Potato planting

We got the potatoes in the ground today.  This is new for us - we thought we couldn't grow potatoes in Arizona.  Of course, we still don't know if we can, but we are now at least on the path to finding out.

Here are the steps involved (some of which include pictures):

1. Go to Magic Garden or whatever nursery you like to shop at and purchase seed potatoes.  You can probably grow them with regular potatoes, but since the ones you buy in grocery stores have generally been treated with anti-sprouting spray (no, that's not the technical name for it), you would have to buy organic and probably specifically ask someone if you can use them for seed.

2.  Give them some time to sprout.  I put ours in a springform pan and put them in the sun when I took the other seedlings out.  A springform pan is not necessary, but it was what I had available in the size I wanted, plus I knew I wouldn't need it.

3.  After they've started to sprout, cut them, leaving at least one eye on each piece.  Let them dry for a couple of days.  Then you'll get this (note: I didn't cut two of them, because there weren't enough eyes):

4. Next, you'll need to coat them in sulfur, or something to prevent bacteria/disease.  At least, that's what I read.  I don't know if it's true or not, but Ryan worked in a greenhouse in college, and he says it is (ask him how long ago that was, and then ask yourself if you trust memories that are that old).

         4a. If your sulfur isn't a powder, you'll need to grind it.  We used a mortar and pestle, because that's what we had available.  Presumably, you could use a hammer, the sole of your shoe, a rolling pin, or pretty much anything else that can smash things.  This is what it looked like before:

    This is the adorable child labor we used to powder it:

And the powdered result, because presumably anyone who is looking for instruction from us on how to convert pellets into powder also needs this visual aid:

5. Once the sulfur is powdered, dip the cut edge of the potato in water and then in the powder.  Sorry, no pics. 

6. Planting:  We used an empty half barrel (it was a 55 gallon plastic barrel that we cut in half.  It used to house a blackberry.  During the two years of its growth, Ryan ate one blackberry, the birds ate six, and I had zero.  It was not very productive, so when Ryan forgot to water it for awhile and it died, we weren't very sad), and two empty bags which once held soil and peat moss.  The bag idea came from this article mentioning grow bags. But of course we weren't going to buy grow bags.  Why waste the money when we had some that we knew would hold soil.

Ryan mixed dirt from our dirtpile (yes, we have one) with some compost and the remainder of the peat and soil that were left in the bags.  To clarify, he mixed it in the wheelbarrow, not in the bags.  I realize that was confusing. 

I put the potatoes just below the surface, and Ryan sprinkled some dirt on top.  They look like this now:

The idea is that as they grow, we keep adding more dirt/compost.  Then, when they reach the top and we can't add anymore, we just let the plants grow.  When the plants die, we dig up the potatoes and have an awesome feast, as well as a good supply of potatoes to last us through the long hard winter.

We'll see what actually happens.