Potato plan

[Dorothy rouse]

I've been thinking of how best to grow the pots this year, and have come up with this plan.

Plant Earlies Rocket in ground.
Plant main crop, Romano in ground
Plant second Earlies, Charlotte in bags/ buckets.

This will mean that the Earlies will be lifted to release the space on Plot for planting another crop of something ( winter veg)

Main crop can grow on, until needed

I know it's harder to keep them watered enough in bags, but there will be only the Charlottes, did some of those last year, and they did reasonably.

Is this a good plan?

[Kristen]

Not enough room for Second Earliest in ground?

If you did Rocket in Bags then you would have then very early, to eat.

I grow a few Rocket (don't rate the flavour very much, only the speed!) in bags for our first crop of New Potatoes. I then have a few First Earliest in Bags, they follow on from Rocket, and then I have the rest of the 1st Earliest outside (planted not-very-early so I don't have to keep late frosts off them too much) - they crop after my bag ones, and then the 2nd earlies take over and provide us with spuds through the summer. Main Crop would be lifted later.

If space was tight I wouldn't grow main crop at all - cheap enough to buy (leaving aside what chemicals may have been used on the crop, particularly in a poor harvest year when Spuds are imported, and whether you can buy the varieties you like in the shops)

[Snow]

I'm doing this. Yesterday I planted earlies in the ground and I want them up asap in June so that I can follow them with beans.

My other potatoes are all being grown in containers.

[Dorothy rouse]

I only have half a plot, and usually plant stuff closer than recommended! So last year I used some bags on the paths, but I know they need a lot of water, and that in the ground is better if possible. So far have had the first Rocket, first week in June, and usually finished by end of June, leaving ground available for something else, which is helpful. I've managed to follow with runner beans in other years, not this though, cos they are going somewhere else.

I use every available inch of my plot, and keep adding things like fruit bushes etc!