Do potato pies always need to be covered with soil? - Ask Extension
Hello, I am growing potatoes for the first time. I put them into a container at the bottom and covered them with soil. As the leaves grow up out of th...
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Do potato pies always need to be covered with soil? #866098
Asked April 27, 2024, 2:53 PM EDT
Hello, I am growing potatoes for the first time. I put them into a container at the bottom and covered them with soil. As the leaves grow up out of the soil, I have been covering them. However, I am now out of room in the pot, and the leaves are growing out of the soil. I’m wondering if it’s OK for the leaves to be exposed to the sun, because I read somewhere online that it could potentially cause the potatoes to become toxic. What are your thoughts? Should I fashion an extension to the pot so that they can keep growing up and getting covered?
Multnomah County Oregon
Expert Response
The potato plant needs leaves to feed the roots and create the potato tuber, so no extension is needed.
This article about growing potatoes in the Willamette Valley offers information for you. OSU Extension also offers this more comprehensive article about potato growing. The U of New Hampshire offers this blog about potatoes in a container, like you have. It addresses harvesting as plant yellows. You can harvest earlier, depending on the size you want potatoes to be and the variety you are growing.
I looked for a video from Extension showing a grown-out potato tower and didn’t find one. This short video from another source does show one all covered with foliage.
This article about growing potatoes in the Willamette Valley offers information for you. OSU Extension also offers this more comprehensive article about potato growing. The U of New Hampshire offers this blog about potatoes in a container, like you have. It addresses harvesting as plant yellows. You can harvest earlier, depending on the size you want potatoes to be and the variety you are growing.
I looked for a video from Extension showing a grown-out potato tower and didn’t find one. This short video from another source does show one all covered with foliage.
Thank you so much for your help. I so appreciate that this service exists!
On Apr 29, 2024, at 10:34 AM, Ask Extension <<personal data hidden>> wrote:
