No help here as I have never grown even 1 single potato. Nor had I ever grown any vegetable until this year when I have since reaped the rewards of tomato, zucchini, squash, pumpkin (all the begginer vegetables) and a couple of different herbs.
I now know the joy of home grown produce as well as the unbelievable flavour difference.
Do potatoes home grown actually taste any better to store bought potatoes?
I have always imagined potatoes taking up lots of gardening space.
How many potatoes would I need to plant for a family of 4 which grows to about 10 every weekend with teenager's friends invading. ( by the way the girl invaders eat as much as the boy invaders).

I have kept to growing Deserie (not sure of spelling there), as we find them a good all round spud. I may try some Kiphlers this year as they look very interesting.
happyjacq_bris, for that many spud eaters, I hope you have a big area to grow them in. But, why not grow some tasty ones for you and the missus and give the kids the store bought. Mantis

Hi Happyjacq,
You can grow potatoes vertically so they don't take up as much room. Haven't tried it myself but people say it works a treat.
Make a wire mesh cylinder, chicken wire is fine. Line inside, vertically, with newspaper, to keep light out, put layer of compost on bottom, throw in spuds, then cover with straw. As they grow, keep throwing in the straw so that only the growing tip shows till they reach the top. I suppose an extra handful of manure/compost every now and then would help too. The advantage seems to be that harvesting is dead easy. Start harvesting after flowering by plunging hand in and pulling out a spud. You could even start earlier I suppose. This is called bandicooting.
And congrats on your harvests of toms etc.

Raymondo, what a genius. I like the sound of this!!!!!
My friends already think I am going nuts but seeing them sipping a cold one on the back deck with chicken wire contraptions as the new view will be priceless. I am going to have to hang some sort of crystals onto the outside of the wire to give the taters good vibes. Or at least that is what I am going to do. Freak em out a bit more.
I have already noticed my friends peering in at the tomatoes and sniffing the leaves, apparently they were looking for special tomatoes. Poor naive me had no idea what on earth they were doing......my husband enlightened me later.
By the way does 1 planted potato shoot multiple potatoes undergound.....what happens to the original potato?

I'm trying some Nicola this year and my dad has Dutch Cream. He too has grown Desiree for a number of years because it is a good all-rounder. I will keep you posted when we harvest. BTW only 6 bushes of Nicola and 12 of Dutch Cream.

The old potato rots and goes squishy, and depending how you grow them, you can get a few kilos of taters of one original. !!!!!
If you use the cage method Ray suggests, you will get a lot from a few .

I am growing Pink Eyes and Kennebecs
Peter

I have grown potatoes vertically, like Ray suggested, but you have to keep putting hay on or the potatoes go green. Last year I grew only pinkeyes. This year have extended the plot and am growing:
pinkeyes
king edward
kiflers
pink fir apple
purple peruvian

helen

Kipflers are amazing. They're so early, they always beat the others. I forgot to say about the hay when going vertical. We use cheap cheap potting mix and straw. Works fine, and you can double the yield.

Read this in the SMH today or y'day and thought of you.

Seems the story is everywhere. Here's one link, for what it's worth. Now you can sprout eyes and ears:)

http://aolsvc.news.aol.com/news/article.adp?id=20051003180809990016

Hi All, I'm growing
Spunta
King Edward
Kipfler
Otway Red
Pinkeye
Russett Burbank
and in response to Happyjacq's query on taste--there is nothing better than fresh new spuds straight from dirt to pot with a bit of butter and mint or dill. Great weekend lunch --Kiwiman

I read the article Grub. No wonder the Europeans were keen to travel the globe. There wasn't much dietary variety before they entered Asia and conquered the Americas!

I think you are right, Pep. Their diet must have been shocking as is the PommyÂs even today. I wonder if all tomatoes originated from the one source?

Don't ever expect dinner from me Grub!!!!!

Awwww Grub, there's nothing wrong with fat and sugar as two main food groups. Tee Hee, this is fun.
With all the heat we're having up here, I feel like one of those 7000 year old fossil spuds at the moment.
And i just bought some more tomato seeds.

Ray I trust you didn't share my Olive Oil or pickles with Adam, he doesn't deserve them!!!!!
Sarah *stomping off in a huff*

The Olive Oil was Sublime, and the pickles were amazing.
I almost moved to Manchester after walking the Pennine way.
London was an awful time for me, but North i could love anytime.

It's okay, Sarah.You're one of us now. Pass the Branston Pickle. Speaking of which, dinner alone was a treat. But what do you do w/ a whole bottle of Pinto Gris. Cheers!

Drink it, and sleep the sleep of old fools :-)