potatoes/beginner

[Penellype]

Im getting very useful information here.
So if I grow in containers it's probably actually better, because I can sieve the soil,to easily dig out ( all ) the potatoes and not leave stray ones in causing blight , plus it seems easier than digging. I gather these grow bags make removing the soil easy.

For replenishing the soil for next year , do I need to wait 4 years and cycle different soil each year, or do I put rotten organic material in the soil. ( or both) btw doesn't rotting organic material also harvest blight ?

And when I gather the potatoes ( after reading the useful gude ) I wasnt entirely sure what was meant by using the bad tubers right away and leaving the rest to dry on the soil ?
I'm a bit hazy on the process of storing potatoes until next year, I understand it has to be light and frost free, but how strict is 7 degrees ? With the thermostat on I think over winter even in the coolest place it'll be 20. Also I heard from another site which I can't remember because it was 6 months ago., that in ww2 they cut potatoes in half , waited for a callous to form , which meant the skin went hard then they can be planted in halves ? This seems cool,as one potato can be two pants? Want to confirm/ clarify ?

I find containers much easier than beds - you can get all of the potatoes out easily, and they seem less affected by slugs. I find buckets easier to pick up and turn over to empty than bags, but that is just personal preference.

I try not to use the same compost for potatoes the next year, and if I have any problems with disease I try to use it on part of the garden that won't be growing potatoes or tomatoes (eg the flower garden). It depends what you mean by rotten organic material. Making compost is a huge subject, but in general if you have diseased plants you shouldn't compost them - throw them in the dustbin or burn them.

When you harvest your potatoes you may find some have been damaged - they may have slug holes in or breaks in the skin (both of these are less likely if you use containers), or they may be part rotten. Often some of the damaged potato is usable, but if you try to store damaged ones they will rot, and spoil any others that you are storing them with. Always store undamaged potatoes and eat any that have any signs of damage or disease straight away.

Potatoes may rot if stored wet. Again containers help as you can move them under cover and leave them to dry out for a few days before harvesting. You can spread the potatoes out to dry, but don't leave them in the light too long as they will go green. Green potatoes are poisonous, so this is really bad.

I store my potatoes in thick paper bags in my garage. I don't fuss about the temperature - there isn't much you can do about it in the summer. If we were forecast very severe frosts so that the temperature in the garage would be freezing I would bring the bags inside but this would probably encourage the potatoes to sprout faster so I would only bring them in as a last resort.

You can cut large potatoes in half and plant them to form 2 plants as long as each half has some "eyes" which are the little buds that form the shoots. Most half potatoes will have at least one eye - it isn't usually a problem. I've cut big ones in half and planted them straight away without problems, although you could argue that the cut surface might get eaten by slugs.

[Penellype]

Also, don't expect to be self sufficient in potatoes unless you have a lot of space and containers. I am feeding myself only and eat potatoes 2-3 times a week. I grow about 20x 30 litre pots of potatoes, which is just about enough (that's 60 potato plants).

[Snadger]

Also, don't expect to be self sufficient in potatoes unless you have a lot of space and containers. I am feeding myself only and eat potatoes 2-3 times a week. I grow about 20x 30 litre pots of potatoes, which is just about enough (that's 60 potato plants).

An allotment plot filled with tatties has made me self sufficient in them. I've had to buy every other veg apart from what was in the greenhouse though.

[More basil]

As a side to this- I learned a neat trick to conquer slugs when growing spuds this year. Scatter slug pellets around the spuds once you've placed them in the soil before covering them. Ground dwelling slugs will go for them before the spuds. So far, it seems to work

[redkoatz]

1. potatoes will grow in just about any sort of soil, but will need feeding occasionally for a good crop. If you don't have home made compost and want to use a container, buy some multipurpose compost. This usually has enough feed for about 6 weeks. You can then feed with tomato feed that you can easily buy..

Any reason why tomatoe and not vegetable or potato feed?

[Penellype]

I have tomato feed for my tomatoes so that's what I use, the logic being that potatoes are related to tomatoes. You could use potato feed, it might even be better.

[redkoatz]

So I want to,order 16 - 18 tubers in a pack and this bag Reusable Patio Potato Planter Bag - Plant Pots & Containers - Thompson & Morgan
It has drainage holes , any idea how much volume this has ?,ie how many tubers I will need and how much soil? I'm not sure how to calculate volume with a circular shape.

[Penellype]

So I want to,order 16 - 18 tubers in a pack and this bag Reusable Patio Potato Planter Bag - Plant Pots & Containers - Thompson & Morgan
It has drainage holes , any idea how much volume this has ?,ie how many tubers I will need and how much soil? I'm not sure how to calculate volume with a circular shape.

The volume of a cylinder is pi x r^2 x h.

pi is a constant, approx 3.142. r is the radius = 1/2 the diameter, and h is the height, and ^2 means squared (ie r x r)

Using the measurements in cm (so that we end up in litres)

volume in litres = (3.142 X 19^2 x 46)/1000

= 52.176 approx (if you stick the numbers in an online calculator it may come out different because pi is not exactly 3.142, it is a number with loads of decimal places.)

So, if you fill the bag right to the top it should hold about 52 litres. This seems big for a potato bag and this calculation relies on T&M having measured the diameter when the bag is full. If they have measured it when empty and laid flat it will be considerably smaller, but I don't know the maths for that I'm afraid. Looking at the picture I rather suspect that they have measured it when laid flat because it looks a lot taller than it is wide (half as much again?), and there isn't that much difference between 15 and 18 inches. That looks more like 12 inches wide to me (say 30cm) which would only be 32 litres.

You could contact T&M and ask, but they may simply quote what is on the website. I recently bought some strawberry plants and a hanging planter made from similar material from them and it was described as "width 8 inches", but measures only 7 inches across when filled.

[redkoatz]

The volume of a cylinder is pi x r^2 x h.

pi is a constant, approx 3.142. r is the radius = 1/2 the diameter, and h is the height, and ^2 means squared (ie r x r)

Using the measurements in cm (so that we end up in litres)

volume in litres = (3.142 X 19^2 x 46)/1000

= 52.176 approx (if you stick the numbers in an online calculator it may come out different because pi is not exactly 3.142, it is a number with loads of decimal places.)

So, if you fill the bag right to the top it should hold about 52 litres. This seems big for a potato bag and this calculation relies on T&M having measured the diameter when the bag is full. If they have measured it when empty and laid flat it will be considerably smaller, but I don't know the maths for that I'm afraid. Looking at the picture I rather suspect that they have measured it when laid flat because it looks a lot taller than it is wide (half as much again?), and there isn't that much difference between 15 and 18 inches. That looks more like 12 inches wide to me (say 30cm) which would only be 32 litres.

You could contact T&M and ask, but they may simply quote what is on the website. I recently bought some strawberry plants and a hanging planter made from similar material from them and it was described as "width 8 inches", but measures only 7 inches across when filled.

Thank you for the detailed answer. I haven't used most of my maths lessons since I passed my exam like 20 years ago lol.
So if it's 50 litres. Ill need 5 plants per bag so ill need probably 3 or 4 bags if I want to use all the tubers.

Yeah ill contact them,and check, I was just hoping someone knew as there's no email , I suppose ill have to phone lol.

March is coming up so I have to get everything in soon , if all goes well next year ill just try planting them in the ground instead. Pretty big garden. Here , although I gather you are supposed to let the soil recover for 4 years so ill just rotate around 4 separate spots

[veggiechicken]

Strawberry Patio Planter - All Thompson & Morgan Plants - Thompson & Morgan
These are almost the same size as the potato planters and need 40ltrs of compost.

[veggiechicken]

Yeah ill contact them,and check, I was just hoping someone knew as there's no email , I suppose ill have to phone lol.

Thompson & Morgan: Contact Us

[ThompsonMorgan]

Hi

Thank you for your interest in our Patio Potato Planter Bags. I've asked the relevant department to let me know the volume and how much compost is needed to fill each of the bags.

I'm seriously impressed by your Maths skills, by the way. Brilliant problem-solving skills!

I'll be in touch as soon as I hear back with the info.

Kind regards,
Anne

[ThompsonMorgan]

Hello

I've just received the information that they hold 50l of compost.

Hope this helps!

If you have any further queries please do hesitate to contact me again. I'll be more than happy to help.

Kind regards,

Anne

[Bigmallly]

Nice work Pene.....................

[redkoatz]

The compost bag I have says it makes "100 litres when mixed" the bag is maybe 800 grams ?
So you mix this in with regular dirt up to the 100 litre mark. So as this potatoes bag has 50 litre I need half the bag of compost.

I'm needing the dirt to go in the bag ,,I,understand potatoes arent very choosey , but exactly what should I be looking for? My garden centre replied to my email something about compost ( which is what I'm going to get at Thompson. ) I suppose they don't understand the question. So you can't just buy the dirt- suitable for growing? I thought it would be peat or something