Potato Growing 2024

I've planted my earlies in the mud, I might just have been better burying them in the straw

 

I’ve heard of growing them in straw before - but in trenches in the ground rather than towers. Means they come out clean. Never tried it here though.

Got ours in the ground/mud yesterday …..Nicola, Swift and Charlotte. Missed out on the Pink Fir Apple this year (my favourites) as we were still on holiday when the seed potatoes went on sale, so had a limited choice.

 

The rain has arrived early so chitted potatoes still waiting to go in the ground and now they'll have to wait till Thursday or Friday.

 

I'm very late with everything again this year, is it too late to pick up seed potatoes and chuck them in a bag or pot? Can I get away with not chitting them?

 

My Dad never chitted potatoes and his family were market gardeners, always had good tattie crop.

 

My Sharpes Express are in the ground, been there a week or two now, the PFA are still chitting, though not much growth, they will go in the garden in a couple of weeks when the farmers round here start sowing.

 

I don't think commercial growers have the time or space to chit them @burnie bu home growers get a head start if they chit the earlies. Don'think it does anything for later cropping spuds.

 

The seed potatoes are grown round here and Perthshire, kept in large boxes in the sheds they do get to chit, but not particularly on purpose. They then go to either McCain for frozen chips or Albert Barletts huge warehouses in Brechin.

 

I usually plant my first spuds in St Patrick’s day but the weather has been so bad here I only got round to getting them in the ground today. As it was STILL raining I never dug my usual trench, just dug holes about a spade width square, dug in some well rotted manure to the base of each hole and put the seed potatoes in the holes and half back filled. I will see how they do this year. No doubt we will go from too wet to a drought just as they need the water!

 

So I had a look at the seed suppliers and as much as I'd love to have a first and second early and a maincrop, 1kg bags of each are just going to be too much to plant.

If I were to get only 1 type, what would you suggest? Something like Charlotte?