45 lbs from 2.5 of seed is a huge return. Probably unrealistic to expect that on a regular basis. 45 from 8 isn't great but closer to my average.

I planted a short row of potato eyes, (they did good last year) but only one came up. Of that one, the Potato Beetles found and went to work on and moved to all my tomatoes. Every morning and evening I would go out and gather them up and smash them. I lost a few tomatoes, but then the beetles disappeared as suddenly as they came. Same with all my neighbors with gardens. Anyone else have Potato Beetles this year?

Mine never got to the bug risk stage. Our copious rains this early summer drowned mine and all my potatoes rotted in the ground.

I have potato beetles every year. They and their eggs are pretty easy to pick off and squash. I think the slugs are doing more damage than the beetles.

Oh, well, what would you have done with 144 pounds of potatoes anyway :-)?

I'd have eaten them over the course of the winter, Alfie! Daft, I know.....

I would have eaten them, My son is ill and needs 100% organic produce. The 45 lbs last year only lasted till october, so I was hoping to get through the winter. Also in a few years, I was hoping to farm the 5 acres that I have with potatoes. But wow it would be scarey to have a crop like this one and try to sell it.

That's an awful lot of potatoes to eat.

Though, mind you, I remember reading somewhere (and you know how reliable that is) that, just before the potato famine, the average male Irish peasant (who was living almost entirely on potatoes) was eating something like 10 pounds of potatoes a day. In which case, the harvest would only have lasted for a fortnight (

Oh yeah I forgot to mention.... I have a very health and fat mole, that was feeding on some tubers. What is the best way to get rid of them. Its hard to shoot them they move to fast

That's not a lot of potatoes when you're growing your own food and putting up for as much of a year as possible. I agree with pnbrown, the fist year's harvest was extraordinary. I'm happy when I get 10 lbs per 1 lb planted.

My cat and dogs hunt moles but they can be hard on the plants. Other than dynamite, which has been tempting some years, I'm at a loss for real control.

This family easily disposes of 150-200 lbs per year (and my kids have only a minor Irish component). So I would need to produce 250 lbs annually at a minimum. I've yet to be able to achieve that with the various limitations of space and inputs that I have.

Actually, health wise, sweet potatoes are even better for you than Irish potatoes. They have a lot of Beta Carotine and fiber.

Carrots are good too, especially when you juice them with other fresh veggies and maybe an apple too. Juicing releases the enzymes and makes them readily available to our bodies to use to heal ourselves. I'm not talking using a blender, that leaves a lot of fiber for a sick body to work thru, but a fairly good, low heat juicer. When I get sick I start juicing everyday and it's not long before I'm well.

Wishing your son a speedy recovery.

Uh oh, here's one of my pet peeves. Potatoes are potatoes. Sweetpotatoes are sweetpotatoes. They are related in only two ways:

1. They both grow underground.
2. They both have "potato" in their names, in English.

Otherwise, they are entirely dissimilar, both botanically and culinarily.