Container potato yield now & xmas ones?

[Lesley Jay]

Alice I suppose it should be down to how many seed potatoes you put in the buckets and dustbin.

[Alice]

The buckets had 3 seed potatoes and the bin had 5. The buckets still look like a better investment. I don't think I could have put more seed in the bin - or could I. Any advice welcome as I am trying to decide what to do next and plan for next year.

[JennieAtkinson]

Hi, probably too late but i got a Dobies catalogue through the post and they supply the christmas type potatoes, web address: www.dobies.co.uk
They have five varieties to choose from, Maris Piper, Nicola, Carlingford, Vales Emerald and Bambino. But you have to have your order in by the end of July, then they dispatch between now and early August.
Haven't decided on my ones yet, but I'll be looking for a blight resistant one
Hope that helps

I've had the Dobies catalogue open for a couple of days now, but can't decide which version to go for. Can anyone with experience indicate what would be a failsafe - well relatively failsafe. I was wondering about Maris Piper?

[Alice]

Hello Jennie, I believe Maris Piper are very reliable croppers and that's why the big commercial growers favour them - whole crop for Asda etc - BUT do you like them ? I NEVER buy them. I don't find them specially good for anything. They don't make specially good boiled potatoes and tend to go mushy and need steamed. They don't roast particularly well. They have no special flavour even when creamed. I believe they make quite good chips but I never make them. All in all just bags of water and starch. Well, that's my opinion, and if I was going for something delicios to grow I would go for something else.

[nick the grief]

Try Charlotte JA, Something a bit different for Christmas or the Vales Emerald & Nadine look interesting. I'm still thinking what to grow myself. then there's next years earlies ......

[JennieAtkinson]

I think it is Maris Peer rather than Piper. Sorry made a mistake!

I have grown Charlotte as a summer salad this year and been very impressed with results, although I have (so far), dug them up far too early! I need to impress No. 2 son and daughter in law (first Christmas home for four years) for no other reason than they are not interested in gardening. So perhaps i should go for Charlotte ?? Will have to get the order off soon - ooohh decisons decisons!

[FoxHillGardener]

The buckets had 3 seed potatoes and the bin had 5. The buckets still look like a better investment. I don't think I could have put more seed in the bin - or could I. Any advice welcome as I am trying to decide what to do next and plan for next year.

I just emptied out my compost bags of Sharpe's Express and got a piddling number of potatoes, with some of them really tiny. I think it might be for the same reason as your lower than expected yield in your dustbin. I reason it like this:

The seed potatoes go in and start growing stems and leaves. This provides them with the energy, through photsynthesis, to start producing potatoes. When you earth them up they have to then use the energy from now fewer photosynthesising leaves to grow more leaves and stem at the expense of potatoes. When they get to a certain size again, then there's enough energy to support making more potatoes. So, if you repeatedly earth them up as you do in a deep container like a dustbin or big compost bag, then they're continually making more leaves and stems and the potatoes get neglected. Still with me? If that rationale is right then I think you would need to leave them longer from planting than you would with a lower container such as a bucket. For deep container growing, maybe it should be the number of weeks after the last earthing up that you count, rather than the number of weeks from when you plant. Don't know how long that should be though...

I also lost lots of leaves and a few stems to slugs near the beginning, and I think once earthed up, that was the end of that particular plant - it just didn't have enough green stuff showing to make enough energy to regrow tops or potatoes

What do you think of my reasoning? Seems logical to me, but maybe I'm just rubbish at growing potatoes. I've got some King Edwards in bags too. I'm going to leave them longer than it says and see what happens. I will also try some for Christmas, but use big pots or buckets instead of the bags!

[Alice]

You might be right Foxhill gardener, or it might be that there was only 5 seed in the bin. I am going to try the bin again and put more seed in. I 'm planning to plant them like daffodils- every time I earth up add some moe seed as there was plenty of potatoes at the botom of the bin but very few at the top. Has anyone tried that. I'll definately keep the buckets going as thet were very successful. I've got some Nicola in now, see if they do as well as Charlotte. The Charlotte in the bin had been in a few weeks longer than the ones in the buckets and the foliage had started to die down so I don't think I could have left them longer. Not a didaster - I did get 6 lbs of lovely potatoes and I've still got the compost. I do hope your next crop does better for you.

[nick the grief]

Tricks of the trade, well the grief

The knack is not to bury them FHG. I usually wait till the tops are about 12" high & then give them 6" if top dressing & keep doing this.

Also it depends on other factors like did they dry out? this can reduce the yeild. Mine sit in some shallow trays ( it's the polystyrene packaging that came with the new washing machine we bought) & I fill this up at least once a week (more if itwarm) so the compost is always moist but not wet. I usually add some Tomorite or Maxicrop in with this as well as you don't want too much nitrogen other wise you get loads of tops & no spuds.

More importantly is finding a method that suits the way you garden & then sticking to that as my methods may or maynot work for you.

[saffron]

Had a Dobies catalogue in my GYO as well - already ordered some Vales Emerald for my Christmas spuds. As I was a very late starter with my garden - my first spuds went in 12th May so we are still waiting to empty the container, although i have had a little prod around.

[FoxHillGardener]

The knack is not to bury them FHG. I usually wait till the tops are about 12" high & then give them 6" if top dressing & keep doing this.

Also it depends on other factors like did they dry out? this can reduce the yeild. Mine sit in some shallow trays ( it's the polystyrene packaging that came with the new washing machine we bought) & I fill this up at least once a week (more if itwarm) so the compost is always moist but not wet. I usually add some Tomorite or Maxicrop in with this as well as you don't want too much nitrogen other wise you get loads of tops & no spuds.

Probably all of the above. I tried to leave enough leaves sticking out, but there was such a wide range of heights of plants, what with all the slimer munching. So the tall ones stuck out enough, but probably the shorter ones had too much topping up. Does that make sense? I watered them but no food. I'm such a bad mother.

I will persist,though and fathom out a way of getting it right. Maybe the King Edwards will do better. I'll treat them to some tom food as penance for murdering the last batch

[Doggler]

My Maris Peer in my 1/2 wooden barrel were fantastic, got 5lbs. Same variety in a "potato barrel" was rubbish but then these plants were attacked quite severely by black fly so maybe that's why.

Now, the Nicola in the recycling box - fantastic! Good hens egg size tatties and tasted so good. Got another box to harvest later this week. Can't wait. Very tempted to grow some more for Christmas.

[SueA]

Dexterdog, don't know why Thomson& Morgan told you they haven't got any 'Christmas' potatoes left as there is a special offer in Amateur Gardening magazine this week with them to buy 20 'Carlingford' tubers & 20 Exhibitor bags to grow them in for £12.99. The offer closes on 08/08.
The article says that if you try to grow from a potato tuber you have saved from your crop you've just lifted it won't grow because the tuber is 'thinking' about lying dormant as Autumn is approaching. Don't know if it's true. Has anyone grown potatoes for Christmas successfully from a saved potato?

[smallblueplanet]

Very interesting about the 'dormant' spuds Sue. As we only need 6 spuds (can't be bothered/got the space to grow too many in boxes) I was hoping to use our 'fresh' spuds. Is there anyway to fool 'em?

What about supermarket spuds?

[dexterdoglancashire]

Thanx SueA - I was puzzled as well, especially as the info in GYO is normally spot on. I emailled T&M and they sent that reply back. Never mind, good to know that other places do this type of spuds. Have been to Tesco and have planted Charlotte. Fingers X'd for Christmas! Best wishes Dexterdog