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#92735 Jul 18th, 2007 at 06:00 PM
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I was digging around in my taters today to get some for the fair. I found a few big ones but wanted to see a lot more down there. Anyway I saw one red gooey beetle and one striped potato beetle and killed them. I was miffed as I have never had potato bugs in 4 seasons. But then it was like a horror movie; I suddenly realized there were red gooey bettles everywhere eating my potatoes! shock I just had not looked at them until now. This is when they usually start to die back and I find them self-sufficient. I was so shocked and angry. I sprayed my Pyola spray and will do so again and again and next year I will spray it all year. Normally I don't spray anything on my potatoes. My town is a potato growing town and I assume the farmers maybe have these red bugs too. No I don't want to post a photo of them but maybe someone knows what I am talking about. I think I will do a quick google search to see what they are. Luckily they can't do much damage to the crop now. nervous I hope.

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Ok on investigation the gooey red ones are larva. But some of these larva are as big as the adults! I am serious they are huge and then some are small too, so how confusing. Gross. I am sure I will have a nightmare about those gooey things!

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Try moving the potato crop to a new bed each year Tamara. Crop rotation helps with soil borne pests as well as not depleting the soil of specific nutrients each year, causing an imbalance. If you have grown potatoes there in previous years, then the reason for your smaller crop may be that certain nutrients are in less proportions.
As for the bugs, if they are not damaging the actual potato, then it doesn't really matter, especially if the foliage is dying off anyway. Beats spraying poison into your food producing soil, when the plant is already finished.
potatoes are a great crop to use on a newly dug bed, so if you have been planning a new garden, even if it is an ornamental garden, potatoes are a great soil breaker and improver. Maybe plant them there next crop and put sweetcorn or cucurbits or something in the spud bed.


The secret is the soil.
Longy #102499 Aug 3rd, 2007 at 05:44 PM
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Well I took care of the bugs today. The plants were done so I pulled them up and any potatoes that came with and got rid of the plants. I squished any remaining bugs. I think I squished 100! I will squish any I missed tomorrow. The potatoes I did pull up were very nice and no cuts from the spade! :wink: I got about 5 gallons and will just dig up the rest another time. Has anyone stored them in sand before? I do not have a root cellar (or for that matter a large garden that can be rotated or a yard with any room for more garden- big time bummer! tears)


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