spuds

Coveredinbees!!!!

I dug over a piece of garden last year to use for a veg plot and my Dad said I should plant spud to start with, he did say why but I probably didn't listen. So I bought a couple of bags to get going but is it too early to do anything with them? Apparently I have to chit them first I have a wire shelf rack I was going to stand them on out in the shed but will it be to cold, failing that they could go in the spare bedroom.

I had a measure and the plot is about 30 square Metres is that going to need a hell of a lot of spuds?

[Deleted User]

and you will get a hell of a lot of spuds!

my whole veg plot is 10 x 100 feet and I will be planting 1/5 of that with spuds. Read what you can about crop rotations and then plan your plot accordingly. You can do a lot of work on paper before you need to start chitting potatoes.

kandyfloss

Hi CovererdinBees[Lovely name}

Your dad suggested the spuds as they are very good at breaking up new ground.I did read some years ago that it is actually us gardeners working the land ie planting the seed potatoes,earthing them up,watering and weeding them then digging them up when they are ready is what works the ground.:p

Do you know what varieties of seed spuds you have bought?It is a bit too early for the early ones to go out into the gorund and March is a good time as the ground will have started to warm up.The haulms{leaves and stems}of the plants musn'y be frosted if at all possible as this will cause the leaves to go brown and they will be set back by a week or two.

If possible set your seed potatoes in either seed trays or cardboard veg boxes and put them somewhere cool and frost free where they canb start to chit which means they will grow little shoots on them ready for planting out.The seed spuds need to be stood on their ends if possible and they can lean against each other in the trays or boxes,but make sure to check them as you are setting them out to make sure they are all healthy and not damaged.I usually use the label from the actual bag that the seed spuds come in or you can write out your own label.

You don't need to cover the whole plot with spuds,as each year they need to be rotated and you want to be able to grow other veggies as well as spuds.

If the land has been left fallow for a number of years then you might find your spuds are full of wireworm which live in uncultivated ground especially where grass has been on the land and it you have a plot next to yours that is overgrown then sometimes the wireworm will migrate over to your plot to burrow into your lovely spuds.

Good luck and keep us posted as to how you get on:)

RAS

kandyfloss wrote: »

Your dad suggested the spuds as they are very good at breaking up new ground.

Ermm..

kandyfloss wrote: »

I did read some years ago that it is actually us gardeners working the land ie planting the seed potatoes,earthing them up,watering and weeding them then digging them up when they are ready is what works the ground.

Exactly.

You need to put a maximum of one third of your plot down to spuds, assuming you are planting a lot of maincrop potatoes, a quarter is better.

One my full allotment, I find that a single row 30 foot long takes 13/14 maincrop potatoes and upto 16 earlies. How long will a single row be?

Coveredinbees!!!!

Thanks, I was thinking it was going to produce a lot more potatoes than was sensible. The ground was under old carpet and rubble up until last year when I cleared it all, the weeds are coming up again which will need to be cleared again. As you can guess I don't really know anything about gardening beyond cutting the grass.

RAS

Coveredinbees!!!! wrote: »

Thanks, I was thinking it was going to produce a lot more potatoes than was sensible. The ground was under old carpet and rubble up until last year when I cleared it all, the weeds are coming up again which will need to be cleared again. As you can guess I don't really know anything about gardening beyond cutting the grass.

Well, we all started not knowing anything. No shame in that, only in not learning.

As for weeds, if you cannot grow weeds, you will not grow anything. It is the nature of plants to cover empty ground as soon as there is space and light.

Linda32

Coveredinbees!!!! wrote: »

Thanks, I was thinking it was going to produce a lot more potatoes than was sensible. The ground was under old carpet and rubble up until last year when I cleared it all, the weeds are coming up again which will need to be cleared again. As you can guess I don't really know anything about gardening beyond cutting the grass.

I beg to differ, you know about growing spuds now :beer: the two bags you have bought sounds about right.

So now, what else would you like to grow, and by that I mean, what fruit or veg do you like?

angelavdavis

Weeds show that the soil is fertile which is great.

My recommendation is don't grow anything you don't really eat. It sounds stupid, but if you love certain things - in my case mange tout (v. expensive in the supermarket yet very easy to grow) then go for it.

When I first started growing my own veg, I grew what others recommended and battled with peas that I found weren't worth growing as they were delicious uncooked off the plant, but hard as bullets when I cooked them - no matter how careful I was.

Instead, I decided to grow mange tout varieties which I have found are so much nicer and more forgiving if you don't pick them until they are a bit on the large side (imho).

If you like salads and buy expensive £1 bags in the supermarket every week, then grow a mixture of leaves. It is the easiest way of getting value for money easily for your plot. But if you don't like rocket leaves - don't bother growing them - just grow what you like. While you are getting used to deciphering the weeds from the salads, ensure you grow in really straight lines. Use a cane and sprinkle the seed alongside so you get a good straight line and then you can spot the weeds as they don't tend to grow in straight lines(!)

If you grow something, harvest and aren't impressed either with the flavour or the quality of harvest or bugs - make a note of it in a little notebook and don't grow it next year. That is how everyone learns - from their mistakes. Other gardeners will recommend things that might or might not work for you - just go with the flow. Why do you think it is very rare to meet an excellent gardener who never has a crop failure who is under 30 years old!?!