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    Meine Weltraumkartoffeln, an Bord der ISS angebaut

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    41 Comments

    1. astro_pettit on

      I flew potatoes on Expedition 72 for my space garden, an activity I did in my off-duty time. This is an early purple potato, complete with spot of hook Velcro to anchor it in my improvised grow light terrarium. Second image shows more floating in container bags.

      Potatoes are one of the most efficient plants based on edible nutrition to total plant mass (including roots). Recognized by Andy Weir in his famous book/movie “The Martian,” potatoes will have a place in future exploration of space. So I thought it good to get started now! I call this one “Spudnik!”

    3. DraconPern on

      If this goes well, you can be the first person to make space fries!

    4. GraboidXenomorph on

      Omg…My two favourite things: space and gardening are colliding and I don’t know what to do!?!??

      I never planned for this potential crossover.

      Do I ask you about space….gardening….or space gardening?

      Gah!!!

      I’ll just congratulate you on colonizing the ISS instead!!!

    5. mojogirl_ on

      Holy fuck! Don Pettit just out here sharing potatoes grown in space. Love your photos man! Living legend, keep being awesome!

    6. Kusakaru on

      This is by far the coolest post I have seen on reddit. Thank you for sharing. I want you to know this made my day!

    8. Gordon_Betto on

      Spudnik might be the best name for a potatoe ever haha. Very nice to see and read about your mission!

    9. kajsawesome on

      How do the plants handle Radiation or UV light in space?

      Would the suns light just burn them to a crisp there or do they adapt fairly well?

      Perhaps you have UV lights on the station. That’s really cool though.

    10. LopsidedAirlines on

      So were those part of your allowed personal items? They like took extra space? Or was this approved as a useful space gardening experiment lol

    12. ArtismFag on

      This belongs on r/wheresthefuckingsoil or whatever the sub is called

    13. potatoesandmolasses1 on

      Gardening in space, and i can’t keep a gardenia alive for love or money

    15. Jane_Smith_Reddit on

      Oh. My. God.
      That is amazing.

      The potatoes 🥔 and an actual astronaut posting here. Wow!

      I am star struck and I don’t even know your name.

    17. scrollbreak on

      Potato: “I want to grow upwards, which way is up?”

      Space: “Yes”

    21. gudnessm on

      This is the most unexpected and amazing gardening post I’ve ever seen.

    22. KnottyKitty on

      This is easily the most interesting thing I’ve ever seen in this sub. Like really incredible post. And probably the most perfect potato I’ve ever seen. It’s so smooth wtf lol

      I have so many questions. Are you up there right now? Can you show us the terrarium setup? Were you a gardener before the mission, or did you start with space potatoes?? What has the growing process been like? Do they grow faster than on earth? Slower? Are they squishy? What’s the plan for when they turn into full plants? Seems like they’ll outgrow those baggies pretty fast.

      This is really cool, thanks for posting.

    23. EmotionalSasquatch on

      Do you think the slow growth could be attributed to changes in airflow? Also, the growth hab payloads would probably love to hear about this!

    26. shazwazzle on

      I saw that you mentioned they are grown hydroponically, but can you share more details of what that looks like in space? Is that what the bags are for? How do you make sure oxygen gets to the roots? What do you use for fertilizer? I’m very curious about what kind of challenges you face with growing plants on a space station that might surprise us.

    27. abbyabb on

      Do you have any photos of them more grown? Did the roots grow in every direction, or did the potatoes sort themselves out?

    31. Deziah on

      I’m curious what you are allowed to do in the way of personal interests or experiments? Was this part of another experiment, or did you specifically choose to do this?

    32. awhitellama on

      My brain immediately started whisper-chanting:

      *Space po-ta-toes! Space po-ta-toes! Space po-ta-toes!*

      Rooting them on from Earth!

    34. solid-mayonnaise on

      I remember the first time I saw that shooting star that didn’t disappear, but traveled across the entire sky. An object in space, the size of a football field, that not only orbits the Earth but is a home for astronauts. And now I’m writing to someone who is on board at this very moment? AND HE IS GROWING SPACE POTATOES!! Simply amazing.

    38. Appropriate_Gap_7412 on

      Dr. Pettit,
      I would like to extend my sincere thanks to you and your team for the experiments you have conducted and the scientific work you have carried out on the International Space Station. The performance of such research in an orbital environment contributes significantly to both space science and numerous fields on Earth. Your dedication, effort, and innovative approach in space truly merit great appreciation.
      Best regards,
      Suat

    39. belljs87 on

      Just wanna leave a reminder that I was here the day a literal fucking astronaut showed off his “space potatoes” in r/gardening

    40. Jonkinch on

      I joined this sub because I needed advice for my tomatoes and I stay for space crops.

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