• Post Reply Bookmark Topic Watch Topic
  • New Topic
permaculture forums growies critters building homesteading energy monies kitchen purity ungarbage community wilderness fiber arts art permaculture artisans regional education skip experiences global resources cider press projects digital market permies.com pie forums private forums all forums
this forum made possible by our volunteer staff, including ...
master stewards:
  • Nancy Reading
  • Carla Burke
  • r ranson
  • John F Dean
  • paul wheaton
  • Pearl Sutton
stewards:
  • Jay Angler
  • Liv Smith
  • Leigh Tate
master gardeners:
  • Christopher Weeks
  • Timothy Norton
gardeners:
  • thomas rubino
  • Jeremy VanGelder
  • Maieshe Ljin

Best natural fertilizer for potatoes?

 
Posts: 4
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
We have a small homestead in the mountains of Jawa Island Indonesia and we have tried growing potatoes without much success so far I have narrowed it down to 3 problems 1. Not enough sun(I fixed that) 2.Using determinate potatoes in a barrel setup(Looking for other types) 3. Fertilizer, well we tried just mixing some normal soil with cocopeat and goat poo but it is still not giving good results.
So my question is this:

How do I make the best fertilizer from what we can find on our homestead and how to apply it best?
We have goat poo, rabbit poo, ashes from wood stove, human pee, coco peat, rice husks. We do have some worm castings on top of our grow beds that we usually collect to make a general liquid fertilizer.

 
pollinator
Posts: 2142
Location: Big Island, Hawaii (2300' elevation, 60" avg. annual rainfall, temp range 55-80 degrees F)
1064
forest garden rabbit tiny house books solar woodworking
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
In my own experience of growing potatoes in the tropics, I find that they do not like fresh manure. My best results have been when I dug in aged compost. I lightly mulched the top of the soil until the sprouts grew about 6 inches tall, then I added more mulch. This helped keep the soil moist and cool. When I didn't use mulch, the potatoes were smaller and fewer. Potatoes seem to be heavy feeders, because mine always do better when I've dug in plenty of compost. Less compost = less potatoes.

I've had success growing potatoes in a container on my farm where the temperatures are cooler than at my seed farm. The seed farm location is much warmer and drier, and the potatoes there do not do well. I'm not sure if it is the heat it the drier conditions that causes them to grow poorly.

Some varieties do better in the tropics than others. So try several different ones to find the better ones for your location.
 
Hassan Pedersen
Posts: 4
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Some information to consider, thank you very much
 
gardener
Posts: 1774
Location: Los Angeles, CA
562
hugelkultur forest garden books urban chicken food preservation
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Too much nitrogen isn't good for potatoes.  If using manure, as Su said above, it needs to be WELL composted.  Drainage is important -- sandy soil.  Also, making sure you have a potato that does well in your area is important.  If you can find someone who grows them successfully, get your seed potatoes from them.

 
pollinator
Posts: 316
Location: istanbul - turkey
120
8
hugelkultur dog books urban greening the desert
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
If you like biochar, next time you might consider making it from bones. Bone-char is a very good fertilizer/medium and might be an alternative to commercially available bone meal.
 
LOOK! OVER THERE! (yoink) your tiny ad is now my tiny ad.
turnkey permaculture paradise for zero monies
https://permies.com/t/267198/turnkey-permaculture-paradise-monies
reply
    Bookmark Topic Watch Topic
  • New Topic