Plant the potatoes yet?

After yesterday’s rain, I now see about five of the German Butterballs poking the surface.

Plus a sh%tload of weeds. Especially Japanese Stiltgrass and those godforsaken wild violets.

Violets are worst when they get into the strawberries

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Taters are looking real good so far…image (4)

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One thing I’ve noticed, Is even if they take forever to break the surface, once they do they grow pretty fast.

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Russets are up - big rain got them going

Mine are already almost tall enough to mound.

There was a comment here about deer eating potato plants. So far that has not happened to me, and I have lots of deer and grow lots of potatoes.

But.

Now Im concerned because thhe bed where I want to plant them in a few weeks is near the deer lounging area. There, they have eaten garlic and onions, but not zinnias, cosmos, daffodils, echinacea, or marigolds. Or sweet corn plants.

Should I reconsider? Or have others grown potatoes in deer infested areas? Did deer eat them?

Deer aren’t supposed to like onions or garlic. (Nor eccinacea, or marigolds. And daffodils are poisonous to human or animal.)

They have eaten my tater greens just about every year. Not as much as other veggies, but some. You’d think they wouldn’t like them, but I’m not surprised much about them any more. They even grazed on a few of my peppers last year, and that’s never happened.

But, our issue with potatoes is that the last two years, we’ve had so much rain, that it’s ruined just about all the seed taters, they just rotted.

They absolutely will shred any sweet potato leaves. Our crop from two years ago was devoured in short order.

About the only veggie they leave alone is pumpkins- vines and fruit. I guess the spikey nature of the leaves and stalks are a deterrent.

@blueberry, the deer in my year do not have internet access, so did not read that information. I can assure you, they ate at least 50 onion plants and at least 50 garlic plants. I sprayed them with repellents, and made wire fencing tunnels which were partially successful for the garlic but they loved the onions so much they smashed the tunnels down to get to them.

In my yard, they also eat tomato plants, which I imagine to be similar to potato plants but I have not tasted either plant.

Im not sure what has been eating some of the daffodils. Maybe voles. Also, none of those critters is supposed to eat Hyacinthoides, which everyone says is an invasive weed that nothing kils. Something eats those to the ground too.

They dont eat my collards, brussels sprouts, bearded irises, Chinese chives, chives, gladiolus (but rabbits do), or Artichokes. They do eat Jerusalem artichoke plants.

Unfortunately, my rotation says that is where potatoes need to go this year. I might be able to squeeze some into an easement area that I wanted to make into lawn - because it’s an easement - but some need to go in the deer banquet location.

@subdood_ky_z6b - last year deer ate several of my pumpkin and squash plants - leaves, stems, flowers. I covered them with netting, which was awkward for weeding and gardening, but worked. Hey, I will try that for the taters! There was a volunteer squash, I think a hybrid between a pumpkin, a zuke and something else- decent knobby oblong pale squashes, very spikey stems and leaves. They did not eat that one.

I know deer are suppose to not eat some of my plants that they do. I think there are regional differences. We have black tailed deer. Plus, this is the Pacific NW, and I wonder if they got into the neighbor’s… um… special herb gardens? And maybe that modified their preferences.

But that’s it! I will use the area I wanted, cover with netting - except a test plant - and see what happens! Science!

I still have some russets in the garage that had long sprouts but some dormant eyes. I broke off those sprouts and will chit them starting today.

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Put an electric fence around your potatoes. Bait it with peanut butter.

lol special herb garden

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Deer. I absolutely hate those SOBs.

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I sympathize…deer, squirrels, bears…will be killing people sooner than later if we don’t quit with the gun restrictions and high prices of hunting licenses.

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According to some UK ag agent I listened to at a seminar last year, you have the right as a food growing landowner to take out deer if they are pillaging your crops. Someone asked if that only applied to those who grow crops for profit, and he said no, it doesn’t matter. I don’t know if that applies to bears, though, not that is a big issue in KY.

Regarding gun restrictions, the Kentucky senate just passed a proposal eliminating the requirement of a concealed carry permit. It goes next to the house for debate. You can now open carry, but have to have a permit for concealed.

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I bought some potato starts at the store. This year, the usual Burbank Russets, Red Norland, Yukon Gold, and also Kennebec and Russian Bananas.

I still had left over from last year in the garage. They had sprouted to about a foot tall. I broke off those sprouts and put ones with viable looking eyes in the window to re-sprout healthier looking sprouts. Don’t know if that will work. Nothing lost if it does not. Those are also Russets.

Should be ready to plant by St Patricks day, or a little before.

I don’t see potatoes getting into the ground before April, this year