potatoes

I'm growing some spuds in compost bags, I've got some first earlies, Pentland Javelin and second earlies, Charlotte. Both have been planted in the compost bags since around mid March and have huge amounts of foliage, should I be seeing flowers any time soon? and how do I know when there are spuds ready?

 

hi kaytutt

great question as i am too in the same boat although i have had a feel about but can't find no spuds !

so i am thinking that i hav'nt got any or they have to flower first ?

maybe someone can help :0)

 

i've done something similar. i bought a spud kit with bags n seed potatoes. all planted a while back, masses of foliage like yours kaytutt. i've been adding soil and compost to the bag in an attempt to "earth them up". i think i have a few flower buds developing in one bag. i'm also wondering when to expect my first tatters.
some one must be able to help.

 

I think..(but don't quote me on this) that a week after the flowers appear then the spuds are ready???? Oktarine or Plotty are better guys to advise though....have a look at their blogs...very informative reading! :D

 

The spuds will be ready depending on when you planted them.The best thing to do is gently pull away some of the compost if this is easy to do until you hopefully find some spuds.If they are still tiny,then leave for a bit longer,but if there are some the size of hens eggs,then you can start to harvest.It will all depend on what you prefere,small or large spuds.Usually 1st earlies won't be ready until at least june,but it depends on where you have been growing them.

The pentland javeline will definetly need more growth,so please be patient and Good Luck...

 

Hi there,
Always a good talking point this!

Whether or not you get flowers on your spuds does not seem to have any bearing on your crop. I look on the flowers as a bonus, and I tend to try different varieties year on year, some flower and some dont.

As a general rule ( this takes into account not only your soil preperation, local conditions etc) , first and second earlies will take about 100 days to grow, whilst you are looking at about 120-130 days for your maincrop.

With that I mind, i plant the former on 1st April and Maincrop 1st May.

Kandy is dead right, around the time of your calculated crop maturity, have a little dig and see what lies beneath. I know that some people eat their first earlies "really early" when they are tiny. There's no harm in doing that. If you planted enough of them, by the time you munch along the row, the other end of it will have larger spuds !

Im looking at end of June for my first dig in the earlies row, high summer "Salad " time , and I am now equally anxious and patient.

The time spent from now till harvest will be spent checking the plants for any sign of disease.

I'll post some more info on that at a later time.

Finally, remember there are no hard and fast rules, no right and wrong, just the sheer pleasure of pulling the spuds from the ground and eating them half an hour later !

Have fun !!!

 

Great stuff!! Frantically trying to write it all down :D

My no show has sprouted It's got a bit of catching up to do though!! You can see them growing bigger every day...can't wait to eat them with loads of butter

 

hi all

my early spuds have been in 40 litre poly bags since mid march i have earthed up as they grew so quick and the folage is massive now a good 18/19 inches i have no flowers ,
last week end i had a feel round and found nothing (gutted) so am i right in thinking that theres no spuds or is there still chance for any to form ?

this is my first time growing them and wil be totally upset if i get nowt even started growing mint to go with them !

just a quick question i put some more earlies in last month and have ran out of veg compost o local diy has got any at the mo strange i know

but ............. as they were getting so big i used multipurpose compost untill i can get my hands on the other is this ok to use as it just said plants on the bag nothing about veg ?

thanks and good morning to you all
lisa

 

Thank you all for the very helpful (as always) advice.

I planted the seed potatoes in the bags in mid March but grew them on in the greenhouse until about mid April.

Hubby had a feel around in one of the bags yesterday and did find a few little spuds so I'm happy to let them grow on now. I was just worried that I would end up with masses of leaves and no spuds!

I cant wait to eat some with my freshly picked broad beans and bacon

 

Container grown potatoes really need a bit of feeding when the tubers start to develop. I feed once a week with dilute comfrey liquid, but ordinary tomato feed is almost as good.

With regard to veg/multipupose compost I don't think it will make much difference at this stage of development with the compost being used for earthing up. I use ordinary grow-bag compost for earthing up.

 

thanks for that dave thought i might of done wrong by using multipurpose fingers crossed local diy gets some grow bags in soon

i did have a little dig around yesterday and found a couple pea size spuds so was skipping round but will run out with some tom feed later to give them a boost :0)

thanks

 

Yes, thanks Dave. I'm a first time spud grower too - mine are in containers, so I'll get cracking with the tomato feed.

What happens when you have earthed up to the top of the pot????

 

Don't think I've tried growing spuds in containers before. How big do they have to be anyone?

 

HELP!!!!!! A couple of the leaves on my earlies have developed spots, little grey/black ones with a shiny underside. (Will post pic later....sorry) Is this a problem???????? (Please say no as I've only got 8 plants :( )

 

Tiarella - When you get to the top of the pot you simply sit back, feed them, and watch them grow.

John - A plastic bucket will do the job, but the bigger the container the more seed potatoes you can plant in it.
I planted three seeds in each of these pots in 21st Feb and kept them in the polytunnel until about five weeks ago.