Maincrop Potatoes For Storage

[VirginVegGrower]

How many tubers would/do you buy and plant in order to feed a family of four through the year? I want to get us through the gap after the new potato season and at least part way into 2014.

[Alison]

How often do you eat potatoes? I planted up 3 No beds with 18 seed potatoes in each last year and we're still eating them but there are only two of us. Crop was a bit lower last year so we'll probably have to buy some to see us through a couple of months but am guessing we'll have enough until about the end of Feb. Other years I've managed to eek us through to the early new ones out the polytunnel but sadly not this year.

[VirginVegGrower]

We probably eat spuds five days out of seven. I grew a athletic yield this last year but then it was an exceptionally poor year full stop. I just want to get us towards being a bit more self sufficient in the staples. I always seem to be able to keep us going in leeks and onions but not potatoes.

[vicky]

Scarily I just roughly totted up how many I planted last year and reckon 120 tubers will feed 5 of us till late spring. But I'll be buying baking potatoes a lot earlier as the big ones get used first.

[Mikey]

You need to go about this all in the other direction VVG, ask yourself how much of each veg do you eat in a week. Personally we use about 5kg of pots a week which is about 2 haulms worth if left to fully grow.

I've used the same principle for all my veg this year to ensure I have enough of what I want when I want. I now have a good plan for successional sowing, not something I'm generally that good at doing mind. I live in hope.

[Aberdeenplotter]

Yups, I think Mikey is thinking along the right lines. Try to work out how many spuds you will need for the table and then try to convert that backwards to how many seed you will need. I think Mikey is maybe a wee bit optimistic with the expected yeild but you will know from your own results what you can expect from your garden - in a good year.

[solway cropper]

I only managed to grow a meagre 170 lbs of spuds last year due to weather and blight and they fed three of us from May to November.

In a 'normal' year my typical yields would be around 1-2 lbs per seed for first earlies up to about 5-6 lbs for maincrop.

[Rhona]

We put in about 100 - 120 tubers, eat potatoes maybe four or five times a week (as in steamed, fishcakes, veg bakes etc); and we have slightly less than a largish sackful left to get us through (hopefully) most of spring. There's four of us, but that includes two little ones!