New potatoes for christmas?

Jayar

ampersand wrote: »

Have previously grown taties in garden using sprouty leftovers - probably these will take too long to reach this stage now?)

That's exactly what I'm doing this week with some really tasty salad potatoes from Lidl that have sprouted. Hoping to have them Christmas day.
I'll keep my fingers crossed for you if you do the same for me

Farway

I used Lidl ones last year for Christmas, worked a treat

Just planted my Lidl Charlotte last week in a large pot ready for this Christmas

PS, spuds take about 4 months to maturity, but as winter arrives the tops will die down & the spuds will remain nice & cosy in the pot in sheltered spot, in my case in a cold greenhouse

Jayar

Farway wrote: »

I Just planted my Lidl Charlotte last week in a large pot ready for this Christmas

Charlotte - yes that's their name, I always forget that :rolleyes:

Your aluminium dustbin should ve fine so long as you have drainage holes in it ampersand

V_Chic_Chick

Can I use any potato from the supermarket to do this (as opposed to ones from Thomson and Morgan)?

Do I need to sprout it first, and if so how?

When should I put them in?

Jayar

Some will tell you that you don't get such a good yield from supermarket bought potatoes, but I've always been pleased enough with my ones V Chic Chick. The Charlotte potatoes from Lidl are great.
Yes, you should sprout them first. Just keep them somewhere dark until they start to grow white root type thingies. Then you bring them into the light until the roots firm up and grow darker. I usually just chuck them on a tray on top of the fridge for this, but some people keep them in cardboard egg boxes.
You can plant them any time now, but I suppose you'd have to have them in by at least the end of August to get them for Christmas.

Farway

V_Chic_Chick wrote: »

Can I use any potato from the supermarket to do this (as opposed to ones from Thomson and Morgan)?

Do I need to sprout it first, and if so how?

When should I put them in?

Following a trial on Gardeners World I now just plant them in the pot without bothering to sprout them, for the few I grow it does not appear to be any hindrance at all, and they are in & out of harms way in nice warm soil

I just cover them with a few inches first, and top up gradually as the leaves appear and grow

May be a bit different with main crops, but does anyone honestly think farmers with 100s of acres of spuds sprout them first?

You can use any spuds from supermarket, but best to choose a very nice "new" potato variey, such as Charlotte because these will be your super tasty Christmas ones, so why not use a nice one for this special day?

Plant them now or any week soon

Jayar

That's a very good point about farmers Farway.
Just got this mental picture of farmers kitchens covered in cardboard egg boxes with their sprouting potatoes. Yeah, see what you mean

Farway

PS regarding supermarket spuds for this

Some commercial spuds [most?] are sprayed to prevent sprouting & increase "eye appeal" & shelf life

Lidls fruit & veg AFAIK is not, hence some folk complain it goes "off" quickly [no sprays]

If you buy bog standard you could try a quick gentle scrub under a tap, just in case an inhibitor is on them, or just this once for a special treat, get organic or from Lidl, maybe Waitrose even, not sure if they spray or not, suspect not

V_Chic_Chick

Thanks all, I think my fingers just turned a little greener

squiggle37

Im going plant a few of my spuds i dug up the other day at least i know they not been sprayed...thanks for the tip