Peat free potato experiment

[SueA]

Thought you might like to see a pic. of the potato experiment I tried this year. I grew a couple of Lady Christl seed potatoes in each of 2 large pots, one with multi-purpose compost & one with peat-free compost in to see if the peat free was any good. In the photo the peat-free are on the right & as you can see they weren't all that different from the others, just a slightly smaller crop & a bit muddier! I've always thought of potatoes as a definite 'peat' based crop but it seems they do O.K. without it. Has anyone else tried growing them in 'peat-free'?

[Cutecumber]

I've never used peat. I use organic peat-free compost and garden compost.

I just got 3kg of potatoes from three tubers in one container, so it does me fine!

[Snadger]

I've tried some International Kidney in pure unadulterated well rotted cow muck!
They're in a water butt with holes in the bottom and the tops look fine. Haven't lifted them yet but I'm sure they will be ok!

[Two_Sheds]

There ain't no peat on my allotment, and my spuds grow just lovely

[SueA]

I know most people grow their potatoes in the ground so peat doesn't really come into it (although the soil round here is quite peaty & I suppose the traditional 'home' of the spud Ireland is quite peaty), but I only grow potatoes in tubs & containers. I'm trying to convert to peat-free compost but have found it's not always suitable for everything & also it depends on the brand. I tried some 'New Horizon' last year which was quite good. This year I tried a cheap peat-free from Lidl for the potatoes & it doesn't seem too bad.

[SuzieP]

Hi
I didn't use peat at all, I grew Orla (1st early) using the no-dig method on a layer of horse muck and covered in straw / grass cuttings which I just kept topping up - fantastic results - 2 large sacks from a bed 4' x 12'. Will definitely do this again and probably use for my maincrop next year as well.

Added bonus - the spuds were beautifully clean and very easy to harvest

[Grandpadragon]

Grew mine in buckets in well rotted horse manure. Saw no difference in crop to last year except my conscience feels happier. Going to try main crops in dustbins next year as I am covinced that first earlys are limited in crop size however you grow them