Potato decisions

[geepee]

Yeah .
Sure you have , was just a case of 'knew the Elemant,but not sure what the Hell you meant '
Lol

[Thelma Sanders]

Now Jimmy,



2. Think about growing First earlies in pots,containers (10 ltr MFB)
3.2nd earlies in 20/30 ltr bags or simialar then can grow on to main crop.
4 Plant Main crop in 30/40/50 + ltr pots,bags ,bins etc.

I agree with buying quality seed potatoes, but the trouble with growing them all in pots is the added cost of the pots/bags themselves and then the cost of the compost to fill them all. Makes for some very expensive potatoes that way!

[geepee]

I agree with buying quality seed potatoes, but the trouble with growing them all in pots is the added cost of the pots/bags themselves and then the cost of the compost to fill them all. Makes for some very expensive potatoes that way!

MFB pots are 99p for 8..!!!
they will last for probs 5 years even longer.!!!!
Good quality Plastic pots 40/50 ltr capacity off Amazon for approx 3 quid, last 10 years.
Potato growing bags = 3 for a fiver on line if you dont mind waiting for delivery.
Compost, make your own and/or Recycle it year on year for different crops.
Plant/sow good quality seeds, unless you expect to plant a s'Sows ear and Rely on the Soil Fairy' to wave a Magic Wand and turn it into a 'SILK PURSE '

[geepee]

I agree with buying quality seed potatoes, but the trouble with growing them all in pots is the added cost of the pots/bags themselves and then the cost of the compost to fill them all. Makes for some very expensive potatoes that way!

MFB pots are 99p for 8..!!!
they will last for probs 5 years even longer.!!!!
Good quality Plastic pots 40/50 ltr capacity off Amazon for approx 3 quid, last 10 years.
Potato growing bags = 3 for a fiver on line if you dont mind waiting for delivery.
Compost, make your own and/or Recycle it year on year for different crops.
Plant/sow good quality seeds, unless you expect to plant a s'Sows ear and Rely on the Soil Fairy' to wave a Magic Wand and turn it into a 'SILK PURSE '

[Thelma Sanders]

Need an awful lot of Morries flower buckets to grow all your spuds in LOL

Compost, make your own

No chance of making enough compost on a small allotment plot, unfortunately

So, apart from some extra earlies, started in the greenhouse, I don't think spuds grown in pots of bought compost are worth the extra expense if you have space in the soil.

[bikermike]

pink fir as maincrop here (nth london clay) - had the best blight resistance and a good yield
the best earlies I've had were sharpe's express. charlottes for 3nd earlies.

king edwards got nailed by blight
pentland javelin were just a bit "meh"
I grew red duke of york to unimpressive effect some years ago.

I've had good yields from self-chitted supermarkert ones too.

[geepee]

Need an awful lot of Morries flower buckets to grow all your spuds in LOL


No chance of making enough compost on a small allotment plot, unfortunately

So, apart from some extra earlies, started in the greenhouse, I don't think spuds grown in pots of bought compost are worth the extra expense if you have space in the soil.

Each to their own Thelma....unfortunately I dont have any soil as in garden or Allotment....My backyard is a patch of concrete 11 x 7 metres (left by the previous occupants) and a concrete un heated/un insulated garage, so I can only work with what I have .
Ive built my own Wooden beds/Trugs but apart from those it has to be pots/containers of some kind.

Not all bad news though , at least I never get muddy boots, I dont pay an allotment rent, I fill water butts from the gutters and its Right outside my back door.
Gp

[veggiechicken]

Here's my Potato Potment. MFB's filled with topsoil taken from that patch.

[Thelma Sanders]

But that was to solve the specific problem of the tree roots IIRC? plus you didn't shell out for compost

[veggiechicken]

Yes, tree roots and rodents. Bought compost is kept for "best" - tomatoes and other GH stuff. Anything else has to get by on chicken run "compost", top soil and second hand compost.

[Penellype]

I tried growing potatoes in soil and in raised beds and had problems with slugs, millipedes, rotten potatoes, green potatoes and rats eating them. Then I saw this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMrkIecqQL8, which was posted on here soon after it was published. I've never had anything like the sort of yield that he gets in that video, but when growing in the same sort of buckets (30 litres) I've had almost no slug or millipede damage, very few rotten potatoes (apart from one year when some got blackleg) fewer green ones and no problems with rats. There is another video showing how he plants the potatoes here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HfIHK7vUYU.

I'm going to grow a few Sarpo Mira on my new allotment, and I will be growing them in buckets. To me its a no-brainer.

As for filling the buckets, I've got some old compost which I was going to use for the Sarpo at home, and I am going to try bulking it up with fresh horse muck, of which I can get a good supply. Having grown some potatoes last year in a hotbed, which is a similar idea, I don't see why it shouldn't work.

[Thelma Sanders]

Don't get me wrong, I really wasn't knocking the system, or anyone that has to grow all their veg in pots. There's no doubt it does work, very well!

I've followed Vegmandan on youtube & his own website for years and he grows huge yields of potatoes, (not to mention his enormous exhibition onions and carrots! ) but he does use new multipurpose compost every year. If people can afford to buy loads of compost, or can get loads of free manure/compost, then great - go for it

I was just saying that IMO if you have to buy compost - it's a very expensive way to grow more than a few potatoes

[monkeyboy]

I was reading the potato thread earlier (by the chap from jba seed potatoes) and was looking into growing in containers. I figured one container of earlies and one of maincrop would be enough. But jba sell seed potatoes by the kg.

Do I just order 2kg of each (with the potential for waste)? Or can I order a smaller quantity from somewhere?

[Dalrimple]

monkey google potato days i'm sure there'll be one in your area ,the one i'm getting my stuff from is on the 27/1/2018.in the shopping center ,seed potatoes are suplied by JBA and are sold lose and cost 12p each on the day ,I will be getting onion &shallots sets that I pre ordered .and of course spuds!
atb Dal.

[Thelma Sanders]

Or can I order a smaller quantity from somewhere?

Wilkos, sell packs of 5 potatoes, in a limited range - but sell out quickly!
wilko.com - seed potatoes