Potato growing bags

[gawdambugs]

Hi - I am planning on starting my potatos tomorrow but just want to double check that I have understood the advice I have been given - so, if someone could read the following for me to make sure it is right....

I have a big container about 50litres - I put compost in the bottom,then my seed potatos,then 6 inches of compost on top... then when the potatos start making an appearance, I keep topping it with my compost,making sure I dont cover the leaves!!!

Just one question - how often do i water them? And will I know when they are ready?

[bramble]

Just feel the soil with your hand. Push your hand down in the soil GENTLY if you are in doubt and water accordingly.
You will know when they are ready when blossom appear on the foliage or when the foliage starts dying down. You can also root around in the soil until you find some potatoes and when they are a decent size they're ready to eat.

[nick the grief]

Hi GDB's (lot easier to type ) What sort of tatties have you got? cos then we can tell you if you can eat them when they are smaller or not.

As to wateringthe leaves should be nice & green & stiff, not dull & floppy. If they start to flop at night have alook the next morning & see if they have recovered (it may just be the stress of the sun during the day (if we get any that is), If they are still floppy give them a canfull, that should last them for a bit.

Ideally you want to keep them moist but not wet. If they are constantly wet they will rot as there will be now air being drawn into the compost & the roots will basically drown.

As rat says, don't be worried about asking, we'll all chip in.

[Gary Livingstone]

Can anybody help how do i know when to harvest potatos I planted some morris PEER potatos on satarday a bit premiture i think but i would like to know any advice would be greatly apreicated also B&Q do heavy duty Black plastic Rubble sacks think it was10 for£2.95 good heavy duty bags would do for groing potatos.

[Lesley Jay]

I wait until the potato plants have flowered and the flowers have died and the leaves start to die. Then I dig them up.

[nick the grief]

You get two bites of the Cherry with Maris Peer Gary. You can either harvest when they are about 1.5" across as baby spuds (like the sort that cost a fortune in the supermarkets) or wait a while longer & dig them up when they are normal sized like LJ says.
2nd earlies are ready about 13 weeks after planting. You can always gently scrape the soil away & check them but cover them back over cos if they go green you cant eat them!

[remy]

Why is there never enough time in the day to do everything???. It is times like these i wished that I didnt work as we have had the most lovely weather just a pity that I dont have enough land ready to put in what I have started in the greenhouse. Is it too early to start putting in runner beans? Some people say yes and some say no. Beginning to think that maybe they will have to take a chance. Is there an organic way to deal with earwigs, if so please let me know.

[nick the grief]

>>>Is there an organic way to deal with earwigs <<<

size 8 boots

Runner beans you may well get away with in your part of the world Remy, it depends when your last frost is rormally. I haven't put mine in yet but we can have the odd frost for another 2 or 3 weeks

[cheerybob]

potato bags

i use the recycling sacks that are given out by the local council for paper, robust and compact and more whats more cost nowt when season over fold up for next years crop

[luckyme]

Hi All,

I have just joined the forum and this is my first year of growing potatos. I just planted them in a dark blue rubble sack and fill the bag half full with compost (with the seed inside). I have a couple of questions and hope someone will be able to help me:
1) I'm growing Vavaldi variety, has anyone grown them before and how long do they take? Perhaps I should not have bought such a strange variety for my first time. But I just remember they are very expensive in the supermarket!
2) When do I put more compost in? When I see the foliage? or I have read somewhere when I see the potatos? Will I actually see them on the surface? Sorry, I'm confused.....

Thank you!

[janeyo]

OH tells me that Jamie Oliver was putting spuds in full growbags but he couldn't remember the hows and wherefores etc. And when they were done he just emptied the whole thing out. Has anyone done this? I would like to try as not got any empty compost bags, or containers, just full ones. But don't know how many or where to put them etc

janeyo

[Squeaky]

Hi I am just thinking of growing my potatoes in a bag like the ones featured in gyo dec issue - i was advised that if you have 3 bags and start one as that gets half way throught start the next one and keep the cycle going so you get a regular crop - as these oracles say top up with soil and when ready tip out and enjoy x any extra advice would be a bonus - like when do you know there ready........

[hansaplatz]

Not exactly advice as I haven't grown any spuds yet but helpful I hope.

I don't have much space in my garden to grow root veg (+ very stony = curly carrots etc, often amusing but less to eat) so I was considering the potato growing bags for my root veg. Finally saw one in person at a local garden centre the other week and I swear they're very similar to the big black ALDI supermarket bags - fabric looked and felt the same, just that potato bags had holes for drainage.

The other difference seemed to be potato bag = £8 a pop and the ALDI bags can't be more than £2 at most, probably more like £1! I was bit concerned about if the fabric is suitable, if it could leech anything but it feels sort of waxed and extremely similar to those of the official potato bags so I thought it was worth a try. Got a few onions in the one I already owned, after some modification with the kitchen scissors.

[MaureenHall]

I've had a lovely surprise today. Earlier this year (about August I think) I planted some potatoes in pots in the hope of getting some for Christmas. Then the dreaded blight hit and I thought I'd lost the lot. Anyway, today, as it was a nice day for pottering out back, I decided to empty the tubs and do a bit of a tidy-up (no chance of that with 11 chooks helping!). All the pots with Romano in were devoid of spuds except for half a dozen pea-sized ones. The tub with the Charlotte in has given me a couple of pounds of good sized new potatoes! So wahay, I can take a contribution away with me