THE TATTIES THREAD 2018

This sounds a good idea @Scrungee but what about earthing up? or do you copy in bags whereby you keep adding compost and roll up the bag? so just planting the spuds in a bit of soil and keep adding. How big a pot do you need and presumably only 1 spud per pot? I have buckets with holes in the bottom which I grow some of my Toms in would they do?
Certainly I find using compost bags a bit hit or miss with watering as despite having cut holes in the bags it is a bit tricky to know whether I've given enough/too much.

 

I now start most of my spuds chitting in cell modules or larger ones in small pots. Those that will be grown in pots (which is most) get planted near the bottom and topped up as they grow. If they're being moved/started outside they will benefit from being set in a shallow trench with a small amount of fertilser added and the soil drawn back so the roots can get out of the holes at the base.

The smallest pot I use is 10L with a single early variety tuber in. Those who grow potatoes for showing will use a similar size bag set in ground and leave them until shortly before the shows, but my earlies are for eating asap before late blight hits. In a couple of weeks I might put all those remaining under cover. I might just reduce the amount of foliage rather than cut it all off as I don't want their skins to harden.

My other pots are 25L 'tree pots' and 35L flexi tubs with 2 or 3 tubers in each and set in the ground. Virtually all of these contain Sarpo Mira blight resistant spuds, started off and topped up in the same way as my earlies. These will be left until they've finished growing then have the tops cut and left a couple of weeks before harvesting to allow the skins to harden for storage.

Then there's my 30 or so plants being grown for 'heaviest potato(es) show class out in the open in raised beds. I'm now furtling around the roots to harvest all the smallest tubers leaving only one single large one on each plant. I'm about to start spraying these, plus I'm rigging up a structure over them made of cheap, small polytunnel frames covered with tarps.

I've given up using bags. They're handy for unrolling them up for a bit of extra protection before the plants reach the top, but I got fed up with missing when they needed watering, so have opted for pots started in polytunnels.

 

Many thanks @Scrungee for your informative post on how to grow spuds in pots. I have a few tree pots so will use those next year plus see if I can cadge a few more from friends.

 

Just been out surveying the damage to my garden post (still continuing) pretty hellish gale. All the haulms on my Anyas are down, not broken YET! Will they still be ok or might I just cut my losses and dig them up. Not a happy bunny.

 

Be ok if thems not broken

 

Had the same question on my Arrans . Thanks Zigs

 

Thanks @Zigs;. They weren't broken at 8am but it's got worse since then and I ain't going outside until things calm down. They only close The Tay Bridge to everything (as it is atm) if there are gusts of over 80 mph, we live about 15 miles from it....seems that the gusts are at least that, hellish.

 

DON'T GO OUT THERE

 

Hi everyone...today I turned out two tubs of the Maris Peer that caught Early Blight, they have another five weeks to go until ready, but I thought I'd take a look and see how they were doing.

Upon inspection they look great, but some of them have lots of little bumps all over them, so can anyone please tell me if this is Potato Cyst?, and if it is are they still eatable?







Thanks

Andy...

 

Hi John...I should have put a size reference in the picture, they were about 10p size, so not the seed potato, that was happily decomposing and all mushy.

This was the harvest from two tubs and another shot of the small bumps.





Hi Armandii...I haven't quite worked out your sense of humor yet, but seeing as I don't want to catch some horrific potato based disease , I'd just like some advice on if they are OK to boil then eat?

 

They look good Sheps, thinking about Mint & Butter............wonder why

 

Thank John...

Mine looked like the spud in the first picture in the link, it is apparently enlarged lenticles, caused by me over-watering, so from what I have read OK to eat.

enlarged lenticels - Google Search