More potato advice please!

[GemskiB]

So, last year towards the end of what j knew as the growing season, I stumbled across autumn planting seed potatoes. I set about finding out a little but about potatoes, and I decided to dig in some of the lawn with tyres to hold the compost. We rather fondly call them the potatyres :-)

So anyway, I saw them start to grow, added a new tyre on the top of each, half filled it with more compost, waited for the to grow more and filled up the second tyre to the top. They grew loads, but the frost hog hard and they foliage never flowered and just withered and died. I did have a good rummage to see if I could see any spuds but alas there was nowt. I just thought winter spuds weren't really suited to the NE Scottish climate!!

So this year I had planned to put carrots in the tyres. Not quite the same ring to it, but I'd pulled out all the surface remnants and decided to go ahead a couple of weeks later.

Then low and behold, the potatoes started again!! I suppose I never dug them out. That must have been towards the beginning of May that I noticed them and now they are going mad!!:


(Please excuse my lawn. I've only just moved here properly and I'm still moving stuff. Life is a bit busy at the moment!)

So, I suppose the question is, taking the NE climate into account, when roughly will they be ready? Ill be honest. I don't have the packet, but here is a link to where they were from...:

http://ben-reid.co.uk/new-potatoes-i...for-christmas/

Hopefully someone can give some insight. I'm also a bit worried they will be rubbish as they've been in he ground so long!!!

Gemma.

[GemskiB]

Wow. So many typos. I apologise!!

[lottie dolly]

they look fine,most peeps get what is called host potatoes,that is,when the row has been dug up,there are always some gets missed,and they start growing,and go on to produce
,some say they do better than the newly planted seed,

[GemskiB]

Thanks LD!

Just hoping they flower and do what they need to do, watering them most days along with all my other bits and pieces :-)

[Potstubsdustbins]

A mate used to use tyres, he filled the tyre itself with news paper as insulation.

Potty

[GemskiB]

Cheers Potty, an idea for next year I think.

Will it become evident when they are ready to pull? As I am not really sure when they started, I only noticed them at the start of may but they were well established at that point.

[rustylady]

They're Duke of York, listed as a first early, so should take around 12 weeks from planting to harvest.

Not all potatoes produce flowers, so this is no guide as to readiness.

[GemskiB]

Thanks for that -0 I'll take it as beginning of may and have a rummage around the end of July/beginning of August. How exciting

[Potstubsdustbins]

My RDoY took nearly 14 weeks to be any where near ready this year, its just been to cold.

Take your time and employ the gardeners greatest weapon................ patience.

Potty

[Two_Sheds]

I just thought winter spuds weren't really suited to the NE Scottish climate!!

They aren't suited to the UK climate, period.

Some people manage to get a crop of sorts from a greenhouse. The quest to grow a Xmas spud is a silly project that most of us will admit to trying, at least once, despite knowing it really isn't going to happen

[GemskiB]

Ah. I thought it could happen. The power of Facebook advertising to a vulnerable new gardener who wants to try everything!

Ill know not to bother in the future. Although it seems this summer I'll be getting tatties for very little effort I sees :-)