Potatoes

EC12345

Hello, please feel free to merge this thread....

Please can anyone help. I am just not sure if my potatoes are ready. I keep them watered and they looked really healthy until Saturday (when I came back from holiday - they were being watered whilst we were away so no problem there). All the flowers have died now and the long stems have now trailing on the floor (as opposed to being upright). They are in bags by the way. I put my hand into the soil of one of the bags (I have three) and cannot feel anything and couldn't find any potatoes. I do potatoes every year and cannot remember this happening the past. I'm thinking just to leave them for another week and then empty a bag next week and take a chance ... any ideas. Thanks as ever. ...

captainjack_2

I'm afraid I don't have any answers, but my potatoes have done exactly the same. Mine were in bags too.

I'll keep watching to see if anyone offers any suggestions/help!

ukbill69

Ive got the same, but ive watered every day. I dug one plant up and found there was only a few small potatoes. So gonna leave mine in a bit longer.

annie123

I always grow my spuds in the ground, but last year for the first time tried pots too, and did the same again this year.
I have found both times that the spuds in the pots, or pop up bags in my case, are all in the lower 8" and not nearly as many or as big as the ones in the ground.
So you may have to rummage deeper to find any and I've left mine an extra 2 weeks so far but many are still tiny, so will leave in the pots to 2 weeks after foillage has died to give them maximum time to grow.
The ones I dug from the ground are plentifully and a good size, so won't bother with pots again.
These were all planted at the same time and all from the same batch of seeds.

jimbo_the_jetset

And there was me who turned my nose up at an article in GW magazine earlier in the year that proved a higher yield of spuds in the ground and purchased a set of bags.

Last night a rummage in the bags, nothing as far as my little hands could get. Ones in the ground (which appeared from no where - must have been the odd one left last year) and a nice big one less than 2 inches down.....

It would be interesting if people could post their harvest experiences when growing spuds in sacks as there seems to be a trend here.

dollparts

I'll be watching this thread with interest as this is my first time growing potatoes. They are in two bags and the plants have grown roughly 2 feet high. They have now flowered but not wilting just yet, I will have a dig around once the flowers die off and see what I find.

Lotus-eater

jimbo_the_jetset wrote: »

It would be interesting if people could post their harvest experiences when growing spuds in sacks as there seems to be a trend here.

I've written about it before on here a couple of times, but I don't grow in bags after trying it a couple of years. To me, waste of money in compost and time in watering.

Like Annie, I've tried 12" flower pots instead and found them just as good for earlies, not sure about main crop.
I can usually fill up the buckets with soil as well, saves on compost, although I put some compost around the top bit to keep the chance of weeds down.
To water I can then stick the whole thing in a bigger bucket full of water and make sure it's watered properly, difficult with a large bag/whatever.

It is said that earthing up earlies is a waste of time anyway, although I do do it a bit, to keep the occurrence of green potatoes down.

jimbo_the_jetset

Lotus-eater wrote: »

waste of money in compost

Well, free compost from the council and home made!!

Lets not forget that the sacks can be used for other growing purposes than potatoes for those without much ground space left!! Which I assume is really their main function, to allow people to grow them on a patio or similar

Lotus-eater

jimbo_the_jetset wrote: »

Well, free compost from the council and home made!!

Well, you did miss out that I wrote "to me" out of your quote and I have much better things to use my HM compost on

jimbo_the_jetset wrote: »

Lets not forget that the sacks can be used for other growing purposes than potatoes for those without much ground space left!! Which I assume is really their main function, to allow people to grow them on a patio or similar

Yes you would assume that. The problem I think arises when everyone is being targeted, with this as the new easy way of growing potatoes. Which in a way it is (easy) and in a way it isn't (growing in the ground is easier IMO).
Generally, if you only have space for pots, then of course growing in them is better than nothing, if you have space in the ground, then I find it better to grow there. But as usual, I will always tell people to do their own research and try it for themselves

starstella

I have never grown potatoes before.This year I have grown them in sacks.What I have found so far is, I have luxurient foliage and few potatoes.I emptied a bag last week and got about 2lbs of pots the size of a golf ball.They were delicious but just not worth the effort.I will try some in a raised bed next year but I still don't think it will be worth the time and money.Time to get my name down for an allotment:D

frazzbo

I've grown potatoes for the first time this year too, and mine are in bags. My soil in the ground has a lot of clay, so I don't think potatoes would grow very well there and so I'll probably stick to bags again next year.

I haven't been growing anything that goes down into the ground too far, because I think the clay would be a problem - hence potatoes and carrots in sacks! But my things that grow above ground (courgettes and tomatoes) are doing really well in that soil.