Seed Potatoes

Well I couldn't wait any longer. Been and bought my first early seed potatoes. "Vale Emerald". Never heard of them before but the lady at the garden centre reckons they are very good.

Now got them sat in a cardboard box to do thier thing.

Chopper.

 

Are you all set then? or is that only part of what you need?

It the latter my suggestion would be to see if there is a potato fare near you, where you can buy just a couple of tubers of several different varieties, and then do a Growing & Tasting test with Mrs C & chums to see what you like.

it looks good (resistance to all sorts of things)
http://varieties.potato.org.uk/display_description.php?variety_name=Vales%20Emerald

They are a first early. If you only grow them my advice would be to plant half first, and then the other half 2 weeks later - they will probably taste best as "new potatoes", and with successional planting you'll spread the harvesting period

You got all the bits you need?

Manure?
Fleece?
A hoe (e.g. swan-neck) to earth them up with?

 

Good point. If you have any old compost bags lying around Choper you can roll the edges down (about half way) make plenty of drainage holes in the bottom, put 4" well rotted manure in (if you have some), 4" of compost and then push the tubers into that. 3 per bag should be right. Start in mid February, and do a bag-per-fortnight until mid March (end of March if you like, but they won;t be much earlier than your outdoor ones).

As the plants come up add more compost, and un-roll the bag to make it taller, until the it is about 18" tall

They MUST be kept frost-free, but you can carry them into the house for the night if we get a really bad spell.

Or you could buy some poncy potato growing bags

 

Picked mine up this morning.
Decided to go for Roosters main crop this year for the bags and the big bin.

 

Chopper don't buy anything poncy, believe me

 

I used compost bags the year before last, but do make sure there are drainage holes in the sides of the bags too..as they tend not to drain from the bottom too well. One morning after the night befores watering I noticed one of the bags was bulging more than it should of been...it was waterllogged. When I picked it up..it started draining, so all the bags then got drainage holes in the sides. I guess it was the combination of the plastic and weight of water that caused a seal at the bottom, inhibiting drainage.

This year I will grow the same as last year, "International Kidneys" (Jersey Royals) "Pink Fir Apples" and "King Edwards", I'm also giving "swift" a go too this year and another called "Purple Majesty".

Steve...

 

"if Levington made potatoes they would probably be ..."

Great picture

"When you look at what these potato kits comprise of and then consider the price of them, somebody is having a laugh"

I'm upset by that Chopper as here are my Poncy bags!



They are easy to lift, and they do drain "all round", so have some benefits, but I reckon old Compost Bags are just as good. And I think my "Pots" are too big - 4 plants per pot, that's quite a lot of spuds, and you kinda have to harvest them all in one go.

I suggest starting off a couple of bags on 15Feb, 01Mar and 15Mar (using First Earlies, or plant some First Earlies on 01Mar AND some Seconds and skip the 15Mar planting). Keep in reasonable temperature until they are through the soil - i.e. indoors, but not in centrally heated part of the house and then put in greenhouse. Bring in on cold nights - I'm guessing, but I would think if temperature will fall below 5C inside the greenhouse.

 

I apologise if I upset you Kristen, that was NOT my intention. I have not seen those bags before. What I have seen is nasty cheap looking plastic bags, with some sort of compost and a few spuds all for £16.99!!! PLUS P&P. The bags looked like those small rubble sacks you can buy at builders merchants, but with some small holes punched in them. Think it was ebay.

I will be having a bash at growing some in bags, but I am not paying £16.99 for them.

Chopper.

 

Sorry Chopper, I missed a smiley in my post, I certainly did not take offence. For future reference I take well to having the mickey taken out of me

"I have not seen those bags before. What I have seen is nasty cheap looking plastic bags, with some sort of compost and a few spuds all for £16.99!!! PLUS P&P."

I bought mine "impulse" without thinking that I could just use compost bags. Just checked and their "kit" is £10 for 3 bags including three different varieties of seed potato - but they provide 5 tubers of each, and only 3 are required for each bag, what to do with the other 2 spuds? Daft. Although I'm pretty sure when I bought them the ratio was more like 10 seed potatoes to each bag which was even more daft!

 

My wife showed me a gardening article a year or so ago (most probably from 'The Telegraph' gardening pages), which suggested that any use of expensive, fertile medium over the top of potatoes grown in a bag was unecessary, as they only took nutrients from below.

I don't believe that, as after using a giant dibber to make holes for my seed spuds (in well cultivated ground), I only lightly earth up afterwards and then cover with a thick layer of last year's rotten (and not quite so rotten) straw from the hen run (which also has the contents of the 'poo tray' thrown in), producing the biggest potatoes I've ever grown.

 

I heard that too and last year used all manner of things to earth up with, grass clippings from the church next door, spent compost from old pots and hanging baskets etc etc. I think Kristen mentioned recently he uses old grass clippings to.

I dont doubt it would work for you Scrungee, but woulldn't the nutrients be washed to the roots with watering anyway?

Steve...

 

Sort of

I earth up my outdoor spuds, as normal, but then mulch heavily with grass clippings each time we have a late frost ... those clippings them shrink etc and surply a thinner mulch later on - which prevents the tubers growing near the surface from seeing light and going green.

 

That's the point I was making, that based on my experience 'top dressing' produced the best spuds, and was contrary to media 'advice'.



P.S. Although my father in law swears by digging trenches and placing comfrey, etc., underneath his seed spuds!