Andyhol:- First spuds of year

[andyhol]

Yah Hoo!
Beat the blight this time! 'So far anyway!' Touch Wood or any other lucky mascot!
Took my first sample of Cara early spuds and was amazed to find seven or eight tubers per plant. This time last year was the start of a very smelly lifting time, if you've ever experienced blight you'll know what I mean, and the joy of having a non squelchy, stinking spud in my hand comes a near second to tasting that particular exquisite flamboyance of the first salad with 'MY' new spuds

[gojiberry]

Had my first spuds from the lottie yesterday. Not very big yet. Problem is I did not get any first earlies. The charlotte were planted 29 Feb, so another two weeks and they should be a better size. Still only two of us so don't mind not getting masses from each tuber.

Ian

[JO,JO]

two of my potatoe buckets are flowering i have had a rootle but cannot fiond anythind except little pea size haulms, do you think i am not digging deep enough down i dont want to pull the whole plant,how long would you leave it to have another rootle around.ps the flowers are lovely i have got purple and white flowers but last year they where yellow,

[Flummery]

Had my first - from buckets in the greenhouse - a fortnight ago.

[womble]

Mine are flowering as well. Bit surprised as they only went in sometime in April.
Growing yukon gold and vale emerald, only a few plants of each, I have no idea which is which as my daughter whilst "helping" me plant them, got them all mixed up

[jacob marley]

Dug the first root of rocket up today enough for 2 meals today and tomorow OH don't like new spuds planted 19 march and been flowering 2 weeks .
King edwards and Nicola flowering as well jacob

[Demeter]

Yah Hoo!
Beat the blight this time! 'So far anyway!' Touch Wood or any other lucky mascot!
Took my first sample of Cara early spuds and was amazed to find seven or eight tubers per plant. This time last year was the start of a very smelly lifting time, if you've ever experienced blight you'll know what I mean, and the joy of having a non squelchy, stinking spud in my hand comes a near second to tasting that particular exquisite flamboyance of the first salad with 'MY' new spuds

Yay! How brilliant - can't wait for ours to be ready (but they are second earlies and only went in on about 5 April so it'll be a few weeks yet for us!)

[TrulyGreen]

I'm growing my spuds in barrels. When the barrels are finished is it ok to put the compost on the garden if all the spuds are healthy?

[Demeter]

I dunno but I'm going to have a guess!

The thing is to make sure that you don't grow the same crops or the same family in the same soil without giving it a season or three of something else in between. So if you aren't going to grow anything from the potato family (inc tomatoes peppers aubergines etc) in the place where you intend putting the used compost then I would say it is probably fine.

Someone who is better informed than I will probably come along in a minute though, and I'll watch with interest as I'm planning to put the compost from my tomato containers on the potato patch: I know I won't want to grow any spuds / family there again for a while yet.

[Winky]

Hmmm, I guess that includes growbags then... I too will watch this thread as i've been dumping the old growbags on the garden for a few years now with no regard as to what's going to be grown in that patch! Due to economic restraints I have to make my growbags last two years - a bit of extra fertilizer at planting time the second year, and I've not had any issues, and the plants (usually tomatoes) have been fine

[Cutecumber]

I harvested my first spuds at the weekend, some Foremost.

Although they were only about nine weeks old the foliage was getting yellow and they seemed to have given up, so I harvested early just in case it was affecting the spuds themselves.

I got about 1.5kg of healthy tubers, so no complaints. The next lot should be more productive.

I use the compost in which they grew for other (un-related) plants - beans and lettuces usually. It gets mixed with some fresh garden compost and I add seaweed meal and some balanced organic fertiliser. After the second use I spread it around the garden.