Chitting and planting potatoes

[snuffer]

I usually put mine in toward the end of March but others have already got some planted. Be ready to protect foliage once it is above ground if we get any late frosts.

[yellow strawberry]

we have just brough some seed pots from wilkos at £3 a bag ,,our large b and q where going to bags of pot seeds for a fiver hth

[shirlthegirl43]

thanks,
i'm going shopping then.

what time of year is ok

is it too soon now for tubs on my patio?

If you are going to grow in tubs, I would try your sprouted shop spuds. The possible risks associated with using non-disease free tubers are negated if you are not putting them directly into the ground (should you find there are problems you can just chuck the soil away rather than polluting your garden)

[Hazel at the Hill]

Hirons at Perry Barr* sell loose seed potatoes, so you don't have to buy a whole bagful.

Welcome the the Vine.

*I'm assuming that you are Eddie in Birmingham, rather than a chap called Eddie Birmingham, here.

[rana]

Garden 'experts' often bang on about the risk of disease with shop bought (eating) potatos. I have in the past used supermarket spuds with no apparent problems of disease to them or to other spuds on the plot. More recently the supermarkets also sell by variety often providing the name for even the lower cost spuds. This is all good news particularly as it can be quite difficult to get hold of smaller quantities of certain varieties of seed potatos. It also means you can eat those spuds not planted so none are wasted. Sort of taste before you grow...................................

[jaybeebuzz]

Planting Charlotte Salad Potatoes

I have some Charlotte Salad Potato tubers chitting on the windowsill which will be ready for planting in a week or two but I can't decide which would be the best place to plant them. Should I plant them in big tubs in the greenhouse (and move tubs outside when the climate is warmer) or should I plant them in the greenhouse border which has not been planted up for many years?

Late last year I grew late potatoes in the tubs but the yield (in early Oct) was not great and they seemed to be incredibly wet (the tubers were rotting). For this reason I am a little wary of using the tubs again, but maybe that was just a bad time of year to be growing potatoes?

Any advice would be most gratefuly received!

[shirlthegirl43]

Hello and welcome to the vine.

There are lots of threads re growing spuds in containers, use the search facility to have a look at them.

If your last ones rotted and were too wet, can I ask if you remembered to drill drainage holes in your container?

[jaybeebuzz]

Hi Shirley
Thanks for the warm welcome and the quick reply!
Yes, the tubs do have holes in them although if I use them again I think it might be wise to drill some extra ones. The tubs are actually marketed as potato tubs.
I suspect that I was probably over-watering last autumn, hence the rotting of the tubers, but as a potato growing newbie, I really didn't know how much water to give them, epsecially at that time of year.
What I'm really asking is, given the choice, would forum members prefer to plant potatoes in the ground (albeit in the greenhouse) or tubs, in terms of the yield? I have the option of planting in either although I do wonder if planting in the ground in the greenhouse may end up being too hot for them? (whereas I can move tubs outside on hotter days).
Many thanks for your advice.

[shirlthegirl43]

I grow in tubs as I don't have the soil depth or space to devote to spuds. I usually get quite a good crop. As to watering, keep the soil moist rather than wet, little and often is best for spuds as it stops the tubers swelling too quickly and splitting their skins. Charlotte spuds are good in tubs as they are preferred as a small potato. Not sure about spuds and heat, mine are outdoors as I keep the greenhouse space for tomatoes and cucumbers (and hopefully a melon this year).

If you have the space and the spuds, try some each way and see what gives you most satisfactory results

[jaybeebuzz]

Shirley

Thanks very much for your advice. I appreciate it! Funnily enough I came up with the same idea as you, that maybe I should actually go for the lot - try growing some in the garden, some in the greenhouse border and some in tubs and see what works best! I do have enough seed potatoes to try all three and I suppose that way I should get some satisfaction one way or another!

Is it best to just plant a couple of seed potatoes per tub, for a larger yield? I was reading elsewhere on this forum that a lot of people plant just one or two whereas the books I've read suggest 4 or 5 which is the advice I followed last year (with disappointing results).

Thanks again for your help.

[shirlthegirl43]

I plant one seed spud in a 10 litre pot. A lot of folks use builder's buckets and 3 seed spuds. I guess from that you could work out the ratio depending on the size of your buckets. there are numerous threads on here about early spuds, Christmas spuds etc. and it will take you ages to read them all. Good luck with them anyhoo.

[jaybeebuzz]

Thanks Shirley!

[stitching witch]

Many thanks to you all. I'm feeling far more confident now.

I may put a few in containers and the rest will go down to the allotment along with the Vivaldis.

Karen

[Victoria26]

Given the choice I'd choose tubs - I like to companion plant and a lot of other veg dont like potatoes so if i put them in tubs or bags I can lift them and lay them where I need them and where they wont affect my other plants.

[jaybeebuzz]

Thanks Victoria26!