Help with squash & melon patch

[baymule]

Most potato varieties do not make potatoes above the initial "eye" you plant. Potatoes grow below the eye you planted. Most will not put out roots along the stem like a tomato does. Try burying your potato plant, but don't be disappointed if it does not increase production. The whole hilling dirt on the potatoes concept is to keep sunlight off the growing potatoes to keep them from turning green.

If anyone has potatoes that will sprout up and down the length of the plant, above the planted eye, share with the rest of us!

 

[CrealCritter]

Most potato varieties do not make potatoes above the initial "eye" you plant. Potatoes grow below the eye you planted. Most will not put out roots along the stem like a tomato does. Try burying your potato plant, but don't be disappointed if it does not increase production. The whole hilling dirt on the potatoes concept is to keep sunlight off the growing potatoes to keep them from turning green.

If anyone has potatoes that will sprout up and down the length of the plant, above the planted eye, share with the rest of us!

That's my experience also... I always thought the reason for mounding was to keep sunlight from reaching the potatoes and causing green spots. The same can be done with a thick layer of mulch also though.

I know sweet potatoes don't produce until the roots hit "hard pan" (non plowed or tilled soil). The deeper the hard pan the longer it takes for the plants to set potatoes and under idea growing conditions will set more & bigger potatoes but you have to dig deeper for them. I've grown some big sweet potatoes in the past in very deep hills. I felt they could have grown longer but I had to pull/dig them before the first frost. So deep vs shallow hills is a trade off...

 

[baymule]

Gotta put growing pumpkins on the list.

 

[NH Homesteader]

We usually don't grow many- just enough for carving for Halloween and then the pigs get to eat them. Didn't grow any this year but my parents have some coming along.

 

[milkmansdaughter]

@Mini Horses , I'm on my way out RIGHT NOW to add more cardboard. I've also been lax in keeping up with the new growth, and was just out there. This spring I lost almost all my squash and melons to the grass. I don't want that to happen again. Thanks for the reminder!