HUGE potatoe harvest!

[FionaH]

Just harvested my first greenhouse potatoes! 3 buckets each with 3 spuds in. 2 lots were Charlotte the other I cant remember. Foilage died back in the cold snap so thought it was time to get them out.

Enormous harvest of 8 oz of very small tatties!!!

Eldest son in hysterics and muttering thank God for T***os
Mr H trying not to laugh, and failing

Initially they were intended for Christmas lunch but SiL bought loads, darn good job! Oh well not sure what went wrong, just hope I have more luck with the maincrop.

I just thought I would share this major triumph with you all

[Snadger]

You're not alone! I've come to the conclusion that in my area............if you aint got a heated greenhouse, forget it!

[Geordie]

Now this post set me thinking, I think that next year the easiest way of transforming a crop failure into a crop triumph is simple......the secret is in renaming of the vegetable. So FionaH would have actually grown a mighty successful harvest of cocktail potatoes. Spin gardening is what its all about, think about mangetout.....some crafty grower with pods to small to use...no no its a new variety, grown for the pods, go on give the whole thing a chew!
2009 - the year of the spin gardner.

[Two_Sheds]

So, is anyone going to try and grow new spuds for next Christmas?

[jacob marley]

Did you feed them or what or was they just bunged how often did you water them .
I am glad you posted this because to read some of the post's on the Grapevine growing in bucket's was the way to go obviuosly it ain't but nothing ventured nothing gained ....jacob

[Suechooks]

Did you feed them or what or was they just bunged how often did you water them .
I am glad you posted this because to read some of the post's on the Grapevine growing in bucket's was the way to go obviuosly it ain't but nothing ventured nothing gained ....jacob

I've done potatoes at this time of year with exactly the same results!
Container potatoes do work but at the right time of year. I did a bit of an experiment a couple of years ago and planted some in a proper potato barrel, some in pots and bags, some in old dustbins and some in tyres. Those in the tyres were by far the best drop both in size and number. The barrel was poor as most spuds were green so obviously the light was getting through the sides! Needless to say I continue to grow in tyres. If it's good enough for Bob Flowerdew it'll do me! Charlotte seemed to be the best cropper.

[FionaH]

I love the idea of spin gardening! If grey is the new black then these potatoes are the new peas! about the right size

They were watered regularly but not fed and in an unheated greenhouse. It was always a bit of a gamble to be honest. I dont think they can be a clear example of container growing, it is after all the wrong time of year

Best bit is they tasted fabulous. I could taste them through my stinking cld. Mr H and eldest son reckon they are the nicest tatties they have ever had, (and no I didnt bribe them to say that). They have not had home grown before. So a great success if they are sold on gyo veggies

[zazen999]

I sort of did but not for Christmas. I popped some into buckets around May time and filled the buckets up but didn't do anything else at all. They were in the shade in our courtyard - and I literally left them and upended them about 4 weeks ago. There were a good handful, about enough for 3 servings. There were grown from peelings where the eyes had sprouted.

I think if I did it again, I'd make sure they were in the sun more, and watered but i'll certainly be doing it again.

[Two_Sheds]

I'm still eating my Pink Firs (main crop salad potato) ... I don't think August planting is reliable enough to be worth the bother

[bobleponge]

FionaH I had the same results last christmas. And yes, much mirth around my place too.

I will be trying the tyre thing this year though, and then, if I have to call them cocktail potato's I shall do.

[pjh75]

This thread made me laugh... the exact same thing happened to me apart from the fact that I used bags of compost. I left the bags outside until frost threatened and then moved them into the greenhouse. Look at the pictures, it was all so promising until you look at the final harvest... the two "mutants" were huge in comparison and black inside even though they were planted at the same time and in the same bag as the others. Good job I wasn't relying on them for Christmas dinner, but I think I'll try again next year.

[SueA]

I tried Carlingford in a large pot this year (well last year now!), put them in in August with a bit of chicken poo pellet manure & watered them when they looked dry. I had them outside & planned to cover them with fleece if frost threatened but got caught out by an unexpected frost in October which killed the tops off. I forgot about them but then was sorting out the pots yesterday & emptied this one out, five very pretty but tiny new potatoes (I put 3 seed pots. in!).Maybe it's only worth it if you have a heated greenhouse!

[ups a daisy]

put mine in about the same time as you. half filled 2 large plastic pots with horse manure and bottom of the bonfire ash. left them outside to water themselves,when i saw green growth emerging put more of the same mixture just over the top.kept this up till the soil was at 1 inch from the top. at the same time used my brew of rain butt water with hessian sack of horse muck in it (very nutritious), to top up watering.brought them into cold greenhouse by first frosts. emptied tubs 3 days before christmas, everyone gobsmacked as there was a large feast of perfect new potatoes. never done it before only heard it could be done.tasted fantastic.

[maytreefrannie]

I tried potatoes-for-Christmas in a large bin this year, they seemed to do great at first, like pjh75's second picture. I kept topping up with soil/compost until the bin was full. When the frost hit, the foliage all died off. I left them until about two days ago, when I emptied the bin - 5 tiny spuds!

I think if I was growing them in Winter again I'd try to give them some protection.

I've grown them in containers before - but in the right season - and always had good results.

[spudstacker]

I tried to grow xma pots in 2007, they looked great from the foliage point of view, but had the same results with very little potatoes. However I planted some potatoes in Jan / Feb (can't remember to long ago) and I got a bumper crop at the end of April. I am going to plant some rocket potatoes today, I have been trying to warm the soil up in the greenhouse with some polythene sheeting. So watch this space!