It depends in most part on the growing conditions and the type. If you get 8 for 1, its ok. 15 to 1 is very goog yiels.
Imagin planting just one egg size potato and harvestin 10(3 bigger, some 4 size snd 3 smaller). Tats about 10 for one.

we don't put a lot of effort in with our instant potato patch, but it returns 5;1 or 6:1 ratio consistantly that is we for every 1 kilogram of seedies we plant we get 6kg back.

len

Here is a link that might be useful: lens instant potato patch

Dad usually figured 7:1 return for Kennebecs in a good year. We were usually around that mark.

I planted about 20 pounds last year (10 Kennebec and 10 Yukon Gold) and harvested 143 pounds but some hills did not do as well as others.

Mike

I feel better now. I should get at least 60 lbs of potatoes then.

I do have one more question: I have seen Red Pontiac listed as both early and late on many various sites. I ordered from Ronniger's, and they list it as early, but Main Potato Lady lists it as late.

Does anyone have experience with Red Pontiac?

Do I have my bases covered with Red Gold, Purple Majesty, Caribe, Red Pontiac, and Ozette Fingerling. Would you suggest something else? I am looking into Green Mountain.

https://www.mainepotatolady.com/productcart/pc/viewCategories.asp?idCategory=34

https://stores.myregisteredsite.com/user1385939/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=RPFL&Product_Code=7SNRPT&Category_Code=ESP

Red Pontiac is a midseason potato, earlier than Kennebec, but later than Red Norland. It has been 60 years since I grew Green Mountain. As a boy in Virginia it was grown as a fall potato as it had a strong flavor when grown in the spring. Old folks said frost killing the vines made them sweeter. The others I have not grown.
{{gwi:17318}}

last year we got 5000 lb on a 1/2 an acre with 600 lbs of seed potatoes. and that was with the tractor operator having a triple bypass in the middle of the season.

if you hill them every two weeks you iell get bigger and more potatoes.

that was are potato fields. in my garden i got about 100 lbs from about 7 lbs of seed. they we Yukon Gold. the field potatoes were LaRosa. that is a mid season red potato.

Dean

Planted 5lbs of Yukon, and 5lbs of Russett Burbank. Yield was about 120lbs total, so a 12:1 approximate average return, but Yukons were closer to 15:1 and Russets about 10:1.

milehighgirl.... I didn't see a response to your question about yields from 'tater towers'. Went look on the internet and struck gold!
http://onestraw.wordpress.com/2009/08/07/potato-towers-month-4/

This man's blog ... with pictures of his 'tower' are actually updated. Starting with construction in Apr.

http://onestraw.wordpress.com/2009/04/27/4-sq-ft-potato-tower/
and a month-by-month report http://onestraw.wordpress.com/
scroll down to 'archives' and click onto each month for updates on progress (and problems/lessons learned) of the towers.
=====
Harvest of his tower in Oct.
http://onestraw.wordpress.com/2009/10/27/tech/
HERE are his conclusions from the year's experiment with tower-grown-potatoes: "ÂTechnique is apparently paramount with the tower systems with alot of pitfalls for the gardener  it is far from idiot proof  and with all the variables Climate Change is throwing at us we need a less finicky system.
ÂCultivar selection seems critical, and there is almost no research out there as to which kinds work. Carolas and Purple Viking seem to be a good choice  Kennebecs are not.
ÂExpense  $25 a tower for what seems to be only 10-20#Âs of potatoes Âif you can bring them to harvest is a stretch
ÂThe Hype  promising 100s# from 4sq ft.is a joke. It still may be possible -and I hope it is but it is not easy, it is not guaranteed, and it needs alot more research and realism before anyone goes filling the internet with wild claims."
===
Hope this helps answer the question about yields from towers. Disappointing in the described instance, but I'm playing with it, mostly because I have to fight for every bit of sunshine I can get...going up takes less space.

borderbarb, that is a really good resource also! Thank you for posting it.

I usually figure on getting 10 pounds for every 1 pound of seed potatoes. I also figure about 1 pound per foot of row space. I plant pretty heavy and I am harvesting new potatoes. I don't let them get too big. It is easy to sell new potatoes, big potatoes are harder to sell in my location. I also figure out that since I sell them for more, I can harvest 1/3 pounds less and still make the same money.

If I harvest 3 feet and get three pounds. I sell big potatoes for $1.00 a pound. 3 feet equals $3.00

New potatoes, If I harvest 3 feet and get 2 pounds, I sell them for $1.50 a pound. 3 feet equals $3.00

Then I can come back an replant the potato ground with another crop and make more money.

I usually get about a 5:1 yield, but nowhere near as dense/compact as this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5Ro-1Kxaok&NR=1

Has anyone had any experience with planting regular organic potatoes from the grocery store, example Trader Joe's? I'm wondering how these would fare vs the seed type you buy, ex from a good nursery.

If planted in good weather and well prepared good soil there will be no real difference.

The trouble is some try planting x, y or z at far from ideal times and are stymied by far from normal results.

When you plant seed potatoes, you're getting disease free stock. The fact that retail potatoes are 'organic' does not protect you against bringing in diseases to your garden. You can roll the dice, like I often have, but organic has nothing too do with it.

Ok got it. Thanks for your responses.

Heck, many times organic crops like this are *WORSE* at being contaminated than non-organic due to the fact they haven't had more effective pesticides/fungicides/etc used on them.

Wow I didn't know that. What's a place to buy seed potatoes? Peaceful Valley Nursery?

It's funny that this thread popped up again. I planted seed potatoes 2 years in a row and only got a 1:1 return. Admittedly I was using soil that had never been cultivated and was quite clay with lots of river rocks. I spent a lot of time sifting the soil and amending it, but the return was not worth the effort. Surprisingly I got the best return on the Purple Majesty.

The second year I felt like experimenting with True Potato Seeds. I ordered six varieties that were supposed to produce potato seeds, but I got not a single seed and only a 1:1 ratio.

No doubt those two meals we had (one each year) were the best potatoes we had ever eaten, but somehow I don't have what it takes. More water? I don't know. But now that row is going to be planted with grapes so I will probably never know.

seed source... Irish Eyes

Milehigh:
How deep did you plant them?
What did you amend with?
How did you care for them after planting?
When did you plant?

I have clay and have found deep planting, after trying several methods large scale is still best.
=========================

There is also The Maine Potato Lady and The Potato Garden if you wish a truly large choice.

I get good results from Moose Tubers and The Maine Potato Lady. I found Moose Tubers to be cheaper in price. I also get a discounted price/shipping by joining a with a local gardening group to do a group order.

Check with your local cooperative extension office to see if there are any gardening groups doing an order that you can join.

RpR_,

How deep did you plant them?

I planted them 8" deep the first year and added soil as the season progressed, sort of to duplicate the potato tower effect. There were no potatoes on any of the stems so I counted the "Potato tower" as ineffective. The second year I planted them 8 or more inches but did not add soil. Surprisingly some of the ones that were forgotten sent up sprouts the next year so they were deep enough not to freeze. These early potatoes were true vectors for the flea beetle, and were consumed before the newly planted ones came up. (I didn't have a problem with the new ones and flea beetles, however)

What did you amend with?

I amended with B.O.S.S. compost. I also made fertilizer as described by Steve Solomon in Gardening When it Counts. (page 22).

How did you care for them after planting?

I watered them but not much else.

When did you plant?

In mid-May

There is also The Maine Potato Lady and The Potato Garden if you wish a truly large choice.

I ordered from Ronniger, AKA Potato Garden.

Here is a link that might be useful: B.O.S.S. Compost