Permanent Potato Bed!

[Sarico]

Well I know in the past people use to have a potato bed. At the end of the day what you can loose? You are think like Fukuoka what you don't need to do to get result.

[Potstubsdustbins]

As everyone knows I grow mine spuds in containers using saved, revitalised compost. For the last 6 years I have not really bothered what was grown in the compost the year before. This has had no detrimental affect but I would/do get rid of any compost that has had a problem.

My friend Tel filled in a 8ft x 5ft x 4ft deep pond some 10/12 years ago. First he drilled some large holes in the bottom, then filled it with home made compost topped of with a few bags of bought compost. Tel being Tel he then scrounged some Picasso main crop from me. he had a very good crop the first year and was well pleased.

The first part of the second year he had some health problems and the gardening went to one side. Later in the year he noticed some potato haulms, saying now't to nobody in case of failure he adding first miracle grow then tomorite as appropriate and had another good crop. Then he let everyone know.

He as never planted again and I know he had a crop this year as I asked him.

Couple of points. 1, We are very lucky as we do not see much blight round here in fact I have never seen it in real life. 2, Isn't this how spuds would grow if there was no human intervention?

It's got to be worth a go VC, if only for your success to upset some of us.

[Snadger]

Well I know in the past people use to have a potato bed. At the end of the day what you can loose? You are think like Fukuoka what you don't need to do to get result.

This is a family site, no need for that sort of language!

[sparrow100]

I have never had volunteer potatoes, but my harvesting is often done with eagle-eyed kiddies who winkle out Everything. We have really bad late blight on our site, so I would be hesitant about overwintering the spores. As I understand it the jury's still out on whether they will survive in the soil, we're having increasingly mild winters and the strains are developing all the time.

So I wouldn't do it, but I look forward to hearing your results though. If I had less blight I might give it a go.

[Snadger]

I normally dig up my tatties as I need them. Once all the tatties in that particular bed have been harvested, I dig the bed over to get rid of any tatties I'd missed. I then dress the bed with muck. Like Sparrow i have very few volunteer spuds!

[vixylix]

I think you should go for it VC - it makes life easier in the short run and might just work!

Surely if you replace the nutrients now and again the soil should be able to handle it.

Keep us posted!

[Penellype]

The main problem with volunteer spuds is blight. Blight can't survive in the soil, it needs to live on live solanaceous material. Volunteer spuds are therefore the biggest spreaders of blight around, as almost all other solanaceous plants die off during winter. If you haven't had blight you may be ok, but if you have I wouldn't touch this idea with a barge pole.

[cheapskate chaz]

I have a book called "Potato", it explains origins.nutritional content, varieties, and a load of recipies. It explains planting methods too, but it doesn`t say anywhere that you must always rotate spuds. Now we all know experience tells us that to avoid certain problems it`s best to rotate, all I can say is ...preparation would be key. digging over winter time and laying down Mustard seed as green manure, It`s been said that Mustard seed helps keep away WireWorm,also usual slug traps/pellets, but Blight is something else, growing Blight resistant varieties reduces your choices, but will have the obvious benefit, or just use grow bags/containers. I see others have the occasional spud reappear, in their compost as well.
I`m not that lazy, but I do love my spud so I will re-plant different varieties, and this year wasn`t brilliant as WireWorm done most of the damage, hopefully next years crop will fair better.
Just for those that don`t rate spuds, Quote- they are the best all round source of nutrition known to man-unquote from my book by Alex Barker.

[Snadger]

So, you don't dig your spuds one year and you just leave em in to form more spuds the following year?
You will probably get SOME spuds the second year,if you have no prolonged severe frosts that penetrate deep into the soil.
It will be a vastly decreased and intermittent crop from what you would have had if you had planted fresh seed and will probably be riddled with keel slugs,wire worms and gawd knows what else.
If you ARE digging your spuds up, you are half way to having a clean plot for future veg so why spuds again? The spuds that are left will be undersize and randomely spaced, so to me its a waste of space!

[rary]

I have grown potatoes in the same bed for three years, with no ill efects, but I hedge my bets by moving my main crop of early potatoes to a different bed each year, I do think that if you give your soil the correct feeding requirements you should be able to grow potatoes in the same ground for several years, the biggest problem will be a buildup of pests.

[hamamelis]

This year I go my absolute bestest spuds from the volunteer I ignored because it was already getting big when I noticed it. They were great!

Not sure I'd go full on permaspud, but I'm not going to be quite as vigilant about removing all the surprise potatoes next year!

[veggiechicken]

Just resurrecting this nutty idea
There are spuds springing up where they were planted in 2015. Unfortunately they're in the middle of the bed where one of my permanent allium experiments is taking place - so they can stay for another year!
However, I have a lot of teeny weeny tubers from my bucket pots that I can't bear to throw away. My vague plan is to bury them in a trench, cover them with pre-composted weeds and let them do as they wish.
At worst, I'll have a mound of compost by spring; at best, there'll be some spuds growing up through it.

[rary]

This year I have grown more potatoes in buckets and as I had some potatoes throwing shoots out sitting n the veg rack I decided to plant them up, so once I had emptied a bucket I replanted using the same compost and they are growing fine, the variety I have replanted with are Morrison's, the cheapest I could buy, as for some beds I tried them earlier in the year and very poor, now they are some of the best potatoes I have grown for quite a time, and there are some of last year's there also that had been left in the ground

[Dalrimple]

Iv'e a question that may fit in with this thread (or not) iv'e found a basket full of sharpo mira spuds that didn't get planted ! they seem to be in good condition chitted but not long shoots about 25mm to 30 mm and dark green, so should I plant them them now for a late crop or plant them a bit later for an early crop, looking for expert advice and if I carn't get that any old drivel will do .lol atb Dal

[veggiechicken]

I can do drivel - so I'd bung em in buckets now and put some undercover when it gets colder. hey may be exhausted if you keep them much longer.
If you're lucky, someone who knows what they're talking about will be along soon