'Late' potato problems...

[Herbsandveg]

You'll have seen the heading of 'Late potato problems', but that greatly underestimates the gravity of the situation because the taties are, quite literally, 'late' in every sense now because they're dead! Everything seemed to be going well, but then the leaves started to wither - just a couple at first - and then the whole lot died within the space of a couple of days, leaving eight bags of compost with what will presumably only be some fairly small potatoes amongst them.

I've got this afternoon (Monday) and tomorrow off work to spend some time on the garden, and I'll be seeing to them then, but I'm bracing myself for a fairly diminished crop. I won't be too devastated, because these very late 'lates' were pretty much an afterthought in an attempt to have a few nice, home grown potatoes to close the calendar year, but am just wondering whether anyone could advise me on what might have gone wrong. The varieties were Casablanca, Duke of a York, Charlottes and Carabinas.

One other query, too, in relation to this - and it's a general one about compost from various tubs and bags I've used this year - but, is it OK to dispose of the compost (bought in bags fron Homebase) by spreading it in the veg patch and letting it settling there over the winter? I was going to spread a layer of leaves under it and put the compost on top to weight them down figuring this might be a useful way of further aerating the soil. Would this be right?

As ever, any advice would be very gratefully received....

[Bill HH]

It sounds like either blight or frost damage. Did you see black spots on the leaves? Blight has been very bad this year.

If it was blight its best not to spread the compost around or it may re-infect next years crop. otherwise your compost idea is a good one.

[veggiechicken]

Be brave Herbs because you never know what you have until you look
Have you had a furtle recently
Were the bags outdoors or undercover?
When did you plant your tatties?

[rustylady]

Cause of demise of your potatoes = the weather. It's completely the wrong time of the year to be growing them. Slightest frost will kill the foliage.

As to your used compost, spread it on your beds, it will do them good.

[Herbsandveg]

Hello Bill

Thank you for your reply.

I'm pretty certain it's not blight. It didn't look like blight, so I can pretty much rule that out. I think I'd allowed myself to be misled into thinking they'd tolerate the colder weather and when it said 'Grow Potatoes for Christmas Day' I now think there was an asterisk along with some really tiny writing that said *In Australia...

Anyway, blight ruled out, I'll just go ahead and use what can be salvaged and then plonk the compost out on the veg plot as stated...

..........

(QUOTE=Bill HH;1183542]It sounds like either blight or frost damage. Did you see black spots on the leaves? Blight has been very bad this year.

If it was blight its best not to spread the compost around or it may re-infect next years crop. otherwise your compost idea is a good one.[/QUOTE]

[Bigmallly]

Make sure you remove even the teeniest ones before spreading H&V or you will have rogue tatties sprouting up all over.

[Potstubsdustbins]

Think of next year.

If your sure it was not blight, riddle the compost to remove any small potatoes, roots etc and store over winter.

Come next spring reinvigorate the compost with some NPK neutral fertiliser and reuse.

Potty

[Bill HH]

Yes the thing about so called Christmas potatoes is that you need to lift them before a frost and keep them till Christmas or take then into a GH before any frosts. You never know you might have some useable spuds there.

[Herbsandveg]

Cause of demise of your potatoes = the weather. It's completely the wrong time of the year to be growing them. Slightest frost will kill the foliage.

As to your used compost, spread it on your beds, it will do them good.

Thank you for that, Rusty

I can't understand why they sell them as 'potatoes for Christmas' when there's the likelihood that they'll hit some colder weather. That said, I've put two bags of compost out on the plot this afternoon, and the rest of the bags are going on tomorrow with some leaves. I'll give it a bit of a feed next Spring, too...

[Herbsandveg]

Be brave Herbs because you never know what you have until you look
Have you had a furtle recently
Were the bags outdoors or undercover?
When did you plant your tatties?

Dear Veggie Chicken

I've actually misplaced the remembrance of what a 'furtle' actually was, so I may well have had one or more (or many!) since we last spoke.

The taties were outside on the patio, and I planted them around August, I think...

Have you got the Real Seeds catalogue yet? (Has anyone?)...Mine hadn't arrived, so I think I might have to get in touch again...

[Hazel at the Hill]

I can't understand why they sell them as 'potatoes for Christmas' when there's the likelihood that they'll hit some colder weather.

The catalogue where you bought your potatoes is trading on the optimism of its customers. The gamble being that occasionally, in some years, in the right area of the country, if it's mild, you just may be able to get a crop. Or you might not, if it is too cold - as you have found.

If you read the growing instructions, I would imagine that the recommendation is to grow in tubs in a greenhouse at a temperature not lower than about 10degrees, which to my mind is far too much of a faff just to produce a few new potatoes for Christmas dinner.

I prefer to grow things in their season - and it's a deal site easier too.

[Martin H]

They might have done better than you think. I planted a bag of well-chitted Pentland Javelin on August 4th, had to clear them at the end of September when the blight got them and I still harvested twice what I planted. Not great but not as bad as I'd expected.

[WendyC]

There was another thread over the weekend with a similar problem. As has been said why companies pretend it is easy to produce a good crop I don't know. I managed to dissuade a fellow plot holder, who was new to allotments this year, not to plant his out, but suggested in the greenhouse. I think he was under the impression that they are different to the potatoes planted in the Spring. I've had potatoes caught by frost in late May on our site, so no chance in November.

[Two_Sheds]

I can't understand why they sell them as 'potatoes for Christmas' when there's the likelihood that they'll hit some colder weather.

Money.

They know that people will buy them. Even though we all are on here shouting "don't waste your money", people still buy them.

[Bill HH]

Living in Torquay and particularly in my little part of it we are fortunate where frost is concerned (Thanks to the gulf stream).My neighbour has had some considerable success with so callled Christmas potatoes. He starts them off in buckets outside then brings them into his unheated GH at the end of October. Following his achievments I tried some this year and lost the lot to blight but had I not had blight there were an amazing lot of (too tiny) spuds there, by now they would have been wonderful.