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| Harvested my potatoes yesterday and noticed that there were big differences in the way that different varieties grew. Some potatoes grew straight up the vine, all the way up to the soil line, even after hilling them up two feet! Others grew laterally, and the hilling didn't seem to make as much of a difference to them. I'm on a mission to find out if there really is such a thing. Knowledge as to which varieties are which could be highly useful to the home gardener.
Can anyone on this forum shed light on the issue? I've posted this question on several forums as well as on my blog. Feel free to share information with me here or on my blog. Any information I find will be posted in the comments section on the post. So if you would like to be notified when I find more information leave a comment on the blog and make sure to check the box that says to email you with new comments. http://amysoddities.blogspot.com/2010/10/is-there-such-thing-as-indeterminate.html |
Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by dan_staley 5b/S 2b AHS 6-7 (My Page) on Fri, Oct 8, 10 at 12:53
| Growth patterns of a modified root to the vertical or horizontal is independent of whether a plant apical meristem has a terminal bud that ceases to grow due to expression of certain growth hormones. Dan |
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- Posted by oilpainter 3 (My Page) on Fri, Oct 8, 10 at 17:15
| No there is no such thing. Potatoes may be re;ated to tomatoes--the same family-- but there the resemblance stops. A potato will grow as that particular variety dictates and that;s all there is to it. |
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| I don't know whether or not you are correct, oilpainter, about the use of the terms 'indeterminate' or 'determinate.' But I believe that the original poster asks a valid question; do some potato varieties set potatoes up along their stems while some just set them in one level lower down? I have heard that late varieties such as fingerling and some of the red potatoes do set their potatoes over a longer period along a longer stretch of stem. I would find it helpful to know if people have observed that. Thanks Bob |
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- Posted by fusion_power 7b (My Page) on Fri, Oct 8, 10 at 22:59
| Tom Wagner can answer your question on his place. To expand a bit on your observation, some potatoes make 5 or 6 close set stolons off the main stem which then terminate in potatoes that can get relatively large because there are so few of them. Other varieties grow over a longer season and can set potatoes further up the stem by producing new stolons typically up to a foot above the first stolons to form. These also tend to produce some relatively large potatoes and quite a few smaller spuds. My favorite variety, Azul Toro, sets 5 to 8 stolons which then branch heavily to produce up to 40 spuds per plant. The only problem is that they are relatively small because there are so many of them. Even so, I've had several that weighed 12 ounces up to a pound with typical yields of 3 to 5 pounds per plant. tatermater.proboards.com DarJones |
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- Posted by dan_staley 5b/S 2b AHS 6-7 (My Page) on Sat, Oct 9, 10 at 6:48
| Bobb, how the tubers grow underground has nothing to do with 'determinate' or 'indeterminate', as those are botanical terms with precise meanings. I do not know if there is a term for patterns of growth of potatoes, but I suspect the Peruvians have at least a colloquial one. Dan |
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| Whether the correct term is determinate or indeterminate, different varieties of potato grow differently. So, answering the question. Reports from those growing potatoes in bins describe early varieties producing potatoes in a single layer and later varieties producing in a more distributed manner. |
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| This is an old thread, but I found it in a search, so I expect other people will as well. Counter to what an earlier poster insisted, potatoes ARE either determinate or indeterminate. Web sites like the Colorado State agriculture department use the term, and it is used exactly in the sense the original poster described. It is also very important for anyone growing potatoes in a barrel or box. You plant the seed potatoes in the bottom of the container, and then gradually add soil as the vine grows. This only makes sense if you're using an indeterminate variety, which will keep on sending out shoots off the vine to produce new potatoes. Determinate types only send out shoots that produce tubers off the original vine, just above the roots. So if you fill up a barrel with soil, and you used a determinate type, you'll only get potatoes in the bottom of the container, and all your effort was for no extra production. If you don't actually know, please don't be a know-it-all and pretend that you do. Web pages are forever, and you're passing off incorrect information to those who don't know better. |
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- Posted by maryloutrice (My Page) on Sun, May 20, 12 at 19:29
| I am glad to find the info that jonfrum posted about determinate/indeterminate potatoes and the results of mounding up each type. The first time I planted potatoes I planted red LaSota (sp?). Did not mound them up. Got about 50 lbs. This year planted red Norland. Mounded them up 'till I was red in the face and down in the back. Got about 41 lbs; all down toward the bottom of the mound!!! Was thinking of putting them in a tower next year. Now I know WHAT NOT to put in a tower. I need to do some research and find some late season potatoes to order. |
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