What's your question? Ask

Hyacinth Plant

Q.No Potatoes on Plants

Anonymous added on September 5, 2011 | Answered

We live in central Missouri and just went out to dig up some or our potatoes that we grew inside of tires. The plants looked very healthy all summer, they had plenty of sun and water, and we kept filling in dirt around them and adding tires as they grew. The tops finally died out about a month ago, but when we went to dig them up, there was absolutely nothing there. What happened to our potatoes?

A.Answers to this queston: Add Answer
Nikki
Certified GKH Gardening Expert
Answered on September 14, 2012

This is usually one of two things:

Temperatures may have been too warm, which was true with much of the country this season. Potatoes like to cooler temps. Keep the soil piled up as the plant grows or add a generous layer of mulch.

A nitrient imbalance may also be to blame - such as too much nitrogen, too little phosphorus. An abundance of nitrogen results in lush foliage growth with little to no blooms or fruit. You can remedy this by adding bone meal to the soil to encourage more root growth.

Was this answer useful?
00

jdfern
Answered on September 6, 2011

The same thing has happened here in Arkansas. I made a few small potatoes but my neighbor usually grows 600-700 lbs that he donates to a children's home. This year he had nothing.
We think it was due to the cool weather, lot of rain and then a complete switch to extreme heat and dry.

Was this answer useful?
00

Log in or sign up to help answer this question.

Did you find this helpful? Share it with your friends!

You must be logged into your account to answer a question.

If you don't have an account sign up for an account now.

Looking for more?
here are more questions about...
Hyacinth Plant
Join Us - Sign up to get all the latest gardening tips!

Do you know a lot about gardening?
Become a GKH Gardening Expert

OK