No spuds formed

[Scarlet]

Are you growing in pots Marb? Foliage going over quickly says lack of water to me. The pic you posted didn't look like blight TBH. It really hasn't been a good year for you this year has it?

What has grown well for you?

[Marb67]

I have been watering them regular so it isn't lack of water.

[Potstubsdustbins]

How often did you feed them?

[Nannysally99]

We drown our potatoes twice a day as they are in recycling bags. Friday is feeding day with liquid Growmore or the like. I do start them off with a handful of some foul smelling stuff and a bit more every couple of weeks firstly. We have a south facing garden so the odd haulms get scorched, but our crop is outstanding.

[Potstubsdustbins]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^That's the way to do it.

[Nannysally99]

Why, thank you. Just furtled 5 international kidney for hubby's dinner. 12 mins cooking, perfect

[Marb67]

I fed them with organic spud fertilizer when I first planted them. A little comfry later on down the line. Yet another has just died off.

[Potstubsdustbins]

The compost would have been devoid of nutrients by at the latest week 6. Spuds are hungry plants so a little comfrey would not have made much difference.

[Marb67]

Still shouldn't have died off so dramatically though. never happened before and I have always grown the same way.

[Noosner]

I've got a problem with my spuds now. They were in well manured soil and the plants grew splendidly. But my early diggings up revealed only a few tubers for each plant then today, a lot that were green. Those that weren't green had been radically eaten by slugs. I've never had this happen before. Can the weather be blamed? Can the hazelnut tree that cast shade over the plants be blamed? Can I be blamed? (I expect so)...

[Two_Sheds]

Green spuds occur because the tubers are exposed to the light. Mulching the plants would prevent this: I use wet newspapers topped with grass clippings, leafmould or just a bit of soil

It's recommended to water heavily when the tubers are forming, ie towards the end of the plant's life. It makes a huge difference to the yield: my plants next to the watering hole were prolific, but only 2 foot away they were tiny, pathetic

[Noosner]

Green spuds occur because the tubers are exposed to the light. Mulching the plants would prevent this: I use wet newspapers topped with grass clippings, leafmould or just a bit of soil

It's recommended to water heavily when the tubers are forming, ie towards the end of the plant's life. It makes a huge difference to the yield: my plants next to the watering hole were prolific, but only 2 foot away they were tiny, pathetic

Thanks, 2sheds, that's v helpful.

It's true that my spuds next to the water butt that sprung a slow leak are doing loads better than the others.

When do the tubers form? Is it after flowering?

[veggiechicken]

Not all spuds flower before the tubers are ready - confusing innit

[BUFFS]

being close to the sea I put 6ins of seaweed in the bottom of a 50ltr tub, sit the tattie on top and put in 6 ins of soil/compost topping up as needed, so my Ayrshire tatties taste the same as bought ones(only better) or same as jerseys as this is how they fertilise their soil. I am going to be lifting my salad blue this week to get my "blue chips" and I don't mean gambling........I know how they do it as I lived there in my younger wild days(in the background on first Bergerac episode...)

[BUFFS]

being close to the sea I put 6ins of seaweed in the bottom of a 50ltr tub, sit the tattie on top and put in 6 ins of soil/compost topping up as needed, so my Ayrshire tatties taste the same as bought ones(only better) or same as jerseys as this is how they fertilise their soil. I am going to be lifting my salad blue this week to get my "blue chips" and I don't mean gambling........I know how they do it as I lived there in my younger wild days(in the background on first Bergerac episode...)

a little postscript...we have to go early for the seaweed as the council has it cleared by 9am,dont you just love them, weeks to do owt but daybreak to potter along the beach on a lovely summers morning, it seems that they are not as daft as they are stupid looking...