Feeding my Potatoes

[johninblackpool]

Hi Folks

I have just emptied my last MPC bag of potato's i have grown and as with most of the others i grew for the first time they were not very big
I have recently heard that i should have fed them

Firstly...... What should i have fed them with
Secondly... How often should i have fed them

Any info greatly appreciated

[allotmentlady]

john what i GENERALLY do is make a mixture of well rotted manure and compost, then plant spuds, I do mine in deep tubs....that provides them with enough 'food'., alternatively if i am planting outside i will manure the land in September, cover up for next year xx

[Alison]

I grew all mine this year in open ground. First year on the plot and didn't have any beds dug in the autumn so couldn't manure. Added a handfull of granulated potato feed with each seed potato and, with the exception of one variety, have been very impressed with the yields. Basically what I'm saying is that so long as they have some food then they're not that fussy so don't worry about it. However, they also need an amount of water when they're trying to swell so it's possible it was a water problem as much as a food issue.

[johninblackpool]

Cheers

Alison, Yes i did notice that when i cut the plants back that the top of the bag was well watered but when i emptied out the bag from about 6 inches down it was bone dry
I think next year i will pop in a length of drain pipe so i can water at the base also if i drill holes in it all the way up it should water the whole bag from bottom to top

Mo, Just filled my trailor with manure from a local stables it was advertised on freecycle and it is organic (no fertilizers or anything) so i will add it to my home made compost next year and hopefully should get a better yield.

Also i know it is nothing to do with feeding the spuds but the bags i used were the large MPC from B & Q i think 140 litre
I put about 6 inches of MPC in bottom placed 2 seed potato's in and covered with about 3 inches more MPC as they started to sprout and break the surface i covered again with MPC and did this until i reached about 4 inches from the top of the bag probably about 2'6" in depth.

My question this time is as most of the potato's that i got were in the bottom half of the bag did i really need to keep earthing up all that way....i.e would i have still got the same if i only earthed up to half the depth of the bag

Cheers
John