New potatoes for christmas?

Dustykitten

I am going to use the incinerator (sp) bin we never use as that has wholes in the side for drainage. I would guess you need at least 30 cm of soil in the bottom - might go for a bit more as obviously the pots grow under the ground. Just dug up some fab international kidneys so will use a couple of those.

bella165

insted of earthing up get some straw or a bit of fleese round the shoots that way it will keep them warmer.sounds mad but it works

Margaret54

I would love to grow Christmas spuds too, and am worried i will do it wrong. How many would i need to put into the compost and what kind of compost would i buy? I would really appreciate help with this, from all you lovely people out there. I love to work in the garden but this venture is new to me and i want to do it properly Thank you

Farway

barmaid wrote: »

Hi - having read the thread - I am determined that I will have xmas tatties! I have decided to go to lidl and pick up some charlotte and a black plastic bin and compost. My question is how much compost to put in before adding my sprouters? The bin will be outside in my garden - will this be ok?

Thanks

You don't need much in the bottom to start, enough to sit them on really, because the new spuds & roots will form in the soil you will add as they grow, say 3 inches in bottom, then spuds, then 3 inches on top, water & wait.

After a few weeks the green shoots will come through the soil, once you have a few leaves open, cover them again, and wait. Continue like this until you reach the top or spuds take over your life

PS Margaret, just spotted your post as I posted.
Any soil / compost would do, my local Lidl have large bags for I think 1.99 ish. How many depends on pot size, larger the better, but remember you may have to move it.

Number of spuds, about 5 ish, 4 on outside & one in the middle for luck

I had never done this until a few years ago, and was amazed how easy it was & it worked, it is one of the things that sounds difficult, but really is easy, just needs planning now for Christmas

Margaret54

Thank you so much for your tips, and i will be going to our local Lidl store very soon. i am going to stop being afraid of trying new things and go for it:j Best wishes to all gardeners out there despite the awful weather

soba

No need to go to the garden centre then and buy seed potatoes? Just emailed our local one and they've got Arran Pilot and they're priced at £2.75 for 3 kg.
I'm keen to grow some potatoes for use later in the year, have grown Pentland Javelin for the first time this year, and they're fantastic, in fact I had some for my tea!!

Farway

Depends how many you want to grow regarding garden centre / seed spuds

If just one bucket or so for Christmas the because they will not be in your garden soil, so any virus etc will not spread then greengrocer ones are fine

For a crop in your garden, rows of them for spring planting, then "proper" disease free certified stock should be used

Farway

Update for any trying it this year, to give some idea of time scale

My Lidl Charlotte spuds were planted, unchitted [no shoots], into a large pot on 22 July, I have just noticed today 12 Aug that the first green shoots are breaking the surface

ANNEGEDDES

i am confused, do you plant 5-6 pots in a big tub like a dustbin? how many will this make??

Farway

ANNEGEDDES wrote: »

i am confused, do you plant 5-6 pots in a big tub like a dustbin? how many will this make??

Yes, it is the surface area as well as depth that counts

The surface area is important because the leaves need room to grow & spread, especially this year with blight so widespread

The new spuds will grow in the soil as you heap them up. How many you get depends on many factors, not least of which is how the weather is, a nice long Indian summer will help, frost in September will not

PS if a large wide dustbin you could try a few extra