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Post by freddiefalcon on Jun 29, 2013 4:39:27 GMT -8
Very good information Containergrower, Stevecrouse and Martin. I decided to go ahead and use wood chips this year to see the type of results I achieve. So far so good. The plants seem to be thriving with a layer of wood chips on top of the soil. I planted later than usual this year (due to all the rain), so my plants are still on the smaller side (last year they had flowers by this time of year), but as they grow, I will add more wood chips to ensure good coverage of the potatoes.
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Post by freddiefalcon on Jun 29, 2013 4:46:59 GMT -8
Nothing wrong with a 1-1-1 ratio. I also think that the high potassium need is a regional ing. There must be some regional component to the process. I am fairly new to growing potatoes, but I follow Ohio State Univ. recommendation of 8-16-16 or 10-20-20. However, I doubt that I add the total amount of fertilizer OSU recommends. I do add various types of compost to the planting hole each year, and this is one reason I use less fertilizer. ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/1000/1619.html
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Post by paquebot on Jun 30, 2013 23:01:50 GMT -8
I remember probably 10 years ago debating the potash suggestions by a gardener in the Boston area. I thought that we were about as potassium-deficient as could be but his suggestion was twice as much. Didn't have much information on the soils in his area but there must not have been a drop of potassium in them. I still don't believe his figures and stick with the 1-2-6 ratio which Wisconsin commercial growers were using at one time.
Update on the chainsaw sawdust. About 10" of rain locally in June and can't believe how rapidly the wood is vanishing. Combined with shredded oak and maple leaves, the whole mixture just seems to be "melting", for lack of a better word. The nitrogen in the leaves seems to be consuming the sawdust as well as themselves. Since the leaves were applied so thick, there's no danger of any tubers being left out in the open. The present plants won't be taking advantage of the nutrients in the leaves nor the humus in the sawdust but the ground will be much better next year.
Martin
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Post by freddiefalcon on Jul 10, 2013 13:04:30 GMT -8
The wood chips were working great until we received non-stop downpours on July 4, 5, and 6th. The ground was saturated. Hence, the wood chips became a curse because they were holding the moisture in the ground instead of letting the soil dry. In a typical summer, "holding moisture in the ground" is a good thing, but with our downpour it looks like I might lose a major portion of my potato crop. The plants are turning yellow and brown.
I'm not sure it really would have made a difference whether I used wood chips or not. With all of the rain we received, I probably would have lost plants anyway. It was just one of those "once in every 50 years" downpour.
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Post by stevecrouse on Jul 11, 2013 15:23:40 GMT -8
An oldtimer once mentioned that a potato will survive not much more than two days under water. Sound like yours drowned. With or without the chips.
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