Several years ago, I accidentally discovered the potato coming back phenomenon. I had learned about over winter potatoes a long time ago, from old timers that claimed that they planted their potatoes in the late fall along with the hard neck garlic timing. Awhile back we made two substantial hugel mounds and many times just threw our compost scraps right on top all through the winter. In spring we would amend the surface with a couple inches of compost and lo and behold, potatoes started popping up. One year I bought some russets in late February, to tide us over, but many started to chit. I put them in the window for the month of March and then planted them out in the hugel mounds. Between, Norlands, Yukons and those russets, we get volunteers every year now. Like you, we always miss a few come harvest time so we just let them do their thing. It's like a treasure hunt when we go dig them up. I will be setting up a new mound this year.
I love your connection to nature. For me nature is a magic teacher. I love to just be in nature and I am observing and trying and going with nature and our very little amount of water and a lot of heat here in Portugal. Concerning the potatos, the old portuguese people burn the leaves at some point to give the power to the roots.
Hello! I am obsessed with your channel ever since discovering it. I am now planning on transitioning my grass lawn into gardens with mixed veggies and perennials following your techniques. I live central Alberta so I might not be able to grow the variety that you do but I am excitedly doing research and want to use all your vertical growing ideas. I appreciate the quiet moments you add to the end credits of each video. Thank you for amazingly informative and interesting work.
Thank you very much Jayne! This means very much to me. What growing zone are you in Alberta and when are your last and first frost dates. Your frost dates will help you the most in knowing what annual vegetables you can grow. The growing zone is more for knowing what can survive your winters.
loofahs are pretty neat but i wonder if your summer is long enough. first time i grew them was a la nina year so the cold came quickly. i had to wait for a el nino year and then i grew them indoors and planted outside well after frost risk had passed. that worked but just barely. however, i got so much loofah out of it that lasted me many years. i am running low again so i will probably plant some next year. they are quite beautiful plants actually.
@@WillowsGreenPermaculture it turned to la nina mid summer. try agan on an el nino year (if it works the same way where you are, it does here in n. idaho). i start them in february and put them in degradable poo pots (made out of cow dung!) which hold up until it warms enough outside to plant them with the pot (i punch holes in the bottom). so the plant is a good foot long already and vigorous in the pot. that is the only way i have been able to get a really good harvest. 🙂
I'll try that next year. I'll also isolate them a bit more. At the beginning, they grew faster than my birdhouse gours, but once the birdhouse gourds got going, they covered my hog panels completely, along with the few beans I planted there and a couple of sunflower volunteers, and the loofah seemed to have a rough time finding it's place. I do have lots of vine, but it doesn't seem to want to flower.
Thank you Lisbeth. It’s a quicker way of learning you might say. The other way is by accident or unplanned you could say. That works too. I learn that way all the time. 😊
Your garden is coming along beautifully. I enjoy your interactions with nature. You have a calming presence in your actions and voice. It's raining here today in the Ozarks It seems strange not being in the gardens today but grateful for the rain. I've been feeding my donkeys a few carrots from my garden each day & I have squash blooms everywhere. I planted a 100 ft row of potatoes that my father gave me he was going to throw them away because they had lots of roots on them from being stored all winter, they are growing great .Best wishes to you both. I think your videos are wonderful.
Wow! A hundred foot row of potatoes. That's going to give you thousands of potatoes I think! I am always grateful for the rain. And I love to watch it outdoors from a place of shelter. One of these days, I'll get a few animals (besides our cats). I'm glad your squash got past the cucumber beatles! Mine are coming along. It's still early here.
For the ladt 5/6 yrs I hsve had permanent potato beds by re planting one when I dig them up. I then plant green manure on top of them, including caliente mustard, which is meant to help with pests.
@@WillowsGreenPermaculture I sow it with a winter mix that includes rye and vetch. The mustard is killed by the frost, but the rest overwinters. So far my yields have remained good and I haven't been much bothered with pests, but that may change. I am based in the West of Scotland and the cool temperate climate is pretty good for potatoes.
Previously I have just used the mustard and when it winter kills I have covered it with seaweed. However I have realized that the seaweed I collected from the local beach is full of plastic and so I have stopped using it. I am experimenting more with green manures where I can.
The first year I noticed I had potatoes growing was just from peelings I had put on the manure bed which I have plenty of with 4 ponies, that was 5 years ago I have great harvest every year now and never plant any extra just leave a few in the ground the same with the pumpkins, just leave one to rot down and the next year lots of baby pumpkin plants which i just move around plus the strong leafs of the potatoe plants protect the young leafs of the pumpkins from pests and rabbits, I just heel them up through the growing months with extra mulch, well rotted now fresh
I love your demeanour, and how you interact with nature. Thanks for the info on potatoes coming back every year without having to replant them. Very helpful information😊
This is why I don't put potato's in a raised bed or peelings in my compost bin.. I have them coming up in my new asparagus bed and under my blueberry's. They are causing problems😂
I grow a few potatoes in my tiny garden, and this year is the first when, apparently, didn't harvest all of them in the fall. I grow them in wood chips, no hilling. The green ones were saved for seed. The volunteers look better than what I planted. Perhaps the milder than usual winter played a role, too. And my 2 year old rhubarb put out a gorgeous flower stalk, I think next year I'm going to see what rhubarb germinated from seed looks like :)
I'm going to do the same thing with my rhubarb! This is the first year I let it flower. That sounds great growing potatoes in woodchips. Are the woodchips on top of soil?
@@WillowsGreenPermaculture - the wood chips were put on top of lawn, along the fence, I was aiming more for a perennial setup, but still kept a few spots for annuals. About 1 foot depth (or height?). In about 3 months they "melted" at almost ground level, and I started planting. The depth was not on purpose, it was just how a load of chipdrop was distributed. This was about 4 years ago. My "planting technique" :) is to remove the woodchips on top, add a handful of store bought garden soil, add the potato, pile woodchips on top. Water if there's 3-4 weeks with no rain. Last year was the first time they produced fruit! I planted those, too :) But I didn't notice a "bush" of potato plants, as it can happen if a ripe tomato drops.
Thanks for showing your garden. Looks like we are both gardening among the weeds! Some are doing okay (grapes), some not so. (Tomatoes) Thanks for your help and insight
It’s a pleasure. What is happening with your tomatoes? When they’re still small, give them space to get established. Once established, they outgrow everything usually.
@@WillowsGreenPermaculture I gave them a fair amount of space, but the weeds are so ferocious around here outpaced the poor tomatoes again. Health reasons are really forcing me to prioritize where I put my energy in the garden this year. ☺️
I understand. I have been in that situation in the past. Try covering the ground around your tomatoes with anything, (even if temporary items) you can get your hands on easily. That might help ease the workload.
ALso - I'm in Calgary Alberta - where the weather is VARIABLE - can change 40 degrees F in a few hours, can snow any month and can get down to minus 30 degrees F frequently in the winter - could potatoes survive here in the ground over winter? thanks! Lovely videos, very inspiring, very creative - can't go to bed!!
I’ve heard about Calgary, the Shinook and so on! Here it goes down to -30c, so not quite as cold as -30f, but you can always give it a try. I’ve had potatoes survive the winter in small pots and I didn’t even know they were in there - they were there because I had recycled potting soil from potato pots I had had. So give it a try, leave out a few potatoes in the ground in the fall in spots you might not need to use until the beginning of May, when potatoes start to sprout (at least here). Put them at different depths too. I’m guessing deeper would be better for the cold. Also what can help us - Add a thick layer of mulch. This is my way of closing the garden in the fall. Rather than trying to pull everything out, I add a thick layer of leaves, and that takes care of decomposing all the dead plants on the surface and supports soil life through the winter.
Thank you for another informative video ❤ My potatoes are growing nicely, and I am waiting for your updates about pruning them, as mine are in tiny space, and it would be perfect if cutting some leaves would work. I'd just worry about cutting wrong ones, as they need to flower. Also! I am soooo excited because I can see the sorrel sprouting in 2 of the 3 places 😊. I wish I could add pictures here
You don’t need to prune your potatoes. I’m only doing it where they are crowding other plants. In my main potato patch, I am not pruning them. If you need to prune them, wait for the flowers to appear, then prune a little bit of the parts of the plant that don’t have flowers.
Thank you 😊. I will do that. They tend to grow so huge! I only have one very short row (2 metres) of them, but it's so satisfying to harvest your own potatoes.
This is awesome!! I love your channel and appreciate you! I imagine there are only 456 likes because you don't push anything that your selling?.. Wouldn't hurt my feelings if you hooked up with Lehmans, and some quality garden/yard tools ;)
@gwynnmiller428 Thank you! Do people prefer to watch videos in which there are links to products to sell in the description? I would have thought the opposite, but I am definitely no expert on selling stuff. I checked out the Lehman's site. It looks great! Probably a ton of stuff there that could make our life here a little easier.
So interesting when an early morning browse brings me to a channel never recommended before. It’s even better when I feel the video is interesting and helpful. I add them to my interesting by others playlist for others to find. Great video! I take a different approach to my videos and my goal with my videos and the interesting by others playlist is to open doors to permaculture, perennials, and gardening with nature! Truly great video!
Thank you! And thank you for adding me to your list for others to discover! I will definitely check out your videos! Welcome to Willows Green Permaculture!
I have had the same experience... volunteer potatoes growing next to my pole beans.... can't wait to see the results... I will definitely move the tiny potatoes too small to harvest into next year's potatoe patch
Also, thank yku for mentioning the mustsrd plants. I didn't get rid of those plants hoping to learn more about them and see if i can eat them. Now i know! I'll look up your video about the seeds and how to make mustard
I'm learning so much from your channel, the plants that can keep coming back are amazing. I learned a few years back that onions and potatoes came back that was really cool. Love your channel
@@WillowsGreenPermaculture yup, the one bed i left to potatoes has been giving me potatoes for several years now without re-planting. its funny because they were the little red and yellow thin skinned organic variety from costco that started sprouting in the bag. i just put them in a bed to see what would happen. they are constantly flowering too 🙂
I'm looking forward to seeing how they do! The more of our food I don't need to replant, the better! Potatoes can also be used to enhance bread recipes in which wheat is not used, something else I plan on experimenting with. Of course, it's potato starch I'm talking about, but I'm sure a watery potato mash would have the same effect. Some of the old pumpkin and squash seeds we gave to the guests to use as confetti at the wedding has started sprouting right through the grass in the area we used for the wedding! I love the resilience of nature!
@@WillowsGreenPermaculture lol, what a creative alternative to confetti and getting people to plant for you😁 nature is wonderful. i have so many plants that volunteered here that i love. my anise hyssop and tansy plants were such welcome guests that are permanent residents now. along with white clover, they are present at all my apple and pear trees and help keep the coddling moths away 🙂 if you can, try khorasan wheat. it has 20% more protein and perfect for flat breads which i enjoy all the time. i grind my own flower fresh and the bread has no equal in taste or nutrition. whole grains store for years but flower loses nutrition rapidly once made.
@@AlsanPineI’ll look for khorasan wheat. Thank you. I have grown wheat and barley. I find the amount you get for the space you need seems very little. I wonder what your thoughts are on that. That’s why I like sorghum. One plant gives as much grain as probably 30 square feet of wheat. I suppose I might get more volume if I harvest before the wheat or barley completely dries. Is that advisable? I have generally waited for it to dry and it inevitably gets browsed because it’s such easy pickings.
I've really enjoyed this video and going to try your method of sowing and planting carrots. I'm in the south west of UK and it's been a very wet winter and spring. There's been an invasion of slugs everywhere, I've never seen so many! They ate the carrots I sowed, there's 3 left.😂
I’m getting older! and last year I just let my row of carrots go to seed. It was actually a row of tall pretty flowers that I could enjoy seeing over the garden fence. This year I have more carrots than I know what to do with! I’ll never plant carrots again. If we just let nature do what she does…. naturally 😊 we will have food for life. I’m in the south west of the US, and we had an unusual wet winter also. I’m not sure about slugs. I allowed my chickens to hang out in the garden for a few weeks hoping they’d clear out some of the weeds, but mostly they mowed down the carrot tops to ground level (which have all come back) so it’s possible they feasted on slugs also. Love those chickens!
When carrots go to seed, the next generations slowly revert back to the wild state, because they cross pollinate readily with wild carrot (queen Anne’s lace). Wild carrot is also edible, just not as crunchy and thick as domesticated carrot and a little harder to pull. If you have absolutely no wild carrot in your region, then perhaps your domesticated carrot will keep it domesticated properties.
I just pile everything up in different areas and make sure the area gets at least 5 hours of sun per day. I don’t turn. I just let time and the soil life do the work. When I use it, I remove the top layer and everything underneath is ready. It usually takes a year.
I noticed fairly early this spring that I must have missed harvesting a few potatoes last year. As the spring moves toward summer, I've been pretty amazed at how many potatoes I must have missed harvesting last year ;) We've got probably a dozen or more that came up unexpected ;)
Hola, gracias por este video, como siempre he aprendido cosas nuevas. Esta es mi primera vez sembrando zanahorias y lo hice directo en tierra, pero prefiero hacer almácigos porque creo que es más sencillo cuidar la plantas en su etapa temprana. Sin embargo, planté las zanahorias directo en tierra porque siempre había escuchado que al hacerlas en almácigo en el proceso de transplante a tierra se dañaba la raiz de la zanahoria y no resultaba bien, pero ví en su video que ustedes las siembran en almácigo, les ha resultado bien?
¡Gracias! Si, tenemos buenos resultados. ‘Buenos resultados’ para los que no recomiendan almácigos son una zahanoria perfectamente recta. No nos importa la forma.
Excellent idea of leaving small potatoes in the patch. I had potato flowers that formed buds but didn't know what to do with them . . . how did you grow potatoes from the buds? I did try growing potatoes from just the eye -- they did grow but got too spindly as I didn't have enough lighting. I heard that you should only grow potatoes in one patch for 2 years -- don't remember why that was a 'rule of thumb' perhaps that they depleted certain nutrients. Thank you for taking the time to make these videos -- I enjoy them :)
You let the flower become a fruit. The fruit is not edible, but you collect the seeds and plant them the next year. The rule of thumb about two years is likely because of the bugs. They over winter. It’s true. I have a lot of potato bugs where my potatoes come back. But I also have a lot of biodiversity that keeps them in check. the potatoes evolved with the bugs and therefore can survive with them and do fine. But it’s when you only have a big field of potatoes , that the potato bugs would become a big problem. Monoculture is the problem, not planting in the same place. Potatoes are a perennial plant, so it stands to reason that they should be fine in the same place for a long time.
The damselfly is beautiful. I enjoyed the story about your cats. One of my cats got into my baby chicks few weeks ago the outcome was not pleasant but the cat was just being a cat and I learned from it and cried and started over. I thought I had them secure and safe ( in a chicken tractor inside a barn)the cat thought otherwise. It's the heartbreak you endure when you choose to have animals but the good exceeds the bad. Take care
@@sharlenec7289 there may be a way you can teach your cat to leave the chicks alone. I’ve seen cats living with birds and rabbits. Don’t know how it was done. Maybe the cat was introduced when still a kitten. But maybe not.
They have been here and around older chickens for a year. I found them in the barn when they were just kittens, stray cat had them I have been feeding them ever since so know they are not hungry. I have seen them go after bigger chickens but they don't harm them. I think it's the chirping that attracted her to them. I moved the survivors to a solid wood barn that's more secure so far no more issues, I'm very careful when going in and out of the barn. Have a wonderful weekend
Welcome to Willows Green Permaculture! We are in Ontario, Canada, north of Lake Ontario. Zone 5b which I think is now 6a or 6b. Our map hasn’t been updated in at least 10 years I think.
@@WillowsGreenPermaculture Thank you! That explains the successful potato haul. I'm in zone 7a/b just starting my little food forest. Looking forward to seeing your videos.
Hi Lisa, I don't know if you were still there when I answered your question about creeping charlie in the chat during the use the weeds video. But here it is: I just pull it and pile it up in the same spot. I don't add it to my compost. I find a spot where it's already growing and it doesn't bother me and I put all the rest there. It does help to mask the odor of other plants from bugs and animals, but it is a pain for some areas.
If you get blight, than you’d likely have to change the spot. Leaving it in the same place doesn’t cause blight. Blight arrives on a plant air born. Once a plant has it though, then it will be in the soil there, at least temporarily, while you rotate.
Allowing potatoes to continue to regrow in the same spot might lead to a blight that would destroy all of them the way it happened in Ireland. I think I would only let them regrow in the same spot. At least for, the most, 3 years. What do you think.
They do it whether I want to or not. Also, with the Irish potato famine, they relied on the potato as a monoculture. That is the main recipe for any agricultural disease disaster. Here we use biodiversity in all its aspects and in all its complexity to ensure our ecosystem, and therefore our gardens, are in balance and healthy. I have a number of videos about this if you’re interested.
Same family. Radishes, cabbage, rutabaga, cauliflower, arugula, broccoli, kale. It was all once mustard, thousands of years ago. With each generation, over thousands of plant generations, gardeners, selecting the seeds of a particular plant that was slightly different, eventually we ended up with all of these.
That damselfly is beautiful. Dont think ive ever seen one before.
They like to hang out close to streams and marshes.
Several years ago, I accidentally discovered the potato coming back phenomenon. I had learned about over winter potatoes a long time ago, from old timers that claimed that they planted their potatoes in the late fall along with the hard neck garlic timing. Awhile back we made two substantial hugel mounds and many times just threw our compost scraps right on top all through the winter. In spring we would amend the surface with a couple inches of compost and lo and behold, potatoes started popping up. One year I bought some russets in late February, to tide us over, but many started to chit. I put them in the window for the month of March and then planted them out in the hugel mounds. Between, Norlands, Yukons and those russets, we get volunteers every year now. Like you, we always miss a few come harvest time so we just let them do their thing. It's like a treasure hunt when we go dig them up. I will be setting up a new mound this year.
That’s great. The hugel mounds are great!
I love your connection to nature. For me nature is a magic teacher. I love to just be in nature and I am observing and trying and going with nature and our very little amount of water and a lot of heat here in Portugal. Concerning the potatos, the old portuguese people burn the leaves at some point to give the power to the roots.
Thank you! At what point do they burn the leaves?
Hello! I am obsessed with your channel ever since discovering it. I am now planning on transitioning my grass lawn into gardens with mixed veggies and perennials following your techniques. I live central Alberta so I might not be able to grow the variety that you do but I am excitedly doing research and want to use all your vertical growing ideas. I appreciate the quiet moments you add to the end credits of each video. Thank you for amazingly informative and interesting work.
Thank you very much Jayne! This means very much to me. What growing zone are you in Alberta and when are your last and first frost dates. Your frost dates will help you the most in knowing what annual vegetables you can grow. The growing zone is more for knowing what can survive your winters.
loofahs are pretty neat but i wonder if your summer is long enough. first time i grew them was a la nina year so the cold came quickly. i had to wait for a el nino year and then i grew them indoors and planted outside well after frost risk had passed. that worked but just barely. however, i got so much loofah out of it that lasted me many years. i am running low again so i will probably plant some next year. they are quite beautiful plants actually.
I have several plants, sprawling everywhere, but none of them have flowered yet. So I doubt I’ll get any.
@@WillowsGreenPermaculture it turned to la nina mid summer. try agan on an el nino year (if it works the same way where you are, it does here in n. idaho). i start them in february and put them in degradable poo pots (made out of cow dung!) which hold up until it warms enough outside to plant them with the pot (i punch holes in the bottom). so the plant is a good foot long already and vigorous in the pot. that is the only way i have been able to get a really good harvest. 🙂
I'll try that next year. I'll also isolate them a bit more. At the beginning, they grew faster than my birdhouse gours, but once the birdhouse gourds got going, they covered my hog panels completely, along with the few beans I planted there and a couple of sunflower volunteers, and the loofah seemed to have a rough time finding it's place. I do have lots of vine, but it doesn't seem to want to flower.
Just found your channel and will be here to learn from your experience and sharing your channel with others...
Thank you! Welcome to Willows Green Permaculture!
I do just like you in your forrest with critters surprise plants etc. Much love friends!❤
Thank you! ❤
I love that you're not afraid to experiment.
Thank you Lisbeth. It’s a quicker way of learning you might say. The other way is by accident or unplanned you could say. That works too. I learn that way all the time. 😊
@WillowsGreenPermaculture "experiments, accidents and plans gone sideways" pretty much sum up my gardening experience. Lol
That's nature. It's how nature teaches us to survive!
Your garden is coming along beautifully. I enjoy your interactions with nature. You have a calming presence in your actions and voice. It's raining here today in the Ozarks It seems strange not being in the gardens today but grateful for the rain. I've been feeding my donkeys a few carrots from my garden each day & I have squash blooms everywhere. I planted a 100 ft row of potatoes that my father gave me he was going to throw them away because they had lots of roots on them from being stored all winter, they are growing great .Best wishes to you both. I think your videos are wonderful.
Wow! A hundred foot row of potatoes. That's going to give you thousands of potatoes I think! I am always grateful for the rain. And I love to watch it outdoors from a place of shelter. One of these days, I'll get a few animals (besides our cats). I'm glad your squash got past the cucumber beatles! Mine are coming along. It's still early here.
For the ladt 5/6 yrs I hsve had permanent potato beds by re planting one when I dig them up. I then plant green manure on top of them, including caliente mustard, which is meant to help with pests.
That’s great! What do you plant, apart from the mustard?
@@WillowsGreenPermaculture I sow it with a winter mix that includes rye and vetch. The mustard is killed by the frost, but the rest overwinters.
So far my yields have remained good and I haven't been much bothered with pests, but that may change.
I am based in the West of Scotland and the cool temperate climate is pretty good for potatoes.
Previously I have just used the mustard and when it winter kills I have covered it with seaweed. However I have realized that the seaweed I collected from the local beach is full of plastic and so I have stopped using it. I am experimenting more with green manures where I can.
That’s great. Our winter is so cold, I don’t bother with cover crops. I just cover the whole garden in leaves or compost.
The first year I noticed I had potatoes growing was just from peelings I had put on the manure bed which I have plenty of with 4 ponies, that was 5 years ago I have great harvest every year now and never plant any extra just leave a few in the ground the same with the pumpkins, just leave one to rot down and the next year lots of baby pumpkin plants which i just move around plus the strong leafs of the potatoe plants protect the young leafs of the pumpkins from pests and rabbits, I just heel them up through the growing months with extra mulch, well rotted now fresh
That’s fantastic!
I love your demeanour, and how you interact with nature.
Thanks for the info on potatoes coming back every year without having to replant them. Very helpful information😊
Thank you Gloria! 😊
Thanks for the ideas!
You’re welcome!
This is why I don't put potato's in a raised bed or peelings in my compost bin.. I have them coming up in my new asparagus bed and under my blueberry's. They are causing problems😂
I’m beginning g to understand why! 😊 However, everyone here loves potatoes, so for the moment, we haven’t gotten too many yet!
I grow a few potatoes in my tiny garden, and this year is the first when, apparently, didn't harvest all of them in the fall. I grow them in wood chips, no hilling. The green ones were saved for seed. The volunteers look better than what I planted. Perhaps the milder than usual winter played a role, too.
And my 2 year old rhubarb put out a gorgeous flower stalk, I think next year I'm going to see what rhubarb germinated from seed looks like :)
I'm going to do the same thing with my rhubarb! This is the first year I let it flower. That sounds great growing potatoes in woodchips. Are the woodchips on top of soil?
@@WillowsGreenPermaculture - the wood chips were put on top of lawn, along the fence, I was aiming more for a perennial setup, but still kept a few spots for annuals. About 1 foot depth (or height?). In about 3 months they "melted" at almost ground level, and I started planting. The depth was not on purpose, it was just how a load of chipdrop was distributed. This was about 4 years ago. My "planting technique" :) is to remove the woodchips on top, add a handful of store bought garden soil, add the potato, pile woodchips on top. Water if there's 3-4 weeks with no rain. Last year was the first time they produced fruit! I planted those, too :) But I didn't notice a "bush" of potato plants, as it can happen if a ripe tomato drops.
That's great. Woodchips have really helped us so much in restoring health to our forest.
Thanks for showing your garden. Looks like we are both gardening among the weeds! Some are doing okay (grapes), some not so. (Tomatoes) Thanks for your help and insight
It’s a pleasure. What is happening with your tomatoes? When they’re still small, give them space to get established. Once established, they outgrow everything usually.
@@WillowsGreenPermaculture I gave them a fair amount of space, but the weeds are so ferocious around here outpaced the poor tomatoes again. Health reasons are really forcing me to prioritize where I put my energy in the garden this year. ☺️
I understand. I have been in that situation in the past. Try covering the ground around your tomatoes with anything, (even if temporary items) you can get your hands on easily. That might help ease the workload.
Your videos are definitely better than when you started but I've enjoyed them all and have learned so much. Thank you Stefan!
Thank you Barb!
ALso - I'm in Calgary Alberta - where the weather is VARIABLE - can change 40 degrees F in a few hours, can snow any month and can get down to minus 30 degrees F frequently in the winter - could potatoes survive here in the ground over winter?
thanks! Lovely videos, very inspiring, very creative - can't go to bed!!
I’ve heard about Calgary, the Shinook and so on! Here it goes down to -30c, so not quite as cold as -30f, but you can always give it a try. I’ve had potatoes survive the winter in small pots and I didn’t even know they were in there - they were there because I had recycled potting soil from potato pots I had had.
So give it a try, leave out a few potatoes in the ground in the fall in spots you might not need to use until the beginning of May, when potatoes start to sprout (at least here). Put them at different depths too. I’m guessing deeper would be better for the cold. Also what can help us - Add a thick layer of mulch. This is my way of closing the garden in the fall. Rather than trying to pull everything out, I add a thick layer of leaves, and that takes care of decomposing all the dead plants on the surface and supports soil life through the winter.
Thank you for another informative video ❤
My potatoes are growing nicely, and I am waiting for your updates about pruning them, as mine are in tiny space, and it would be perfect if cutting some leaves would work. I'd just worry about cutting wrong ones, as they need to flower.
Also! I am soooo excited because I can see the sorrel sprouting in 2 of the 3 places 😊. I wish I could add pictures here
You don’t need to prune your potatoes. I’m only doing it where they are crowding other plants. In my main potato patch, I am not pruning them. If you need to prune them, wait for the flowers to appear, then prune a little bit of the parts of the plant that don’t have flowers.
Thank you 😊. I will do that. They tend to grow so huge! I only have one very short row (2 metres) of them, but it's so satisfying to harvest your own potatoes.
@@kasiaio you’re absolutely right!
This is awesome!! I love your channel and appreciate you! I imagine there are only 456 likes because you don't push anything that your selling?.. Wouldn't hurt my feelings if you hooked up with Lehmans, and some quality garden/yard tools ;)
@gwynnmiller428
Thank you! Do people prefer to watch videos in which there are links to products to sell in the description? I would have thought the opposite, but I am definitely no expert on selling stuff. I checked out the Lehman's site. It looks great! Probably a ton of stuff there that could make our life here a little easier.
So interesting when an early morning browse brings me to a channel never recommended before. It’s even better when I feel the video is interesting and helpful. I add them to my interesting by others playlist for others to find. Great video! I take a different approach to my videos and my goal with my videos and the interesting by others playlist is to open doors to permaculture, perennials, and gardening with nature! Truly great video!
Thank you! And thank you for adding me to your list for others to discover! I will definitely check out your videos! Welcome to Willows Green Permaculture!
I have had the same experience... volunteer potatoes growing next to my pole beans.... can't wait to see the results... I will definitely move the tiny potatoes too small to harvest into next year's potatoe patch
That’s great! They’ll probably still grow back by your pole beans.
I do this with sweet potatoes every year and just started doing it with potatoes. Just confirms it should work for me also.
What zone are you? It’s too cool here for sweet potatoes. My Queensland Blue squash is a good stand-in for sweet potato though.
Also, thank yku for mentioning the mustsrd plants. I didn't get rid of those plants hoping to learn more about them and see if i can eat them. Now i know! I'll look up your video about the seeds and how to make mustard
Thank you!
Thank you so much for sharing your beautiful journey with us.
Its a great pleasure! Thank you for sharing your comment.
I'm learning so much from your channel, the plants that can keep coming back are amazing. I learned a few years back that onions and potatoes came back that was really cool. Love your channel
Thank you so much! ❤️
Nice video. I'm planting potatoes today, found a few growing from last year.
Leave a few more this fall, work less next spring!😊
they do behave weed like. i had to start harvesting more carefully because so many potatoes kept coming back. they took over several of my beds!
I’m just going to leave the smallest potatoes in my main potato patches and see if I can not bother planting them next year.
@@WillowsGreenPermaculture yup, the one bed i left to potatoes has been giving me potatoes for several years now without re-planting. its funny because they were the little red and yellow thin skinned organic variety from costco that started sprouting in the bag. i just put them in a bed to see what would happen. they are constantly flowering too 🙂
I'm looking forward to seeing how they do! The more of our food I don't need to replant, the better! Potatoes can also be used to enhance bread recipes in which wheat is not used, something else I plan on experimenting with. Of course, it's potato starch I'm talking about, but I'm sure a watery potato mash would have the same effect.
Some of the old pumpkin and squash seeds we gave to the guests to use as confetti at the wedding has started sprouting right through the grass in the area we used for the wedding! I love the resilience of nature!
@@WillowsGreenPermaculture lol, what a creative alternative to confetti and getting people to plant for you😁 nature is wonderful. i have so many plants that volunteered here that i love. my anise hyssop and tansy plants were such welcome guests that are permanent residents now. along with white clover, they are present at all my apple and pear trees and help keep the coddling moths away 🙂 if you can, try khorasan wheat. it has 20% more protein and perfect for flat breads which i enjoy all the time. i grind my own flower fresh and the bread has no equal in taste or nutrition. whole grains store for years but flower loses nutrition rapidly once made.
@@AlsanPineI’ll look for khorasan wheat. Thank you. I have grown wheat and barley. I find the amount you get for the space you need seems very little. I wonder what your thoughts are on that. That’s why I like sorghum. One plant gives as much grain as probably 30 square feet of wheat. I suppose I might get more volume if I harvest before the wheat or barley completely dries. Is that advisable? I have generally waited for it to dry and it inevitably gets browsed because it’s such easy pickings.
Fantastic idea to leave several smallish potatoes in the ground...I am going to do that too
That’s great! The best of luck!
@@WillowsGreenPermaculture Thankyou :)
You’re welcome!
Beautiful brother.iam inspired.From New Zealand.
Thank you! 🙏
Lovely video. Lazy gardening is the way to go! Keep enjoying nature~
Thank you! ❤️
I've really enjoyed this video and going to try your method of sowing and planting carrots. I'm in the south west of UK and it's been a very wet winter and spring. There's been an invasion of slugs everywhere, I've never seen so many! They ate the carrots I sowed, there's 3 left.😂
Put up sticks, tripods, teepees or anything vertical birds can perch on safely in your garden, you will see a reduction in bugs and slugs.
I’m getting older! and last year I just let my row of carrots go to seed. It was actually a row of tall pretty flowers that I could enjoy seeing over the garden fence. This year I have more carrots than I know what to do with! I’ll never plant carrots again. If we just let nature do what she does…. naturally 😊 we will have food for life. I’m in the south west of the US, and we had an unusual wet winter also. I’m not sure about slugs. I allowed my chickens to hang out in the garden for a few weeks hoping they’d clear out some of the weeds, but mostly they mowed down the carrot tops to ground level (which have all come back) so it’s possible they feasted on slugs also. Love those chickens!
When carrots go to seed, the next generations slowly revert back to the wild state, because they cross pollinate readily with wild carrot (queen Anne’s lace). Wild carrot is also edible, just not as crunchy and thick as domesticated carrot and a little harder to pull. If you have absolutely no wild carrot in your region, then perhaps your domesticated carrot will keep it domesticated properties.
How did you make your compost? It’s beautiful!
I just pile everything up in different areas and make sure the area gets at least 5 hours of sun per day. I don’t turn. I just let time and the soil life do the work. When I use it, I remove the top layer and everything underneath is ready. It usually takes a year.
I noticed fairly early this spring that I must have missed harvesting a few potatoes last year. As the spring moves toward summer, I've been pretty amazed at how many potatoes I must have missed harvesting last year ;) We've got probably a dozen or more that came up unexpected ;)
It’s always a nice surprise!
Hola, gracias por este video, como siempre he aprendido cosas nuevas. Esta es mi primera vez sembrando zanahorias y lo hice directo en tierra, pero prefiero hacer almácigos porque creo que es más sencillo cuidar la plantas en su etapa temprana. Sin embargo, planté las zanahorias directo en tierra porque siempre había escuchado que al hacerlas en almácigo en el proceso de transplante a tierra se dañaba la raiz de la zanahoria y no resultaba bien, pero ví en su video que ustedes las siembran en almácigo, les ha resultado bien?
¡Gracias! Si, tenemos buenos resultados. ‘Buenos resultados’ para los que no recomiendan almácigos son una zahanoria perfectamente recta. No nos importa la forma.
Muuuuchas gracias!
¡Es un placer!
👋
Excellent idea of leaving small potatoes in the patch. I had potato flowers that formed buds but didn't know what to do with them . . . how did you grow potatoes from the buds? I did try growing potatoes from just the eye -- they did grow but got too spindly as I didn't have enough lighting. I heard that you should only grow potatoes in one patch for 2 years -- don't remember why that was a 'rule of thumb' perhaps that they depleted certain nutrients.
Thank you for taking the time to make these videos -- I enjoy them :)
You let the flower become a fruit. The fruit is not edible, but you collect the seeds and plant them the next year. The rule of thumb about two years is likely because of the bugs. They over winter. It’s true. I have a lot of potato bugs where my potatoes come back. But I also have a lot of biodiversity that keeps them in check. the potatoes evolved with the bugs and therefore can survive with them and do fine. But it’s when you only have a big field of potatoes , that the potato bugs would become a big problem. Monoculture is the problem, not planting in the same place. Potatoes are a perennial plant, so it stands to reason that they should be fine in the same place for a long time.
@@WillowsGreenPermaculture That makes complete sense about diversity. Thank you
It’s a great pleasure!
Since the stems can be buried to create more potatoes...When you cut the stems down, can they be treated as slips?
Yes, they could be.
That dragonfly is beautiful. Never seen one that dark
It's actually a damselfly. The wings behave differently from a dragonfly I think. It's tiny, compared to most dragonflies.
The damselfly is beautiful. I enjoyed the story about your cats. One of my cats got into my baby chicks few weeks ago the outcome was not pleasant but the cat was just being a cat and I learned from it and cried and started over. I thought I had them secure and safe ( in a chicken tractor inside a barn)the cat thought otherwise. It's the heartbreak you endure when you choose to have animals but the good exceeds the bad. Take care
@@sharlenec7289 there may be a way you can teach your cat to leave the chicks alone. I’ve seen cats living with birds and rabbits. Don’t know how it was done. Maybe the cat was introduced when still a kitten. But maybe not.
They have been here and around older chickens for a year. I found them in the barn when they were just kittens, stray cat had them I have been feeding them ever since so know they are not hungry. I have seen them go after bigger chickens but they don't harm them. I think it's the chirping that attracted her to them. I moved the survivors to a solid wood barn that's more secure so far no more issues, I'm very careful when going in and out of the barn. Have a wonderful weekend
Good to know. I’d like to get chickens eventually.
New sub here. Enjoyed your perspective. Where are you located please? (i.e. climate/zone)
Welcome to Willows Green Permaculture! We are in Ontario, Canada, north of Lake Ontario. Zone 5b which I think is now 6a or 6b. Our map hasn’t been updated in at least 10 years I think.
@@WillowsGreenPermaculture Thank you! That explains the successful potato haul. I'm in zone 7a/b just starting my little food forest. Looking forward to seeing your videos.
Thank you Lisa. I used to live in 7a for many years. I know it well.
Hi Lisa, I don't know if you were still there when I answered your question about creeping charlie in the chat during the use the weeds video. But here it is:
I just pull it and pile it up in the same spot. I don't add it to my compost.
I find a spot where it's already growing and it doesn't bother me and I put all the rest there.
It does help to mask the odor of other plants from bugs and animals, but it is a pain for some areas.
@@WillowsGreenPermaculture thank you!
What’s the flavor like on the seed grown potato? And what was the name of the planting structure that you mentioned a few times?
It was very nice. I grew it in a small pot though, so I didn’t get very many. This year I should get lots and big ones.
I missed part of your question here. I think the planting structure you asked about is the chinampa.
I thought we were not supposed to plant potatoes in the same place - caused the Irish famine with potatoe blight - did I get that wrong?
If you get blight, than you’d likely have to change the spot. Leaving it in the same place doesn’t cause blight. Blight arrives on a plant air born. Once a plant has it though, then it will be in the soil there, at least temporarily, while you rotate.
You have a productive garden with Thornless wild raspberries? Thank you God bless you MARANATHA
They have thorns, they're just small, and generally aren't there on the young shoots, until thy grow taller.
Allowing potatoes to continue to regrow in the same spot might lead to a blight that would destroy all of them the way it happened in Ireland. I think I would only let them regrow in the same spot. At least for, the most, 3 years. What do you think.
They do it whether I want to or not. Also, with the Irish potato famine, they relied on the potato as a monoculture. That is the main recipe for any agricultural disease disaster. Here we use biodiversity in all its aspects and in all its complexity to ensure our ecosystem, and therefore our gardens, are in balance and healthy. I have a number of videos about this if you’re interested.
where can I get Peruvian blue potatoes?
What region do you live in?
I buy my potato's from the grocery store, organic if possible. Same with sweet potatoes😊
I’ve often planted grocery store potatoes if they started sprouting at planting time.
Those mustard leaves look much like radish
Same family. Radishes, cabbage, rutabaga, cauliflower, arugula, broccoli, kale. It was all once mustard, thousands of years ago. With each generation, over thousands of plant generations, gardeners, selecting the seeds of a particular plant that was slightly different, eventually we ended up with all of these.
Why would they not depending on where you are from.
Have to remember what they are just a domestic wild plant.
I’m thinking possibly there May be climates too hot or too cold. But I wouldn’t know.
@@WillowsGreenPermacultureor too wet in the winter, poor draining soil makes them rot maybe.
Yes, that too!