Travis you & your wife are really treating them to some psychological education that will last their lifetime. Just wonderful. That is how future farmers are created.
Thanks for the lesson I live in Durban South Africa and are planning to plant in August and hopefully harvest new potatoes in time for the Christmas table Wishing you a fruitful harvest Gordon
I believe in the moon phase BUT Gardening by the moon is like hunting and fishing by the moon. If I waited on the moon to be right, I never would have gotten to hunt or fish very often. So, I never plan anything by the moon. LOL
It works I done it a couple years ago "Ruth Stout Method" haven't tried with hay yet but seen videos where they did. Getting the organics into the ground make that ground fertile. Just bought the hoss tool this year was going to ground garden since I sold my last place where I gardened in raised beds. I watch alot of garden videos and going to try my hands into Jadam organic style this year/ maybe next I have to get my other garden plot ready and have some work to do to make that happen. Keep it up Travis your good to watch.
Thank you Travis, love watching you with your Wife Brooklyn & kiddos, Waiting from Guntleys on my TATORS , suppose to between Feb 14th - 28th . For our area , Got my dirt ready & looking 4ward to also experimenting like I did last year -- got some Organic New lil fingerlings & some chitted so planted in a big Tote & Grow bag ,we were blessed with a bumper crop at Thanksgiving, plus many fingerlings for stews etc I had another big grow bag going since Dec 1st , had beautiful leaves etc , an frost here in Montgomery County, Texas 2 weeks ago got them & water logged ... So 4sure waiting on home grown potatoes & started my Sweet potato slips already , I have about 18 in different flower vases & coffee cups after I took off the sweet potatoes & letting them get even more roots in water , I know Mr. Danny from Deepsouth Homestead in his Book on Etsy says only put in water maybe a week. I'm just so looking 4ward to spring & FRESH VEGGIES, FRUIT ,HERBS , AN beautiful flowers . God bless you & the Family Mrs Josette Tharp Montgomery County, Texas 🙏🏻
YEAH, TATER TIME at Lazy Dog Farm! The kids are, as always on your videos, just adorable. What wonderful parents to be so patient with them when there is such a big chore ahead of you. And you do it with every plot, both during planting and during harvest. Great mom and dad. Kudos to you both. Can't wait to see the results of the experiments.
Garden envy of your growing season. Way up here in Vermont we don't plant taters until the middle of May, and most veggies not until Memorial day weekend. Couple years ago I was attempting to spread the compost pile in the garden, mid May, and it was still frozen solid in the middle.
Wooooooo taters precious! Spent yesterday and today planting 5 rows (long rows) of Yukon Golds, Kennebec, and Red uns' Love me some taters precious. :- ) May God bless.
Great video! Best one I’ve seen so far. Will be growing “taters” for the first time this year. Just picked some up from Tractor Supply to see how it goes.
Just to start I want to say what a joy it is to see your family united and working together. Your boys are the sweetest. I like that you show people's ideas with the straw to see if they have merit even when you are sceptical.You did good not to throw a tater meltdown.😂
Great family video. Your sacrifice is well appreciated. Thank you. I look forward to seeing your results. I have never hilled my potatoes 🥔 and I get the best results...for my efforts. I also love what my leaves,grass clippings and hay add to the garden soil. As always...great joy to see the kids in the dirt. Growing in Suwanee.
Great farm crew there! I really appreciate how y'all try so many different varieties and different planting methods all at one time, in one space. Definitely the best way to get some true comparisons, with all the other elements being equal! With my work schedule, there's no way I could try all those different things at once, and still grow the other things in my garden.
I can't wait to see the results of the straw covered potatoes I've been thinking about trying that sometime. We always hill with tractor,... and plant in a mound and get great potatoes each year. Thank you so much to you and your sweet family I enjoy your channel so much and I'm so glad I finally found you again!!
4 days here in La. they calling for 70% rain this week. I cut mine up yesterday and today. I will wait till this weekend. I made my furrows this weekend added my triple 13 and then covered it. This coming Sat. I will make my furrows again and place my seed and cover it.
Travis I was bout to come through the screen with a switch on you! I thought you were saying “tader time” and them babies weren't going to be out there. I did apologize to ya (wonder if ya heard me 😂) for thinking ill of ya when they did finally come out. The Titus melt down just added to the joy for this old gma! 🤣🤣 Flat out in the dirt, full-on fit! 🤣🤣 Bless his sweet little heart. You and momma handle them well. Gotta be patient with them at that age. They just wanna please and help. When it don't work out sometimes ya just gotta lay out in the dirt!! 🤣🤣🤣 Give them a big hug from this gma who thinks they're just too dang cute! Y'all stay blessed and thanks for sharing! ~Lisa
I got store bought fingerlings and waited till the start of sprouts, then shoved them in some used flower pots where annuals had died. Possum dug up a few, I think. But the other day, I saw the strongest, greenest yet still small leafy beginnings of a real true tater plant! It looks wonderful! I’ve got some seed taters on order coming later, but this gave me such a happy feeling! Thanks for all your good advice & encouragement!
I will always furrow and hill my potatoes. Many years of growing them and trying different methods and this has given me the best results. Besides, nothing wrong with a little work and exercise. I haven't noticed much advatage to using whole taters. I cut mine and get good yields.
Hi Travis, I'm in 8a just north of I-20. Last year I planted my potatoes early, mid Feb. I did get a couple of frost after they greened up. But I covered the plants with leaf mulch. They made it and I had a good harvest. Ready to plant tomorrow!
I absolutely cracked up 😂 with your sense of humour!!! 🤣🤣🤣 Fantastic vlog, I have saved for when doing my taters. Hubby came in the room because I was laughing so hard. Thanks so much 🤣😊🙏
Family tater planting time put a smile to my face. I had to laugh at the tater meltdown, which you handled quite well, I must say. I wrote down the variety names and will be watching which ones end up being your fav. Those Baltic Rose look interesting. Here in SWFL, time is getting short to get them taters in the ground, I forgot I was going to try those German Butterballs that I learned about last year, but I forgot to order them this year ☹. Maybe next year.
What do you do to keep the potato grubs from eating up the potatoes? Love the vid and the great tips! Amazing seeing the liittle ones out there planting, the way life used to be before technology.
Surprisingly, we don't deal with many potato pests down here. We also do a lot of cover crops and incorporate mustard and other brassicas in the soil. That really helps alleviate a lot of the soil-borne pathogens that can plague potatoes.
very nice, the straw worked for me but I still planted mine about two inches deep. Worked well where I didn't have room to add soil in a raised bed for hilling them.
I've been waiting months and months for Tater Time, and I was not disappointed 🙂 What with your great treasure map plan and "Tater meltdowns are funny," I loved every minute of your video. Your family are awesome, joyful workers, too. Save an occasional tater meltdown. Thanks again!
Last year I watered my potatoes once. I did nothing else...nothing...and had a great harvest. Folks, I know they are cheap at the grocery store, but they are also ridiculously easy to grow at home too, they keep a lot longer, and like he said you can pick your varieties. Plus.....I have never met a single human being that didn't like them :) I googled Wood Prairie Farm and found it way up there just south of Presque Isle. Big time tater country. Also...all the experiments Lazy Dog Farm does saves me, and I'm sure other folks too, a lot of time and questions we might have, thanks Bud.
Really enjoyed this video. Especially the treasure map,tater meltdown,and the tips. Took notes for next year. Can't wait to see how experiments turn out. Thanks for sharing 🙏 😎 🏖 🏝
I had a trial many years ago where I planted potatoes when I normally do the first week in March. I also planted a row when my inlaws said the signs were right, and another row when they were wrong. The yields were more influence by early planting than anything else. The best "signs" for when to plant are Nature's signals. When daffodils are in full bloom plant your taters, carrots, beets, and cole crops. When the new white oak leaves are as big as a squirrel's ear, you can plant field corn. When the white oak sheds its flowers, you can plant sweet corn and all Summer vegetables. I haven't come up with any yet for Fall planted gardens except plant your greens, turnips, and cole crops one month before the first average frost date. The average first frost date here is usually mid October, so I plant in mid September. Another benefit of hilling potatoes is that it helps cool and prevent internal heat necrosis(rot) in the tubers. I only hill once when the vines are 6-8" long and I completely cover them with an inch or two of soil. I make the hill flat and about a foot wide at the top and about a foot high with tapered sides. Then I spray a preemergent herbicide on the hills to prevent weeds from germinating. Depending on the variety planted, I usually kill the vines at 90-110 days and harvest two weeks later. I consistently get 200 lbs. per 100 foot of row. I usually plant Kennebec, or Atlantic or Superior if I can find the seed potatoes. Those are the best chipping potatoes and make excellent frozen fries. They're good in all recipes that require a potato with a light fluffy texture. German Butterball makes excellent potato salad, smashed crispy taters, or any recipe that requires a waxy textured potato that doesn't disintegrate. They take 110-120 days to size up. Caution, you don't make fries or mashed potatoes from waxy potatoes. If you boil them long enough to cream into mashed potatoes they taste worse than dirt. The flavor seems to change when they're overcooked. Citations? = Life experience.
Thanks for sharing your experiences! I agree that early planting is the key to potato success -- that along with some help from the weather. A cool, dry spring will always make a better potato crop than a hot, wet spring.
@@LazyDogFarm Indeed, a drier cooler spring really helps. I apologize if I came across as a know-it-all, after rereading my post it kinda sounds that way. LOL I take taters seriously. I plant way more than my wife and I can eat. I sell some but most are used for hog feed after boiling. Another important thing is knowing whether a potato variety is determinate or indeterminate. Kennebec, Atlantic, and Yukon Gold are determinate. Most Russets, Red Pontiac, and German Butterball are indeterminate. A determinate potato matures the tubers that first set and then the vine dies. An indeterminate will continue putting on new potatoes 90 days or more after planting. I've dug Red Pontiacs that I didn't vine kill at 110 days and there were about a dozen of pea size potatoes. That's the main reason that you always should hill indeterminate potatoes. Killing the vine is a good idea late in the season if you find late blight is spreading quickly. Killing the vines helps prevent the blight from entering the tubers. I usually get some late blight even though I spray fungicides but it rarely gets in the taters. I like your style and your channel is great. It's nice to see you getting the family involved, especially the kids. You're planting good seeds in them that can only grow with them. Anyway, I hope you get good yields and the blight doesn't find the taters. LOL I'll be planting taters myself in the next couple weeks. I'm planting a 100' row of Kennebec, and 50' rows of German Butterball, Soraya, and Superior. I haven't grown Soraya before. Have a blessed day.
I love Tater Time on the Lazy Dog Farm! 😊 Those boys are growing!! We had our first and probably last freeze this week so we'll be prepping the ground to plant potatoes in the next week or two. Straw only works in a trench here since it would all be blown away if we put it on level ground. Looking forward to the results from your experiments!
Between the treasure map, the tater meltdown and your incredible will power I laughed right straight through this video. I very much appreciate your sacrifice, Travis.
This year I set just 7 potatoes in soil on the back porch, in a clear spinach container from the grocery store once they make a plant I pulled it off and plant it, Ive been at it for 2 maybe 3 months now and I have gotten 23 plants off the 7 potatoes so far, one did start to rot but the others are still putting out new eyes. I just angle the eye so that it touches the soil and it grows roots fast.
Travis how deep is too deep for planting potatoes. I live in Pickens County about 2 miles from the town how early should I plant my potatoes. Thanks for all the useful information I get from your videos.
Ours get planted about 3" deep. You can plant them deeper, but I like to err on the side of planting them shallower and adding dirt to them. It makes them easier to dig down the road. Not sure what zone you are, but north of Atlanta would probably be mid to late March for planting.
Best potatoes I've ever grown was when fertilized the week prior to planting. Side dressed at hilling and really waited until the taters went completely dormant. I think pulling potatoes early they don't cure right. I'm doing a really small plot of tatters this year in hügelkultur bed. I'm expecting great things this year!
Nice video, we wait several days after cutting also. But, we dab our cut ends of the potato in sulfur to heal and dry them up. Never had a potato rot in the ground using the sulfur.
I cut my taters after work this evening. I won't have any where near as many as you, but I should have some. I hope to get them in the ground Sunday afternoon. Thanks for the 4 tips. I really wasn't sure what to fertilize with or if I should water at planting.
What a wonderful tater plot. The best of the traditional methods plus some interesting experiments. Somehow, I imagined that you'd be using pine needles instead of wheat straw for mulch. Good recovery from that tater meltdown. Will you top dress with 8-5-5 as you add additional straw?
I will top dress with 8-5-5 on the straw as I think it's only fair to give both treatments the same amount of fertilizer. Not sure it will have the same effect being put on top of the straw like that, but that's the only way I can figure to do it.
Hey Travis, I tried the straw method last year. The yield was about 70% of what we got from the in-soil plants. Possibly the hilling promoting more production. Interested to see your results.
I know a few people that have tried the straw method, some of them had trouble with mice nibbling the taters. I'm planning on planting my taters in the soil and using the straw instead of hilling the potatoes this year. It's usually very dry here, so I'm also thinking that the straw mulch will help keep the soil moist as well.
That's exactly what I did last year. I planted them about 4 in deep and as soon as they started to sprout I started layering straw. I had about 8 to 10 in of straw by the end of the season..
Hi Travis. I live in Birmingham and we are going to have a hard freeze this weekend. All of my potatoes are up. Should I cover them up for this freeze? (I have never grown potatoes before and they are really looking good right now.). I don’t want to mess them up. Thanks so much for all of your tutorials and great information.
Hey y;all, Thank them boys for making sure I'm on time for Tater time!! I'm still waiting they said mine will be coming closer to my time as the keep getting the folks in the south delivered first. So I'm just waiting. I Had got the ground ready in the fall piled a foot of hay on top so when its time I'll peel the hay and drop in the taters. God bless y'all take care
It’s cool to see you’re doing the straw experiment. We put ours down Novemberish after we harvest our fall potatoes, so it can begin to break down before spring.
Them boys are hilarious, the melt downs aren't as bad as they use to be over here🙂 Think I had a tear when you covered those taters with some straw😖.. ✌
That's a lot of taters. I grow mine in a 12 inch raised bed and they always do great. I am gonna do some in 10 gallon grow bags this year as an experiment.
I am new to gardening and was wondering what type of wheel hoe or attachment are you using to cover your potatoes? I tried to find online, and no luck. Thank you for the videos.
In my best Michael Buffer voice, “Are you ready to tater?” Great job getting those taters planted and it will be interesting to see how they all do in the test rows. Really good to see that you make this a family event, getting the kids involved.
Nice Experiment! I plant both Cut & uncut taters. I tried growing in straw, They made good size taters. But the fire Ants eat holes in every one of them... i plant my Taters around the End of March/first of April, the average frost date is at the end of April, but we usually have a two or three cold (Frost) spells in the first half of May. It Gets them early gardener's plants!
Love having fun and making memories.... tater meltdown lol Well I guess I planted it all wrong I just pulled mine last week..maybe I’ll do another quick replant, just thought it would be to hot and humid here.. And looking forward to the hay testing ....
What I use for a planting date is The Dandelions. When you first see the yellow heads it's time to start preparing the beds, organizing tools, pulling them out of storage & warming/chitting, etc. For us this is generally 1st week April. As the Dandelions turn white, drop their seed, and the yellow polkadots in the yard disappear 2 or 3 weeks later ... it's time to plant. This is generally last week of April around here. 6b, Ohio River Valley (Cincinnati-ish) Last Frost typically between May 10 and 20th. Most years that puts us 3 to 3-and-a-half weeks before Last Frost.
Ive heard this but here where im at they usely show up way too early and stay till august...i use to hate them..but bees love them so now i do...i only go after weeds with stickers these days....and those that take away from my food.
@@LazyDogFarm I have just planted 10 lbs of Yukon gold two 30 foot rows was thinking waiting two weeks then planting two 30 foot rows of red potatoes thanks for your information your the best
Travis another question, this weekend they call for 29 and 28 degrees this weekend here in Louisiana. If the potatoes break ground will this damage them?
What a true blessing wishing you Travis and your family many years of tater meltdowns. We've got plenty of good happy memories from the gardens here in Oklahoma City and surrounding areas where family members live, life is good!!!
Love to see a family that gardens together. Your blessed my friend.
Travis you & your wife are really treating them to some psychological education that will last their lifetime. Just wonderful. That is how future farmers are created.
Thanks for the tips. Looking forward to next years planting. Ready to harvest my container potatoes today.
TATER TIME!!!! Yes!!
The best time!
Thanks for the lesson I live in Durban South Africa and are planning to plant in August and hopefully harvest new potatoes in time for the Christmas table Wishing you a fruitful harvest Gordon
In Southern Michigan it's peas, onions and TATERS on good Friday
Y’all know you have the CUTEST LITTLE BOYS on UA-cam don’t you!!! They are so precious with their southern accents 💕🎣🎣🎣
Thanks Wendy! We don't notice the accents, but I guess that's because we all talk like that.
@@LazyDogFarm indeed y’all do!! Mine is not quite as thick 😂
Lord I love it! I Tater melt down. HAHA! Remind me when I had my kids helping me back when they were little.
When you're doing 7 rows of taters, a meltdown or two is expected. lol
I believe in the moon phase BUT Gardening by the moon is like hunting and fishing by the moon. If I waited on the moon to be right, I never would have gotten to hunt or fish very often. So, I never plan anything by the moon. LOL
Exactly. Can't wait on the moon.
Those sweet boys are so excited to planting the "treasures " Good job. I love watching your channel. Thanks so much for your videos
Glad you enjoyed it!
It works I done it a couple years ago "Ruth Stout Method" haven't tried with hay yet but seen videos where they did. Getting the organics into the ground make that ground fertile. Just bought the hoss tool this year was going to ground garden since I sold my last place where I gardened in raised beds. I watch alot of garden videos and going to try my hands into Jadam organic style this year/ maybe next I have to get my other garden plot ready and have some work to do to make that happen. Keep it up Travis your good to watch.
Thanks Brian! Best of luck with your new in-ground garden.
Thank you Travis, love watching you with your Wife Brooklyn & kiddos,
Waiting from Guntleys on my TATORS , suppose to between Feb 14th - 28th .
For our area ,
Got my dirt ready & looking 4ward to also experimenting like I did last year -- got some Organic New lil fingerlings & some chitted so planted in a big Tote & Grow bag ,we were blessed with a bumper crop at Thanksgiving, plus many fingerlings for stews etc
I had another big grow bag going since Dec 1st , had beautiful leaves etc , an frost here in Montgomery County, Texas 2 weeks ago got them & water logged ...
So 4sure waiting on home grown potatoes & started my Sweet potato slips already , I have about 18 in different flower vases & coffee cups after I took off the sweet potatoes & letting them get even more roots in water ,
I know Mr. Danny from Deepsouth Homestead in his Book on Etsy says only put in water maybe a week.
I'm just so looking 4ward to spring & FRESH VEGGIES, FRUIT ,HERBS , AN beautiful flowers .
God bless you & the Family
Mrs Josette Tharp Montgomery County, Texas 🙏🏻
Thanks for sharing Josette! God Bless!
I appreciate your wheel power Travis.
Thanks Randy!
Great job teaching children. I’m getting ready to plant potatoes also. Thanks for video.
Thanks for joining us Charlene!
Lol you guys are so funny love your channel my husband dad use to raise some of his in hay bales.
Thanks for joining us Becky!
Iam gonna be planting potatoes for the first time this year iam pretty excited I hope they turn out good.
I hope so too!
It’s time…It’s Tator Time! Love the whole LD FAM saying it!
Another great video Travis.
Thanks y'all!
Too funny......tator meltdown and appreciate the sacrifice...love it!! Good luck on your tators. Looking forward to my Yukon gold treasure.😁👍
That's gonna be some good treasure!
YEAH, TATER TIME at Lazy Dog Farm! The kids are, as always on your videos, just adorable. What wonderful parents to be so patient with them when there is such a big chore ahead of you. And you do it with every plot, both during planting and during harvest. Great mom and dad. Kudos to you both. Can't wait to see the results of the experiments.
Thanks DC!
Garden envy of your growing season. Way up here in Vermont we don't plant taters until the middle of May, and most veggies not until Memorial day weekend. Couple years ago I was attempting to spread the compost pile in the garden, mid May, and it was still frozen solid in the middle.
Don't be too jealous. Come August and September, there's not much we can grow here besides okree and sweet potatoes.
How exciting. Wish I was there to plant with you. The boys were so cute in helping you. Love it. Can’t wait for the harvest.
Thanks Ima! Wish you could have joined us too!
God bless you and yours!
Thanks Corey!
Excellent!
Wooooooo taters precious! Spent yesterday and today planting 5 rows (long rows) of Yukon Golds, Kennebec, and Red uns' Love me some taters precious. :- ) May God bless.
Nice!
Loved the kids helping to plant
Great video! Best one I’ve seen so far. Will be growing “taters” for the first time this year. Just picked some up from Tractor Supply to see how it goes.
Just to start I want to say what a joy it is to see your family united and working together. Your boys are the sweetest. I like that you show people's ideas with the straw to see if they have merit even when you are sceptical.You did good not to throw a tater meltdown.😂
I was very close to a tater meltdown, but I pushed through it. lol
@@LazyDogFarm ❤
I love these types of experiments. Can't wait to see what happens!
Us too!
I am so stinking excited for this experiment..
Us too!
Great family video. Your sacrifice is well appreciated. Thank you. I look forward to seeing your results. I have never hilled my potatoes 🥔 and I get the best results...for my efforts. I also love what my leaves,grass clippings and hay add to the garden soil. As always...great joy to see the kids in the dirt. Growing in Suwanee.
Hilling definitely takes some effort. I guess the big question is it worth all the effort? Although I do enjoy the process.
Great farm crew there! I really appreciate how y'all try so many different varieties and different planting methods all at one time, in one space. Definitely the best way to get some true comparisons, with all the other elements being equal! With my work schedule, there's no way I could try all those different things at once, and still grow the other things in my garden.
Thanks Jim!
I can't wait to see the results of the straw covered potatoes I've been thinking about trying that sometime. We always hill with tractor,... and plant in a mound and get great potatoes each year. Thank you so much to you and your sweet family I enjoy your channel so much and I'm so glad I finally found you again!!
Thanks Nancy! Glad you found us too!
4 days here in La. they calling for 70% rain this week. I cut mine up yesterday and today. I will wait till this weekend. I made my furrows this weekend added my triple 13 and then covered it. This coming Sat. I will make my furrows again and place my seed and cover it.
Good call on waiting!
Travis I was bout to come through the screen with a switch on you! I thought you were saying “tader time” and them babies weren't going to be out there. I did apologize to ya (wonder if ya heard me 😂) for thinking ill of ya when they did finally come out. The Titus melt down just added to the joy for this old gma! 🤣🤣 Flat out in the dirt, full-on fit! 🤣🤣 Bless his sweet little heart. You and momma handle them well. Gotta be patient with them at that age. They just wanna please and help. When it don't work out sometimes ya just gotta lay out in the dirt!! 🤣🤣🤣 Give them a big hug from this gma who thinks they're just too dang cute! Y'all stay blessed and thanks for sharing! ~Lisa
Thanks Lisa! Glad you enjoyed it!
Thanks for the video!
Our pleasure!
Ruth is so proud of your fighting of your instinct.
I sure hope so!
I planted some time ago since we’ve had such a warm winter. Came across one of my golds that’s already tennis 🎾 size.
Nice!
I got store bought fingerlings and waited till the start of sprouts, then shoved them in some used flower pots where annuals had died. Possum dug up a few, I think. But the other day, I saw the strongest, greenest yet still small leafy beginnings of a real true tater plant! It looks wonderful! I’ve got some seed taters on order coming later, but this gave me such a happy feeling! Thanks for all your good advice & encouragement!
Good deal! Sounds like you have a nice head start!
Im diging potatoes now mys r ready
My potatoes r read 4 digging time 2 getting them up
Enjoyed your video. Beautiful family. I learned a lot. Can't wait to see the harvest video. Liked and you got yourself a new subscriber.
Thanks for subscribing Helena!
I will always furrow and hill my potatoes. Many years of growing them and trying different methods and this has given me the best results. Besides, nothing wrong with a little work and exercise. I haven't noticed much advatage to using whole taters. I cut mine and get good yields.
Thanks for sharing your experiences!
Glad to see Abram again.
He loves tater time!
LOVE IT TATAR MELT DOWN.
Thanks for the great info!
You bet!
looks like a good tater plot. I just put 2 rows in the ground myself! new sub here, good job on the video!
Thanks for subscribing!
Never seen anyone actually use the straw, will be very interesting to see, thanks!
We have quite a few viewers that use that method, so it will be interesting to see how it works for us.
Hi Travis, I'm in 8a just north of I-20. Last year I planted my potatoes early, mid Feb. I did get a couple of frost after they greened up. But I covered the plants with leaf mulch. They made it and I had a good harvest. Ready to plant tomorrow!
I'm also 8a i-20 area just a few miles south from la/ark line (minden)
@Mayee Good idea on using the leaf mulch to cover them.
I absolutely cracked up 😂 with your sense of humour!!! 🤣🤣🤣 Fantastic vlog, I have saved for when doing my taters. Hubby came in the room because I was laughing so hard. Thanks so much 🤣😊🙏
Glad you enjoyed it Mandi!
Family tater planting time put a smile to my face. I had to laugh at the tater meltdown, which you handled quite well, I must say. I wrote down the variety names and will be watching which ones end up being your fav. Those Baltic Rose look interesting. Here in SWFL, time is getting short to get them taters in the ground, I forgot I was going to try those German Butterballs that I learned about last year, but I forgot to order them this year ☹. Maybe next year.
I have high hopes for the Baltic Rose. We'll see how they do.
What do you do to keep the potato grubs from eating up the potatoes? Love the vid and the great tips! Amazing seeing the liittle ones out there planting, the way life used to be before technology.
Surprisingly, we don't deal with many potato pests down here. We also do a lot of cover crops and incorporate mustard and other brassicas in the soil. That really helps alleviate a lot of the soil-borne pathogens that can plague potatoes.
Cute little tator toes! In February. I can't imagine.
Gonna be 84 here all next week. Summer is coming.
Yes i have dug my potatoes
very nice, the straw worked for me but I still planted mine about two inches deep. Worked well where I didn't have room to add soil in a raised bed for hilling them.
Makes sense. I guess I could have buried them, but wanted to see the full effects of straw vs. soil.
I've been waiting months and months for Tater Time, and I was not disappointed 🙂
What with your great treasure map plan and "Tater meltdowns are funny," I loved every minute of your video. Your family are awesome, joyful workers, too. Save an occasional tater meltdown.
Thanks again!
Glad you enjoyed it Angela!
Last year I watered my potatoes once. I did nothing else...nothing...and had a great harvest. Folks, I know they are cheap at the grocery store, but they are also ridiculously easy to grow at home too, they keep a lot longer, and like he said you can pick your varieties. Plus.....I have never met a single human being that didn't like them :) I googled Wood Prairie Farm and found it way up there just south of Presque Isle. Big time tater country. Also...all the experiments Lazy Dog Farm does saves me, and I'm sure other folks too, a lot of time and questions we might have, thanks Bud.
Preciate it! I completely agree on the value of growing your own. Some things you can't put a price tag on.
Really enjoyed this video. Especially the treasure map,tater meltdown,and the tips. Took notes for next year. Can't wait to see how experiments turn out. Thanks for sharing 🙏 😎 🏖 🏝
Thanks for joining us Nancy!
All mustaches are grown based on the lunar cycle.. Which is why Travis's is so rich and in style.
So excited to see what happens with your experiments! I can't wait to get potatoes in the ground!
Hopefully we get some conclusive results. If all the "treatments" are pretty much the same, that might not be as fun.
Sweet. Handsome fellers!!
I planted mine last month here in Central Florida. They are doing beautifully! Tater time!
Wonderful!
I had a trial many years ago where I planted potatoes when I normally do the first week in March. I also planted a row when my inlaws said the signs were right, and another row when they were wrong. The yields were more influence by early planting than anything else.
The best "signs" for when to plant are Nature's signals.
When daffodils are in full bloom plant your taters, carrots, beets, and cole crops.
When the new white oak leaves are as big as a squirrel's ear, you can plant field corn.
When the white oak sheds its flowers, you can plant sweet corn and all Summer vegetables.
I haven't come up with any yet for Fall planted gardens except plant your greens, turnips, and cole crops one month before the first average frost date. The average first frost date here is usually mid October, so I plant in mid September.
Another benefit of hilling potatoes is that it helps cool and prevent internal heat necrosis(rot) in the tubers. I only hill once when the vines are 6-8" long and I completely cover them with an inch or two of soil. I make the hill flat and about a foot wide at the top and about a foot high with tapered sides. Then I spray a preemergent herbicide on the hills to prevent weeds from germinating. Depending on the variety planted, I usually kill the vines at 90-110 days and harvest two weeks later. I consistently get 200 lbs. per 100 foot of row. I usually plant Kennebec, or Atlantic or Superior if I can find the seed potatoes. Those are the best chipping potatoes and make excellent frozen fries. They're good in all recipes that require a potato with a light fluffy texture. German Butterball makes excellent potato salad, smashed crispy taters, or any recipe that requires a waxy textured potato that doesn't disintegrate. They take 110-120 days to size up. Caution, you don't make fries or mashed potatoes from waxy potatoes. If you boil them long enough to cream into mashed potatoes they taste worse than dirt. The flavor seems to change when they're overcooked. Citations? = Life experience.
Thanks for sharing your experiences! I agree that early planting is the key to potato success -- that along with some help from the weather. A cool, dry spring will always make a better potato crop than a hot, wet spring.
@@LazyDogFarm Indeed, a drier cooler spring really helps. I apologize if I came across as a know-it-all, after rereading my post it kinda sounds that way. LOL I take taters seriously. I plant way more than my wife and I can eat. I sell some but most are used for hog feed after boiling. Another important thing is knowing whether a potato variety is determinate or indeterminate. Kennebec, Atlantic, and Yukon Gold are determinate. Most Russets, Red Pontiac, and German Butterball are indeterminate. A determinate potato matures the tubers that first set and then the vine dies. An indeterminate will continue putting on new potatoes 90 days or more after planting. I've dug Red Pontiacs that I didn't vine kill at 110 days and there were about a dozen of pea size potatoes. That's the main reason that you always should hill indeterminate potatoes.
Killing the vine is a good idea late in the season if you find late blight is spreading quickly. Killing the vines helps prevent the blight from entering the tubers. I usually get some late blight even though I spray fungicides but it rarely gets in the taters.
I like your style and your channel is great. It's nice to see you getting the family involved, especially the kids. You're planting good seeds in them that can only grow with them.
Anyway, I hope you get good yields and the blight doesn't find the taters. LOL I'll be planting taters myself in the next couple weeks. I'm planting a 100' row of Kennebec, and 50' rows of German Butterball, Soraya, and Superior. I haven't grown Soraya before.
Have a blessed day.
I love Tater Time on the Lazy Dog Farm! 😊 Those boys are growing!! We had our first and probably last freeze this week so we'll be prepping the ground to plant potatoes in the next week or two. Straw only works in a trench here since it would all be blown away if we put it on level ground. Looking forward to the results from your experiments!
Enjoy your tater time!
Between the treasure map, the tater meltdown and your incredible will power I laughed right straight through this video. I very much appreciate your sacrifice, Travis.
Glad you enjoyed it!
I hope your straw pans out. All I did was create some elite fire ant habitat. Then we tilled it all in the next year.
Yeah I'm hoping that's not the case here.
This year I set just 7 potatoes in soil on the back porch, in a clear spinach container from the grocery store once they make a plant I pulled it off and plant it, Ive been at it for 2 maybe 3 months now and I have gotten 23 plants off the 7 potatoes so far, one did start to rot but the others are still putting out new eyes. I just angle the eye so that it touches the soil and it grows roots fast.
Thrifty ! Well planned!
Nice!
Your kids are sooo adorable! 🥰 I just put down my first potatoes too but they're in a container. My very first! Wish me luck!
Good luck from SE Louisiana, zone 8b.
Thanks Nancy!
Thanks for sharing. Do you grow sweet potatoes? When is a good time to plan sweet potatoes?
We do! We get our slips from here: www.sweetpotatoplant.com/?ref=2c1LrVP9UKW8CB
We try and plant them around the end of May.
I love it your kids are so adorable they love there treasure map its tater time...
Thanks Constance!
Planted mine today
Nice!
@@LazyDogFarm Expecting rain Monday and Wednesday, gonna tarp them, thanks for the suggestion.
Tater Time!! 💗 I got my Wood Prairie Purple Taters planted Ty for the discount code 👍🏼
Nice! You're very welcome!
Travis how deep is too deep for planting potatoes. I live in Pickens County about 2 miles from the town how early should I plant my potatoes. Thanks for all the useful information I get from your videos.
Ours get planted about 3" deep. You can plant them deeper, but I like to err on the side of planting them shallower and adding dirt to them. It makes them easier to dig down the road. Not sure what zone you are, but north of Atlanta would probably be mid to late March for planting.
Best potatoes I've ever grown was when fertilized the week prior to planting. Side dressed at hilling and really waited until the taters went completely dormant. I think pulling potatoes early they don't cure right. I'm doing a really small plot of tatters this year in hügelkultur bed. I'm expecting great things this year!
I think you're right about letting the plants die back significantly -- except in the case of really wet soil. They'll rot if you aren't careful.
Nice video, we wait several days after cutting also. But, we dab our cut ends of the potato in sulfur to heal and dry them up. Never had a potato rot in the ground using the sulfur.
Good to hear. I know quite a few folks that use the sulfur method.
I cut my taters after work this evening. I won't have any where near as many as you, but I should have some. I hope to get them in the ground Sunday afternoon.
Thanks for the 4 tips. I really wasn't sure what to fertilize with or if I should water at planting.
Enjoy your tater planting!
What a wonderful tater plot. The best of the traditional methods plus some interesting experiments. Somehow, I imagined that you'd be using pine needles instead of wheat straw for mulch. Good recovery from that tater meltdown. Will you top dress with 8-5-5 as you add additional straw?
I will top dress with 8-5-5 on the straw as I think it's only fair to give both treatments the same amount of fertilizer. Not sure it will have the same effect being put on top of the straw like that, but that's the only way I can figure to do it.
I hear ya, Travis! That straw doesn’t look right without hens sitting atop it ! 🐓🥚
😂
Haha! Hopefully we'll at least get some tater eggs in there!
Hey Travis, I tried the straw method last year. The yield was about 70% of what we got from the in-soil plants. Possibly the hilling promoting more production. Interested to see your results.
Thanks for sharing your results!
I know a few people that have tried the straw method, some of them had trouble with mice nibbling the taters. I'm planning on planting my taters in the soil and using the straw instead of hilling the potatoes this year. It's usually very dry here, so I'm also thinking that the straw mulch will help keep the soil moist as well.
That's exactly what I did last year. I planted them about 4 in deep and as soon as they started to sprout I started layering straw. I had about 8 to 10 in of straw by the end of the season..
@James Arends We have a few cats that hopefully won't let any rats get close to them. I''ll have a talk with them to make sure they're on high alert.
Hi Travis. I live in Birmingham and we are going to have a hard freeze this weekend. All of my potatoes are up. Should I cover them up for this freeze? (I have never grown potatoes before and they are really looking good right now.). I don’t want to mess them up. Thanks so much for all of your tutorials and great information.
You can cover them with a cloth or just bury them with more soil. Or just run a sprinkler at night.
Good row eye😉!
I get them straight every now and then. lol
Travis what brand of tripod sprinklers do you use or recommend?
I use this one: lazydogfarm.com/products/orbit-tripod-sprinkler
Hey y;all, Thank them boys for making sure I'm on time for Tater time!! I'm still waiting they said mine will be coming closer to my time as the keep getting the folks in the south delivered first. So I'm just waiting. I Had got the ground ready in the fall piled a foot of hay on top so when its time I'll peel the hay and drop in the taters. God bless y'all take care
Always good to be ready!
Dear Travis, We appreciate the restraint you showed in not putting dirt on the straw row. 😎😎
Thanks Michael!
So since I'm in 8b I might want to wait a week or so?
We're in 8b as well. You're probably good anytime now.
@@LazyDogFarm My bad I'm in on the southern edge of 8.a
Why is German butterball one of your favorites...taste? ease of grow??
We like the potatoes the yellow inside. It tends to make a smaller potato, but they're the perfect size for roasting whole.
It’s cool to see you’re doing the straw experiment. We put ours down Novemberish after we harvest our fall potatoes, so it can begin to break down before spring.
Good idea. I probably will remove the straw once those taters are done, but it will be interesting to see what happens.
Them boys are hilarious, the melt downs aren't as bad as they use to be over here🙂 Think I had a tear when you covered those taters with some straw😖.. ✌
It was tough! But we do it for the sake of science!
@@LazyDogFarm 👍
That's a lot of taters. I grow mine in a 12 inch raised bed and they always do great. I am gonna do some in 10 gallon grow bags this year as an experiment.
I think the grow bags are a great way to do it if you're limited on garden space.
I am new to gardening and was wondering what type of wheel hoe or attachment are you using to cover your potatoes? I tried to find online, and no luck. Thank you for the videos.
In my best Michael Buffer voice, “Are you ready to tater?” Great job getting those taters planted and it will be interesting to see how they all do in the test rows. Really good to see that you make this a family event, getting the kids involved.
Ty and Abram were so tickled over the treasure map!
Tater time is the best family time!
Nice Experiment! I plant both Cut & uncut taters. I tried growing in straw, They made good size taters. But the fire Ants eat holes in every one of them... i plant my Taters around the End of March/first of April, the average frost date is at the end of April, but we usually have a two or three cold (Frost) spells in the first half of May. It Gets them early gardener's plants!
We have our fair share of fire ants down here. Hope they don't get in the straw.
“It’s so funny to see a tater meltdown” 🤣🤣That’s brotherly love hahaha
Delighting in his brother's misfortune. lol
Love having fun and making memories.... tater meltdown lol
Well I guess I planted it all wrong I just pulled mine last week..maybe I’ll do another quick replant, just thought it would be to hot and humid here..
And looking forward to the hay testing ....
Maybe try an early-maturing variety if you're worried about the weather getting too hot too quick for them.
Haha, a tater tantrum 🤣 your family is just adorable, your boys remind me of me when I was their age. Good times!
Thanks James!
What would you recommend for fungicide to spray for early blithe on potatoes
I like this stuff (amzn.to/3PhCxZ9) although it won't cure it completely. But it should slow it down some.
Thank you you guys at Lazy Dog farm are great I’m a regular viewer and your information is fantastic keep up the good work
What I use for a planting date is The Dandelions.
When you first see the yellow heads it's time to start preparing the beds, organizing tools, pulling them out of storage & warming/chitting, etc.
For us this is generally 1st week April.
As the Dandelions turn white, drop their seed, and the yellow polkadots in the yard disappear 2 or 3 weeks later ... it's time to plant.
This is generally last week of April around here.
6b, Ohio River Valley (Cincinnati-ish) Last Frost typically between May 10 and 20th.
Most years that puts us 3 to 3-and-a-half weeks before Last Frost.
That's a good indicator!
That's some good info. Makes sense
Ive heard this but here where im at they usely show up way too early and stay till august...i use to hate them..but bees love them so now i do...i only go after weeds with stickers these days....and those that take away from my food.
What do you recommend for red potatoes which one do you like the most
Viking is the best red potato we've ever grown -- extremely productive.
@@LazyDogFarm I have just planted 10 lbs of Yukon gold two 30 foot rows was thinking waiting two weeks then planting two 30 foot rows of red potatoes thanks for your information your the best
Travis another question, this weekend they call for 29 and 28 degrees this weekend here in Louisiana. If the potatoes break ground will this damage them?
It could. You can cover the vegetation with more soil or run a sprinkler.
@@LazyDogFarm Thank you.
What kind of straw do you use? The straw I can get is in bales and very stiff.
Sometimes pine straw, but most of the time wheat straw. The stuff we get around here loosens pretty easily when you shake it a bit.
We all need a tater melt down in our lives loved it was so cute !!!
Sometimes you just gotta scream and then you'll feel better. lol
What a true blessing wishing you Travis and your family many years of tater meltdowns. We've got plenty of good happy memories from the gardens here in Oklahoma City and surrounding areas where family members live, life is good!!!
Will you continue to put straw on the potatoes as they grow?
Yes, that's the plan.