Potatoes again (sorry)

[Jason Cartwright]

Hi,

I've tried growing potatoes, using potato bags, for 2 yrs and not been successful both years.
The 1st year I had 5 bags on the go and when it came to dig them up there was nothing but skins. Last year I used 3 bags and didn't get anything.
I thought I followed all advice but somethings gone wrong somewhere.
Is there a link I can use to me this year?
Can I start to plant them, in the bags, in the shed while the weather is rubbish?
Can I grow 'earlies' all year or do I have to use 'main'?

Thanks

[Kristen]

"nothing but skins" suggests that was the original potato that you planted (which would just be a slimy mess at harvest time).

If that's the case had the plants not had long enough to form new potatoes along the roots? Perhaps not enough water ? Did you leave them until a) after flowering or b) until the foliage went yellow and died down or c) for XX weeks perhaps?

Can I start to plant them, in the bags, in the shed while the weather is rubbish?

Yes, must be frost free, and might benefit from some heat initially to get them into growth - e.g. in utility room until the leaves appear, then earth up in the bags and put them in the shed until tops are above the soil, then you need to put them in the light (but they must stay frost free - you could carry them into the shed on nights when temperature is forecast 5C or lower perhaps?

Can I grow 'earlies' all year or do I have to use 'main'?

Difference between Earlies and Main is just the length of time they take to mature - i.e. Main don't have to be planted "later". You will should a heavier crop from Main varities, but they will take a few weeks longer to mature

[Chippy Minton]

Not enough water, not enough time to mature, not enough sun, not enough nutrient, not enough of any number of things!!!! I had great success the first year I did this (last century Pentland Javelins in case anyone's interested) since then I have had containers and bags and all sorts and always been disappointed, so I'm back to old Mother Earth.

Sure someone'll be along shortly hopefully to give a foolproof idiots guide to success

[Kristen]

I get low yield in bags, and only use them for really early spuds (growing the bags in my conservatory). After that I rely on outdoor crops which, for me, yield much better and require less effort watering them etc.

But I do get a crop, reliably, just not a huge crop. So there should be something that folk here can suggest so that it is sure-fire guaranteed for others.

[Potstubsdustbins]

I have never grown in bags always in dustbins and old plastic water tanks.

For extra earlies I use Morrisons flower buckets 2 seeds per bucket they will go in about the end of Feb into a frost free GH.

Watering, feeding and the correct length of time given for growth are the main criteria for a decent crop.

Once the haulm is full grown do not rely on rain to water the plants the haulm is the finest natural umbrella around. Spuds are about 80% water so consistent watering is essential. In high summer my bins get 2 gallons each daily, but do ensure you have good drainage or you will drown the plants. One final point on watering do not look at the surface of the growing medium and use this as a guide, put your dinkies right into the compost to check whether it is moist down below where the spuds are growing.

With feeding what ever compost you use it will be dead by about week 6, after this it will need to be fed to produce any sort of crop. I like high nitrogen for the first few feeds then change to high potash until harvest.

As to timings I like to give my first earlies Lady C/Red duke of York at least 12 weeks, some are left in the containers up to 18 weeks to get larger spuds good for chippers. Main crop I give at least 22 weeks. You have to be flexible though like last year due to the weather at the beginning of the year everything required extra time to reach maturity. Always have a furtle before tipping the container out.

With a little care you can get a cracking crop of really clean spuds. My Picasso main crop in bins average 24lbs a bin and yes that is a full size dustbin in pic 2.

Potty

[Jason Cartwright]

Thanks for the replies. I'm going to go with that I didn't feed them because I didn't know when and how.
I thought something had eaten them.

Am I right in understanding?
I plant the potato seeds, wait for the shoots to show, cover them. Carry on doing that till bag near full then let plants grow, flower and die off?
If that's right, How big should shoots be till I cover them? and When and how do I feed them?

[rustylady]

No Jason, don't cover the shoots. They need sunlight to grow properly. When you add more compost just add it round the stems, leaving some green leaf at the surface. Otherwise the poor things will use all their energy just trying to reach the light.

[Jason Cartwright]

Ah bugger. That's where I'm going wrong.
How big do I wait for the stems to get before covering?
When and how do I feed them?

[Potstubsdustbins]

Jason,

What variety are you going to grow and what growing medium will you be using? Are you going down the organic route or will you be using ready made feeds such as miracle grow etc?

As to earthing up I usually do it when the shoots are about 6 inches above compost level leaving just a couple of inches of green above the compost. I find earthing up this way in containers gives better yields. Early in the season if a frost is forecast and you have no other way of protecting the crop it is perfectly acceptable to completely cover the haulm to protect the plants, they will find there way through again.

Potty

[Kristen]

Two schools of thought, either earth up carefully as they grow, leaving as many leaves showing as you can. To me this makes sense as the leaves can carry on providing energy for the plant to grow. Or cover them completely - typically that is how they are earthed up outside - a hoe is used to pull soil over the foliage completely, and in the field they are planted and ridged-up all in one go, so they have to grow all the way to the surface without ever seeing any light

"Carry on doing that till bag near full then let plants grow, flower and die off?"

Spuds should be ready for harvesting soon after flowering (some don't flower, so worth also going by weeks-from-planting which varies with variety / type). Early spuds usually harvest from that point onwards, as required for the kitchen

Main crop are normally left until the tops die down so they have the maximum time to bulk up but we, for example, start harvesting Pink Fir Apple [which I think would probably be classes as a Main Crop variety] for summer lunches as & when we need them

[rustylady]

Or cover them completely - typically that is how they are earthed up outside - a hoe is used to pull soil over the foliage completely,

Err no - that's not how I do mine. I do use a hoe, but don't ever cover the foliage.

[Aberdeenplotter]

I do cover the foliage for as long as there is enough soil to do so as we get late late frosts up here. After the foliage is too big to cover, they are on their own

[Kristen]

Err no - that's not how I do mine. I do use a hoe, but don't ever cover the foliage.

You may be less prone to frosts on the coast, or plant later to avoid them?

I do delay planting mine, as earthing them up to protect from frosts is a chore, and I grow my very early harvesting spuds in bags in the greenhouse instead, but even so I have to earth up (and completely cover) my spuds to avoid a frost in April 9-years-in-10 I reckon, let alone a late one in May which is much more difficult to protect against - but we only get one of those 1-year-in-10 or maybe 1-in-20 even.

I would expect that, on average, people plant their spuds earlier than I do, and thus have to earth them up to avoid frost as a consequence.

I suppose you could use fleece, although in my experience that only gives a bit of protection - it should keep a touch of ground frost off but I haven't found it sufficient on nights colder than that, plus you have to be around to be at home / available to go out and cover them with fleece and uncover the next day (which covering them with soil avoids)

[Potstubsdustbins]

I never earth up to totally cover the haulm. I have tried but over the past 25 years have discovered that when growing in bins it improves the yield to earth up slowly. This leads to spuds growing along the haulm through out the height of the bin. Not many you understand but enough to make it worth while.

I often find the first spud within a couple of inches of the top of the compost and have to be careful when flood watering not to expose them to daylight. I usually get between 1 & 2 pounds of spuds on the way down to the main harvest.

As to frost protection nothing could be easier I simply pop the................lid on when a frost is forecast.

I had one spare Picasso seed spud last year and waste not want not I chucked it in a large plant pot. Result at harvest spuds very close to the surface and over 4lbs of lovely spuds

Potty

[Kristen]

I never earth up to totally cover the haulm. I have tried but over the past 25 years have discovered that when growing in bins it improves the yield to earth up slowly. This leads to spuds growing along the haulm through out the height of the bin. Not many you understand but enough to make it worth while.

Not sure if I mentioned it here, or somewhere else, but I read [in a recent edition of the RHS "The Garden"] the suggestion to plant 3 spuds near the bottom of Bags, and another 2 higher up, which then spreads the cropping vertically.

Personally I've never managed to get many spuds in the top part of the Bag ... I do earth up [bags] little-by-little keeping the foliage clear as I go, so interested to hear of your success. Do you think that the variety has anything to do with it?

Your containers look smaller than the bags I use (and I would have thought larger containers would have encouraged the plants more - but 'tis only a thought)