Potatoes

[Lawa]

Hi guys as this is my first time growing anything ...

I have 4 potatoe planters (the plastic sack things)

I am looking at the best type that are easy to grow need to order some seed potatoes and hugely lost at the variety!

So looking for some first earlys and maincrop to get me starting!

I presume I need to get thinking about chitting my earlies asap?

[Kristen]

I have 4 potatoe planters (the plastic sack things)

I plant 3 tubers in each of my potato planter bag thingies

I am looking at the best type that are easy to grow need to order some seed potatoes and hugely lost at the variety!

So looking for some first earlys and maincrop to get me starting

I doubt Mains are worthwhile? Cheap to buy in shops, yield not brilliant from bags, cost of compost etc. to put in bags.

I grow First Early to get extra early spuds that taste fabby as new potatoes, and at a time when News are expensive in shops.

I grow one bag of Rocket (because it is very fast, although the flavour is "average"), then Arran Pilot which we like and then Charlotte (2nd early) because that's our favourite potato. After that the ones I have planted outside take over, for us.

I presume I need to get thinking about chitting my earlies asap?

I plant mine in February, but that is because once the leaves are up and above the top of the bag's compost I can put them in conservatory so they have light and are frost free (conservatory rarely falls below 5C and fluctuated to 10C through the winter). If you don't have frost free conservatory / greenhouse then better to delay planting. You can put them out during the day, when not freezing, and bring them in to frost-free garage, or similar, on cold nights, but as the plants get bigger that becomes more difficult; potato foliage is fragile, so moving a large plant is likely to damage the foliage - not to mention they bags get heavy too!

[arpoet]

As above re mains... second earlies are the way forwards in my book... If you dont want many, try your local wilkinsons. They do a good range and not overly expensive.

[Elfeda]

Kristen,

Do you chit potatos before planting in February?

[Kristen]

Yes. But basically I chit all my seed potatoes when they arrive, because if I store them in a dark/cool place, instead, they sprout, and those sprouts are long, white and fragile, so they break off when I plant them. (You can rub them off, and new shoots will come, but I figure that has to be wasting at least some of the tuber's energy - might be splitting hairs though!)

I don't think there is any benefit to chitting Maincrop, in terms of crop size / earliness of crop (whereas I do think that chitting 1st / 2nd earlies may result in an earlier crop), so for me it basically comes down to "how to store seed potatoes once they arrive" and I think chitting is as good as any, has a benefit for 1st and 2nd Earlies and possibly has a benefit for Mains.

[Penellype]

If I was looking for an early and a maincrop to grow in bags I'd choose Charlotte (2nd early) and Desiree (main) for performance and flavour, but agree that yields are smaller than in open ground.

[Potstubsdustbins]

This year I will grow Lady Christl in flower buckets for a first early and in dustbins and plastic tanks to grow on and use as a second early they make lovely chippers and bakers. My main crop will be as always Picasso in dustbins and large tanks.

I do not agree about containers giving less of a harvest than spuds grown in the ground, after all the spud doesn't know where it is growing. My belief is it is the grower missing putting something in the container that the plant needs. I plant 5 seeds to an 80ltr bin and regularly harvest between 20 to 25lbs per bin.

Another point to raise at this time is that in your second year your compost should cost much less as you should be reusing the compost from the previous season.

[Kristen]

I do not agree about containers giving less of a harvest than spuds grown in the ground, after all the spud doesn't know where it is growing. My belief is it is the grower missing putting something in the container that the plant needs.

I agree. Growing in containers is not my primary method, so I am not as good at it as growing in the ground. That's not to say I put more skill / effort / time into growing in the ground, rather the opposite!, as it is easier to grow in the ground - the plants mostly take care of themselves - so, on that basis, I don't do any more than they need and thus get more out of my in-ground crops than my containers.

I'm sure that if I put more time into container growing I'd get great crops, and maybe a Newbie would?, but my containers just get watered, usually regularly but sometimes not, and fed on a somewhat haphazard basis.

[Potstubsdustbins]

Unfortunately I have no ground so have to put the effort in to my containers,. Having said that I like the challenge and have found out over the last 20/25 years what I can and cannot get away with.

[Lawa]

Thanks all I have ordered another three growing bags so will have 6 in total so I can stagger my crop out.

This is all new to me so at the moment I am a bit excited!

[Potstubsdustbins]

Lawa, if you add your location to your profile we will be able to offer better advice.

[bario1]

Unfortunately I have no ground so have to put the effort in to my containers,. Having said that I like the challenge and have found out over the last 20/25 years what I can and cannot get away with.

Pots, can you give a quick summary of how you revitalise your compost please? I grew all my spuds in 50 litre barrels last year and i plan to do the same again as they came out lovely and clean (as opposed to the ones grown in the ground the year before, which were covered in scab and slug damage).

[rhyswales]

Pots, can you give a quick summary of how you revitalise your compost please? I grew all my spuds in 50 litre barrels last year and i plan to do the same again as they came out lovely and clean (as opposed to the ones grown in the ground the year before, which were covered in scab and slug damage).

I second this, potatoes grown in the bags were much better than what I took out the ground.

I will be growing Casablanca and Red duke of york as my first early's, then will grow Charlotte and Wilja as my second early's. Considering popping in a few King Edwards as a main but not decided yet.

As a first timer I deffinately recomend Charlotte.

[Potstubsdustbins]

First any compost that has had a disease or any other problems I recycle through the councils garden bin. They compost at much higher temperatures than I can so it gets a new life that way.

As to the rest all I do is store it in my dustbins over winter, lid on to stop it getting saturated. Come spring I riddled it to remove large roots etc. Then I mix in a neutral 7-7-7 fertiliser such as Growmore, BFB, or I have used dried FYM with good success, finally if its for spuds I add a dose of potato fertiliser. I use this for my MFB and the bottom 6/8 inches of my dustbins, this will keep everything well fed for 6 to 8 weeks when you will have to feed any compost to get a result.

The compost to top off the larger containers is just riddled and then used, no need to add anything as by this time you will be ancillary feeding anyway.

[Kristen]

Then I mix in a neutral 7-7-7 fertiliser such as Growmore, BFB

Have you tried using a slow release fertiliser? Or do you think better to use a "quick-ish" fertiliser and then adopt a feeding program after a few weeks?

I feed "when I remember"! so slow release works better for a lazy so-and-so like me, but as you major in pots perhaps you have a strict feeding schedule and thus have more control etc. that way about?