Potatoes and other Questions

[MancGardener]

Is it to late to start with potatoes as everywhere I read say that I needed to start back in January!

I am very new to gardening but have been given a allotment and really want to make the most of it. I have discovered that I know absolutely nothing about gardening. Unfortunately I can't ask family as nobody has really ever done much gardening apart from a few flowers in the back garden. My first day on the allotment will be on Saturday, I have seen the allotment and the chairman has asked me to return on Saturday to sign the documents and pay rent etc.

It is 300 sq yards and currently has a greenhouse and a shed with a couple of red currant trees. The questions are;

1. What should my first job be to start
2. Is there a plan of action
3. What equipment will I need
4. What is best to plant at this time of year
5. How much compost should I buy

Thanks in advance and sorry for having absolutely no idea what I'm doing. I really want to give this my best shot rather than just giving the allotment before I even start because I don't know what I'm doing. I've always wanted a allotment as well so I'm really excited!

[Peas'n'Kews]

Hi MacGardener

Not going to answer all your questions (although the "where should I start" and "what should I plant" questions have been asked before and may succumb to a search of the forum....)

Your planting potatoes question - you only need to plant this early if you want early, new, potatoes. If you want a main crop (big spuds!), you can still plant now. There are varieties of seed potatoes which are specifically for early, main, etc crops and your best bet for these is the seed sellers web sites. Personnal fav is Doobies, but lots of others around (not sure if I'm allowed to put supplier's names in here, but you get the idea if it is removed).

Good luck and keep asking - you 'll get lots more answers during the day!

[MancGardener]

Thanks Peas'n'kews Ill have a look at that unnamed site now!

[VirginVegGrower]

I would get yourself to a Wilkinsons or garden centre quick. Potatoes (first earlies only take ten weeks) are still on sale, just about. I would also get yourself some seeds of veg you know you will eat. Your first job is going to be to clear and turn the soil. I would sit down tonight with a gardening book or mag geared to veg growing, a cup of something and a pen/paper for scratching out a plan.
Good luck and enjoy!

[Capsid]

Potatoes are good to start your allotment off with. They help to break up the soil as you plant them in a trench you have dug and then earth them up and finally you will dig again to harvest them. It's not too late to plant them, Easter is the traditional time but later is OK especially with the frosts we are having lately which will damage the emerging leaves. Don't get confused about early and second early terms. This only means how soon they can be harvested not when they are planted.

The first job would be soil preparation (plant spuds), weed and dig the site, start a compost bin so that you can dig in the all important organic matter to improve soil structure and fertility..
Don't worry about a plan of action; decide what you want to grow and ask here how to do that and/or read the seed packets.
You'll need a fork and spade, probably a hoe, a hand trowel and a watering can. I see you have a greenhouse so you will need seed trays and pots to germinate and propagate the plants. Oh a water butt might be good attached to the greenhouse sometime if it's not already there.
Buy one 60L bag of multipurpose compost to start with for sowing the seeds in. I don't advise trying to grow too much in the first year.

[Poolcue]

Does your new site have an allotment shop?
If so I would get my stuff and advice from there.

[Farmer_Gyles]

you are sooooooo lucky getting a plot with greenhouse etc! this is what i'd do .....

go to garden centre / pound shops etc, get:
- some seed trays / cell modules etc
- compost (ordinary multi-purpose will do)
- some seed potatoes
- seeds of whatever veggies you'll definitely eat

sow some seeds in the cell modules at home, put them in the greenhouse on the plot - only buy compost for starting the seeds off, don't bother digging any into the plot just yet

you'll need to divide your plot into "beds" for different types of plant - look up "crop rotation" on this forum - a basic 3 bed system will do to begin with, just to get you started - you can change it later (whatever plans you come up with right now will change again and again)

sheet over whatever ground you're not going to use straight away - it'll keep the weeds down and make the plot more manageable - use tarpaulin / plastic sheeting / whatever you can find - hold it down with bricks / pots of soil etc

then dig over a bed and plant your spuds - maybe sow some carrots and other root veg too

when your salad seedlings have come up, dig over the salad bed and plant out

when your brassica seedlings have come up, dig over the brassicas bed and plant out

use this year for learning, if things don't work, don't worry .... the more you do, the more you learn, the easier it gets ....

[MancGardener]

wow thanks for all the advise!! I think the plan will be to get some potatoes and carrots, leeks and beetroot and some salad leaves and herbs planted this week and then start with some seed trays in the greenhouse and cover the parts which aren't in use.

The allotment does have a shop but when I was there it was closed so I will hold buying anything until I have seen what I can get from the shop. I just need to find out the best way for potatoes now. Can I just plant them into the ground or do I have to chit them first?

[Capsid]

Chitting isn't essential especially for maincrops (late harvest). You can plant in the ground in holes or dig a trench. As I said above, I prefer the latter trench method as it will aid in digging the soil and incorporating organic matter.

[zazen999]

Chitting isn't essential especially for maincrops (late harvest). You can plant in the ground in holes or dig a trench. As I said above, I prefer the latter trench method as it will aid in digging the soil and incorporating organic matter.

Or use a bulb planter! Depending on the state of the plot I'd be tempted to just get them in, and mulch with newspaper once they start to poke through and concentrate on getting the rest of the plot cleared for the more fussy crops to be sown into or grown in.

[MancGardener]

Capsid, what size should the trench be also should I miss compost in with the soil or just leave the soil as it is? What potato would you recommend to grow?

[Peas'n'Kews]

See, told you you'd get lots of replies!
Happy growing!

[alldigging]

Take a measure and draw out what you've got. Take a flask so you can have a brew too.
Have a poke about and see what's been grown in the various beds.

[Two_Sheds]

potatoes and carrots, leeks and beetroot and some salad leaves and herbs planted this week and then start with some seed trays in the greenhouse

Carrots need to be sown direct, they can't be started in pots and then transplanted like most things

You may well find that slugs and snails eat a lot if you sow direct. I start nearly everything in pots of compost in the greenhouse, and plant on the lotty when the seedlings are big enough and strong enough

cover the parts which aren't in use

That's the way, it'll make your job a whole lot easier

I just need to find out the best way for potatoes now. Can I just plant them into the ground or do I have to chit them first?

We chit in Jan/Feb to get the spuds growing while it's still too cold outside to plant them. It gives them a head-start, if you like. No need to chit in April, it's warm enough so just dig a small hole and drop them in

what size should the trench be

You don't need a trench. Save yourself the work this year, and just dig a 6" deep hole with a trowel

also should I miss compost in with the soil

No, compost is for starting plants in pots

What potato would you recommend to grow?

You aren't going to have very much choice at the end of the planting season: just buy what you can find. It doesn't really matter, they're all edible

[Capsid]

Capsid, what size should the trench be also should I miss compost in with the soil or just leave the soil as it is? What potato would you recommend to grow?

If you have time then dig the trench a spade width. I add a layer of homemade compost to the bottom of the trench and if possible mix more with the soil as I add it back. I also sprinkle in some potato fertiliser. I recommend Kestrel variety as this is the consensus from a past thread on this forum.