Watering potatos

[bigsweetp]

Hello all,

Got two rows of main crop pots in my allotment. First time growing them. Earthing up regularly.

What about watering them? Read various books and not too clear. So whats the consensus of opinion? Plenty of watering or only if a very dry spell?

Advice please.

Cheers,

BSP

[leona]

i read a book which has loads of advice from the head gardener at audley end and he said he never waters until they are flowering.i have a few in pots which i am watering obviously but the ones out in the ground i have left and will leave until they flower.they are absolutely fine and i live just outside london so it is plenty hot and dry at the moment.

[laura007]

i also have spuds in pots, but as soon as it goes a tad warm they start to droop really bad, so i am watering quite often. i have got spuds, as i have had a rummage to see how they are doing.

[JennieAtkinson]

Glad somebody else "rummages". I feel like an archaeologist sometimes, scraping away to see if anything is growing.

[Getoffmylande]

The two gardening guru's of our allotments tell all of us novices not to water the potato crops that we plant as it can cause the onset of blight. In their words water them and you'll be spraying them with fungicide every 7-10 days. in pots though you can only let them get so dry before you have to water as they cannot find the water they do naturally on the allotment.

[bigsweetp]

Thanks for all the responses. Very helful. I'll not be watering my potatoes for the time being until flowering.

Great Forum. Great magazine.

Out last night slug hunting........so disgusting....but knocked off about 50 of the blighters.

BSP