Compost

[cheops]

Hi all, am gonna try planting potatoes this spring in several containers for the first time mainly because i don't have a lot of space. Downside is you need quite a lot of soil/compost to fill the containers. Good quality enriched compost is expensive. Is it ok to buy typical b&q low quality compost and enrich it myself with growmore/bonemeal etc? And reuse it the following year and enrich it again? There is an ironmongers close to me who sells growmore, bonemeal etc unpackaged and by the kilo and is quite inexpensive.

[Bigmallly]

Hi Cheops,
I grow my spuds in a couple of dustbins with holes in the bottom. You only need 6" - 12" of compost in the bottom then just put your seed pots in & cover. Then keep covering as the new shoots pop through. I wouldn't have thought it would be overly expensive.

[cheops]

ok, Bigmally thx for that. What compost do you buy and use and after harvesting what do u do with the old compost?

[FionaH]

Last year I used whatever was cheapest at the local garden centre I put the used compost on beds and dug in. Its not a good idea to use potato compost where you are planning to grow tomatoes or more spuds.

I think I got this right, if not someone clever will be along shortly

[piskieinboots]

I second FionaH - don't be tempted to reuse compost for more spuds or tomatoes, too much chance of passing on diseases to your next crop.

I, too, use cheap compost and add some chicken manure to mine - seems to work nicely thus far

[cheops]

thx Fiona, didnt think the cheap B&Q COMPOST I GOT LAST YEAR WOULD BE SUSTAINABLE FOR THE WHOLE GROWING SEASON OF THE SPUDA BUT I GUESS I COULD MIX IN SOME GROWMORE AND BONEMEAL WHEN I FIRST PLANT. oops sorry for caps.

[Bigmallly]

You won't be putting a full bag in all at once, you only need a small amount in the bottom then keep adding as the shoots grow.

[chriscross1966]

Freecycle for some topsoil.... I grew a lot of stuff this year jsut gone in builders bags filled with freecycled topsoil and manure.... hardly any cost as long as you don't have to go out of your way to get the soil.... Grew good spuds, decent sweetcorn, onions, beans, courgettes and would have tomatoes if the blight hadn't got em.... not so great on pumpkins, they need too much water......

chrisc

[potashpat]

Spuds n compost

We always use Arthur Bowers compost, it's something that my dad always used, he was always picky about compost and found that to be good.

Last year we used Potato fertilizer and found it to work a treat on our earlies we had a bumper crop both from the ones we planted in the ground and the ones in bags. We were cropping from April to August on our first earlies!

We did everything the same as usual apart from the spud fertilzer so we concluded that the fertilizer was the key. It's available at most garden centres but it quite expensive. We found a bloke at our local market in Nottingham who sells it very cheap I think we paid £25 for a 25kg sack or £1.50 per kilo. I've seen it advertised at our local garden centres at £5.00 per kilo. I try to find out his contact details as he sells it mail order.

I think it's well worth a try, we'll be using again.

[Maddie106]

Hi all, am gonna try planting potatoes this spring in several containers for the first time mainly because i don't have a lot of space. Downside is you need quite a lot of soil/compost to fill the containers. Good quality enriched compost is expensive. Is it ok to buy typical b&q low quality compost and enrich it myself with growmore/bonemeal etc? And reuse it the following year and enrich it again? There is an ironmongers close to me who sells growmore, bonemeal etc unpackaged and by the kilo and is quite inexpensive.

I've had some good spud crops in containers using compost from Gro-bags.
When I plant the spuds, I put in some gromore(usually from Wilko) around the tubers.

I re-use the compost for planting up pots of spring bulbs or summer bedding plants ( with a bit more gro-more added) mulching fruit trees etc or putting in the bean trench.

I'm reluctant to re-use the same compost for spuds in case of disease.

[organic vic]

You can also put some comfrey leaves in the soil before planting the spuds. I did this for my christmas spuds and that was the only feed I gave them and they thrived in the greenhouse and I had some lovely fresh spuds for christmas dinner that were quite large

[Sanjo]

Container potatoes

We grew quite a few in various types of container last year, rolled down black sacks, big tubs. ~Used a mixture of Garden Centre/B & Q compost and any spare soil I could scrounge from other areas of the garden. Mixed in garden compost and /or Harrington & Jessops stable manure (will only use this one as they pretty well guarantee aminopyralid free).
We also grew quite a few on top of the bed using the no dig method.
All were pretty successful. The soil from the numerous bags was decanted into a spare compost bin as was the tomato compost. Like other grapes I will not risk growing spuds in it again this year, and this way I can see any tiny spuds i missed.
As I am unable to rotate crops like you would on a lottie I shall swap this soil for non potato soil from other containers and garden areas. Bit of a pain really but keeps me active!!!
My garden centre sells H & Jessop manure usually something like 3 or 4 bags for £12. Not as cheap as free from a stable though. I did contact them last year and ask for a reassurance that the manure was safe and they assured me it was. I do a test though on each new bag, just to be on the safe side.
Hope this helps. Sandra

[Burnzie]

Hi Cheops,

treat yourself to a sack of Levingtons for your expensive plants,

but just use something like Wickes multipurpose (4 sacks for £11 last year) for your potatoes.

regards


Burnzie

[solway cropper]

I regularly use the compost from the cheapest grow-bags I can find. B+Q at the moment work out at less than 5p per litre. I start the container with home-made compost with pelleted chicken manure mixed in and then top up with cheap stuff with a little added BFB as the spuds grow. Works for me and you can follow the spuds with a salad crop.

[snakeshack]

grew mine in tyres last year initially planted in the old hanging basket compost with bfb and chicken manure pellets,then when 2nd tyre went on compost from heap,comfrey leaves. 3rd & 4th tyres had cheapest compost I could buy(b&q i think.
great crop of first & second earlies not so hot on the maincrop.
reused the tyres and compost with growmore and regular tomato fertilizer for pumpkins and cucumbers.