Its a Long Shot

But what have I got to loose.

Found some Arran Pilots that were sprouting so thought i'd give it a go.



3 of them in a bucket of sieved compost.



Earthed them up.



Put the whole thing in the greenhouse and covered. Since wrapped insulation round the dustbin.

Even if they do get frosted, at least its something to hold my interest over winter.

 

got every chance Ziggy if you can keep the frost at bay.Just been outside and as warm as a summer evening out there at the moment,if it carries on like this it has got to be the warmest winter on record!

 

Its 11c in the dustbin at the moment. Normally we don't get heavy frosts by the sea so i'm keeping them crossed.

 

You`ve done all you can Zig, it`s up to the spuds now. Don`t forget to water them.

 

Cheers Dai,

The waterbutt is next to the greenhouse and the dustbin has drainage.

 

Poor light this time of year as we all know, but how about lining the inside with tin foil...bounce that light around a little...:happydance:

Steve...

 

At the moment I don`t think light levels matter too much as the spuds should be kept earthed up.

 

Good thinking Steve, but, like Dai says, i'm going on the idea that spuds will reproduce even without light, just taking the nutrient from their compost.

Think it might have been on a gardeners world in the 1970s, they were growing them under black polythene, no digging, just leave the seed spud on the ground, cover, come back months later & just pick the new spuds off the ground. Must have been a haven for slugs though.

Found a load of spuds at the bottom of my leafmold bin last year, there had definately been no top growth.

If the tips make it past the frost, i'll do the tinfoil

 

Great idea Ziggy.
Cover it with a black bin bag until they sprout - it will increase the absorption of heat.
The tubers don't need light until the leaves form and even if you only get a few tiny spuds it's worth a try!