Second Cropping Christmas Potatoes

[Sam2702]

Hi everyone, this is my second year gardening and I'm loving every minute of it, grew salad potatoes this year and we're currently eating our way through them 😊 I've just received my order of second cropping Charlottes which I want for Christmas Day. Please would someone be able to tell me whether I have to chit them and when to plant, I was planning on using a bag and bringing them into the greenhouse when the first frosts are forecast? Thanks, Sam


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[cotswold]

No expert on this but;

1, We didn't chit - it would have delayed by weeks. Planted in July.
2. They cropped well before Christmas.
3. We fleeced them before the frosts.

Tim

[catgirl]

I've put my potatoes in their bags today. You don't need to chit second cropping potatoes. Watered them in well, put them on the patio and am now planning on leaving them pretty much alone, apart from watering if we have a dry spell. When the first frosts threaten I'll move them into the greenhouse and fleece them for extra protection.

[Gattusso]

I am also planning Christmas spuds when planting in bags do you not need to earth up ? If not how deep do I plant

[Richard Eldritch]

Which spuds to go for?

[Sam2702]

Thanks catgirl, I'll do mine this weekend then. I've bought Charlotte potatoes and I presume I earth up the same as the ones I did earlier in the year, covering the shoots as they appear?


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[teakdesk]

If I buy seed potatoes for Christmas (I generally just use supermarket spuds that sprout over the summer) then I get a first early which will grow in 10 to 12 weeks.

I reason that even in the cold greenhouse growth will be slow or nonexistent during December so work on getting 12 to 14 weeks of growth before start of December... IE I sow them in a bucket at the end of August, around the Bank Holiday.

I get enough from a couple of buckets, each with 3 seeds, for new potatoes for the extended family at Christmas.

Now about those sprouts!!!!!!