Kicking off

[Potstubsdustbins]

Looks like things are starting to kick off at last.

[Lisasbolt]

I'm thinking of doing some potatoes in similar sized pots, how many have you put into each pot please?
Does it work, pulling out the plant and having a load of tats?
Years ago my dad tried some in giant buckets, and tended to them for ages and when time to pull up he got a hand full on tiny little things. He never tried again ��

[Potstubsdustbins]

Hi Lisa,

I only do first earlies in those containers I put 1 seed in the smaller ones and two in the larger. With a little care feeding and watering you will get exactly the same crop as you would from planting into the ground. The main advantage is that you can start them early in the cold GH.

[marchogaeth]

So how big are the pots, please? Diameter and depth is better for me than volume.

[Potstubsdustbins]

The one on the right next to the wooden post is an old 4 gallon home brew keg.

Directly behind that is your bog standard Morrison's black flower bucket.

[Valleyman]

I do a single first early potato per 10/15 litre pot. They are started in the greenhouse for my early new potatoes and harvested when the flowers are in full bloom. This assures nice new potatoes but yield will obviously not be huge. A couple of meals max (for 2 people) per 10/15 litre container.

Then my outdoor potatoes are:
3 First Earlies per 35L pot
3 Second Earlies per 35L pot
2 Main-crop per 35L pot.

These are grown to full size, i.e until foliage dies back, and usually achieve a 35L pot jam packed full of potatoes, especially the main-crop. Often have to give away a fair few first and second earlies due to a glut, but the main-crop are stored.

Sizes for marchogeath:
15L: 30cm diameter, 26cm deep
35L: 40cm diameter, 37cm deep

[Penellype]

Couldn't resist adding mine to this thread, as everything is starting to grow.

Potatoes



Peas



Brassicas (mizuna, turnips, pak choi)



In the growhouse (spinach, namenia, carrots, nasturtiums, calendula and a spare cabbage)



Onions (with prikka strips to stop next door's cat jumping onto them from the top of the fence)

[marchogaeth]

The one on the right next to the wooden post is an old 4 gallon home brew keg.

Directly behind that is your bog standard Morrison's black flower bucket.

I can see the keg now. I thought it looked like good old MB's.

I do a single first early potato per 10/15 litre pot. They are started in the greenhouse for my early new potatoes and harvested when the flowers are in full bloom. This assures nice new potatoes but yield will obviously not be huge. A couple of meals max (for 2 people) per 10/15 litre container.
Sizes for marchogeath:
15L: 30cm diameter, 26cm deep
35L: 40cm diameter, 37cm deep

I'm impressed with how "small" these containers are compared with the bags that are usually recommended. I've had not very impressive yields in bags of earlies in the tunnel.

However, I'm having a go with Charlotte's (2nd early) this year which others on this forum seem to have good success with but I have only got a couple in each bag. I'm doing the topping up as the shoots appear method.

How much soil do you put in before you put in the potato? Do you fill up all in one go or bit by bit?
Diolch.

[Valleyman]

How much soil do you put in before you put in the potato? Do you fill up all in one go or bit by bit?
Diolch.

About 5 inches before the potato with 5 inches on top. Then soil up a couple of times until I get to the top of the container as the shoots appear, always leaving a few leaves uncovered to feed the potato gold.

35L containers are the best size in my eyes as they are just the right size for moving about, and emptying on a tarp. I only grow pots in containers btw, none in the ground whatsoever. Anything bigger gets a bit unmanageable. I did a 70 litre (55cm diameter, 41cm height) last year and the yield certainly wasn't double the 35l. That could have been bad luck... but moving 70l of spuds and saturated soil/compost on my shoulder trying not to trip over raised beds and a maze of canes was less than fun.

[Kristen]

How much soil do you put in before you put in the potato? Do you fill up all in one go or bit by bit?

I put about 4" in, some Potato fertiliser (mix it in), then the spuds, then another 4" - its probably about 1/2 or 2/3rd full at that point.

I don't think it matters if you fill up all in one go, or bit by bit, but I think it helps if you try to keep come foliage above the compost - so I fill mine up leaving some part of the foliage showing. In a lazy year (probably most of them!) the foliage has grown quickly enough that I can earth up all in one go

When I sieve my potting compost all the lumps that I can't be bothered to break up and force through the sieve get chucked in an old compost bag (turned inside out so I don't mistake it for a fresh bag - I've done that before any got a helping of lumpy bits!!) and then I use that to earth up the spuds. They don't care, and the way I see it its kinda "free" compost