growing potatoes

I herd of people hilling the potatoes with tires but know one can tell me how hi can I go with them I know I start the plant at the botem of the first tire then ad dirt as the plant grows and another tire and more dirt but how hi can I go with the tires any suggestions

I was just talking to a friend about this the other day. She has a friend that is going to try the tires this year and he read to go 3 tires high. Here is a link that talks about how to grow potatoes in tires, they suggest 3-4 tires [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Personally i am going to try the straw and sack method this year

thank you

I was thinking the same thing and some one told me that you can let the eyes grow a little then cut around the eye end just plant that to get bigger potatoes any thoughts

jon.w wrote:I was thinking the same thing and some one told me that you can let the eyes grow a little then cut around the eye end just plant that to get bigger potatoes any thoughts

My first inclination would be that, if this were true, potato farmers everywhere would be doing it. But they're not.

yes I know thaye all seem to be growing for smaller potatoes

There is an optimum size that the consumer wants in the grocery stores and that is what is selected when the potatoes are graded. Jumbos and peewees (as they were called when I was a kid) are picked out and sold as seconds or culls (cattle feed, starch factory, processing etc).

The French frie market wants the biggest potatoes they can get and the farmers try to produce them. we used to get some absolutely HUGE Shepody.

This has reminded me of some of the stranger potatoes we used to see. You can really find some odd looking ones when you are going through thousands every year. I remember one year we had one (either Shepody or Russet) that was... inappropriately curved and shaped at one end. My brother undid his zipper and stuffed it down his pants. For all the world, it looked like he had his dangle doo hanging out.

thank you all