them as seed potato.If you do buy seed potato ensure they are certified. Once you have had success with your crop keep potatoes from the plant that produces the most potatoes no matter how small for your next planting.This will encourage larger crops. Potato residue should never be left in beds as this can also increase risk of disease.
When harvesting onions whatever you do always remove all plant material and don't be tempted to compost and add back into future gardens where you may wish to grow onions. Supermarket onions can also have disease spore which can also be a problem so dispose of all rotten onions or skins.
 
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I grow both potatoes and garlic which has similar requirements and diseases as onions. I have now disease in both spuds and garlic and could kick myself from introducing disease to both. I persist but have a reduced crop harvest.:(
The potato disease I brought home from potatoes I bought from an agricultural store selling them as seed potato.If you do buy seed potato ensure they are certified. Once you have had success with your crop keep potatoes from the plant that produces the most potatoes no matter how small for your next planting.This will encourage larger crops. Potato residue should never be left in beds as this can also increase risk of disease.
When harvesting onions whatever you do always remove all plant material and don't be tempted to compost and add back into future gardens where you may wish to grow onions. Supermarket onions can also have disease spore which can also be a problem so dispose of all rotten onions or skins.

I actually didn't even realize that seed potato could be certified - that makes me a bit more relaxed about trying it! I also didn't realize that leftover material in the ground could increase risk - huuuuge pointer, thanks!
I'm almost ready to try now. Thanks for sharing your mishaps with me... hopefully we've both learned from them ;)
 

Jed

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I actually didn't even realize that seed potato could be certified - that makes me a bit more relaxed about trying it! I also didn't realize that leftover material in the ground could increase risk - huuuuge pointer, thanks!
I'm almost ready to try now. Thanks for sharing your mishaps with me... hopefully we've both learned from them ;)

Thanks. Since getting the onion white root rot disease brought home on supermarket onions 20 years ago I've been on a quest to inform others on how not to introduce it. You may wish to research.
http://apps.rhs.org.uk/advicesearch/Profile.aspx?pid=226
 
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I've heard you can grow potatoes in a trash bag or plastic garbage can or large planter. Seems like using a container that could be washed well between plantings would prevent any diseases. Has anybody tried that?
 
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We grow potatoes every year, keep them crated and covered in the basement (where it`s cool) they last us for most of the winter. Usually when they start sprouting we put them in a separate crate and use those to plant for the next year. We weed out the rotten potatoes as they go bad and that way they are ruining the rest of the potatoes. This seems to work every year.
 

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