my first POTATOOOOOOS EVER!!

[Potstubsdustbins]

Bronwen,

Don't worry to much about flowers they don't give an accurate assessment of when the spuds are ready, time scale is much more important.

Sharpes Express are a first early but renown for being one of the later varieties so with an April planting you are looking into late June. Kestral are a second early for mid July lifting.

At this stage when the tubers are developing keep them well watered and give them a regular high potash feed such as tomorite.

My personal belief is that providing you have good drainage you cannot over water spuds at this stage of development. To give you an idea my bins get a gallon each every other day more if the weather is hot.

Colin

[singlebilingual]

Well done Germinator. I have to say I have always been dissapointed with my potato harvest planted in pots and veg bags. The yields have always been very poor!

[Germinater]

I do water everyday without fail for a long period so maybe that's the answer to it.there was also lots of little potatos all the way down the stem so I lost quite alot of potentall spuds but I won't do that next time il just leave them until they die back and then see how many I get from the bags

[VirginVegGrower]

Potatoes need a lot of water - just need drainage holes as Colin says. I am constantly watering!

[RedThorn]

Congrats, your first potatoes are a truly special harvest and will taste like food from the gods! Enjoy it and long may you grow Well done and I know what you mean about your daughter... mine ran around he garden screaming "potato potato" seeing the joy on her face has firmly bedded itself in my cherished memories

[Germinater]

Yes it's great watching the kids reactions and knowing a certain amount of this will be embeded in there memory's and when there older and have kids they will maybe do the same thing with them.I must say there not my very first potatos as we grew them with my mum when I was about 9 but I count them as my first as my mum had no involvement just me .funny how moving house and finding a few batter little cold frames at the end of the garden can bring back those memory's and spur you into wanting to grow your own food based on warm memory's of your childhood

[chris]

Well done you.

I hate to tell you this but you joined the club, made the commitment the first time you planted a seed. Once joined it is very difficult to leave.

Just to add.. the first rule of the club is TO talk about the club

Spread the word !

[Germinater]

O i talk about it to anyone I can pen it to a room for long enuff weather they like it or not..

[scarletrunner]

Well done Germinator. I have to say I have always been dissapointed with my potato harvest planted in pots and veg bags. The yields have always been very poor!

So were mine until i followed the advice of plenty of water and tomato feed +good drainage.Crops from containers are now excellent.

[Potstubsdustbins]

The hardest thing I find about growing spuds is something I lack, PATIENCE. Like a lot of others I can't wait to get the spuds into the kitchen especially new spuds.

Every year I promise to control myself knowing full well I will come up short by havesting to early. Every year I fail the test and the first couple of buckets are well short of what they could be as the later buckets prove.

The only way round the problem that I have found is to plant more buckets.

Colin

[Germinater]

Haha yer that's my sentiment exactly Colin .just plant more lots and lots more you can never have anuff food anyway and the best thing is it doesn't get wasted as you have the best preserver in the world .the plant it's attached to ..

[bronwen]

Bronwen,

Don't worry to much about flowers they don't give an accurate assessment of when the spuds are ready, time scale is much more important.

Sharpes Express are a first early but renown for being one of the later varieties so with an April planting you are looking into late June. Kestral are a second early for mid July lifting.

At this stage when the tubers are developing keep them well watered and give them a regular high potash feed such as tomorite.

My personal belief is that providing you have good drainage you cannot over water spuds at this stage of development. To give you an idea my bins get a gallon each every other day more if the weather is hot.

Colin

Colin, Just wanted to say thank you for providing helpful, friendly advice on so many of the posts I write
I must confess I just had to google to see how many litres in a gallon (4.546 by the way!) and think I have been underwatering mine!

And hello to RedThorn - I am from Perth and all my family are there!

I shall be endeavouring to wait patiently 'til it is time to harvest my potatoes! Although two of the plants are still droopy today even after watering yesterday and rain today.

[Potstubsdustbins]

Bronwen,

Your more than welcome that is what the vine is about, not been here long myself but wish I had found it years ago.

If I may make another general point about spuds in containers. When they are in full growth ignore rain it counts for very little. To explain, some plants i.e. calabrese and cauli's are a good example have a leaf system that collects rain water and conducts it to the centre of the roots. The haulm on spuds is one of the worlds best natural umbrella's. If your pots are on hard standing pop out after its rained and check around the pot, you will find the area under the canopy is dry.

Colin

[mrpaulbradley]

Got to add my congratulations!
Well done and hopefully the first of many.
Good to see your wee one getting the bug too.
Wishing you health and happiness eating them

[Germinater]

Cheers mrbradly wow your up early went you .my daughters love being out there .my youngest a little to much she comes in all the time with handfulls of green toms and strwbs bless her but she is starting to understand that they need to be red now..