plantmanager said:I tried some russet potatoes this year. I just planted pieces from 2 large russets. I put them in a 5 gallon bucket and gradually filled it to the top with soil. It had a beautiful set of leaves and flowered. When it all died down, I went to harvest my potatoes. All I found were a bunch of marble sized ones and one tomoto hornworm pupa! Why don't I have any large full size potatoes?
Potatoes need space to produce large potatoes
This is why when a grower wants most potatoes of a certain size, and not larger, they plant them closer together.
I plant mine sixteen inches apart, occasionally more and at least eight inches deep , often more.
I have not used hilling for forty years as I found simple planting deep produces larger potatoes, with less chance of potatoes sitting on the surface of the ground, and less effort (I have few problems with weeds in my potato patches) , though , depending on variety, even that does not stop it.
I mulch my potatoes with leaves, quite deeply and even then this year I had a few sitting on the top of the ground even with the seed potato down over eight inches with at least of foot of mulch on top.
I rarely fertilize for potatoes often just tossing excess fertilizer, I simply want to get rid of the bag, on top of the mulch.
It might be worth it to invest in some fertilizer dedicated to potatoes and add some thing to make sure the soil is acidic.
I do not plant russets too often but did this year and got at least a third bushel, of large russets out of two plants , planted deep .
Did you put two seed pieces in one bucket?
I do plant left over potatoes from the year before, some times putting two small, half-dollar size or smaller in the same hole.
When I do that , I get few, rarely more than four, small potatoes from such a hole.
Having paid closer than normal attention the past few years, I will probably stop planting carry overs that are even as small as one half dollar as the yield is not worth the effort unless you want truly small potatoes.
I have found the larger the seed potato, the greater the chance of numerous larger potatoes out of a hole.
I , now, rarely do more than cut a potato in half, often breaking off some eyes if I think there are too many on the piece but at least two healthy eyes per piece is a very good idea.
Your pail did not give the potatoes enough room and as I said crowded potatoes produce smaller potatoes.
Potatoes like water but the soil must have good drainage.
