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Potatoes - where to start? (Merged Thread)
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Oh dear - I planted some potatoes today and just stuck them into pots at the top of the soil like I would any other plant.
I think I'd better go and dig them up tomorrow and redo them starting at the bottom of the pot0 -
Not heard the term "earthing up" before.
What does it mean?
Is it the process of putting the potatoe at the bottom of a bot and just covering it with earth/compost and then repeating that process as shoots appear until the pot is full of compost?0 -
Hi bigdonut
Thats pretty much what it is.. i set mine in about 3-4" of compost..once the shoots are about 4-6" tall throw more compost on until only about half are showing...i think they recomend that doing that 3 times get the optimum crop... but then you just have to watch to make sure no potatoes near the top sit in the sunlight as they will go green..
If they are at the top and you have no more room to cover them with compost then using cardboard etc on top will keep out the light for you-6 -8 -3 -1.5 -2.5 -3 -1.5-3.50 -
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Well mine are growing well in compost bags which I rolled down and now am slowly rolling back up again!
1 large pot as well, but not a lot showing in that one yet.
Also have 2 'chitting' spuds left over as they just don't seem to be growing, I might get another pot and bung them in (sorry I mean plant carefully) and see what happens.Breast Cancer Now 100 miles October 2022 100 / 100miles
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how long can you keep planting poatoes for, I mean is it too late to chit a couple more for sucsessional (I know thats not spelt right) planting and if not when is the last time that you should plant0
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Planting potatoes
Seed tubers should be planted around late March for first earlies, early to mid-April for second earlies and mid- to late April for maincrops. This varies slightly depending on where you are in the country.:wave:0 -
noonesperfect wrote: »Planting potatoes
Seed tubers should be planted around late March for first earlies, early to mid-April for second earlies and mid- to late April for maincrops. This varies slightly depending on where you are in the country.
Would it make a terrible difference in quality of crop if they were planted a month or so late? I've still got some chitting that I might be able to find room for this week so would rather plant and see rather than let them go to waste
I think mine are main crop (cara and pink fir apple) but I also have some roosters that have chitted by themselves in the kitchen and not sure what type of crop they are.“You can please some of the people some of the time, all of the people some of the time, some of the people all of the time, but you can never please all of the people all of the time.”0 -
Just bung them in the ground, you might get slightly smaller spuds and a smaller crop but if you've got the room and the seed potatoes already I'd recommend planting them.All I seem to hear is blah blah blah!0
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I am not a novice gardener but fairly new to home-grown veg. I've tried potatoes before and managed to get one batch or so just from putting sprouting Tesco-specials in a bag of compost. This year, we had a proper go and bought seed potatoes (I can't remember the varieties but they were earlies).
I have always thought that you dug them up after flowering and, without my lovely late grandfather to ask, never thought any different. However... we have seen various programmes and magazine articles which seem to say that the potatoes will be there when the flowers appear. The just watched GW who mentioned after flowering. We are confused...
Can anyone help? Do we root around in the bag and have a look yet (all are just flowering)? or do we leave them a bit?
Any help appreciated
Thanks
Newgirl0
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