growing potatoes in an empty compost bag? (Merged Thread)

arkonite_babe

Please be nice to all MoneySavers. There's no such thing as a stupid question, and even if you disagree courtesy helps.

lolarentt

arkonite_babe wrote: »

Please be nice to all MoneySavers. There's no such thing as a stupid question, and even if you disagree courtesy helps.

Seconded!! (40 years experience of growing vegetables)

arkonite_babe

We have a thread similar to this already, I'll add your query to it so all the replies are together. Posts are listed in date order so you'll need to read from the beginning to catch up

relay

arkonite_babe wrote: »

Please be nice to all MoneySavers. There's no such thing as a stupid question, and even if you disagree courtesy helps.

Any chance you could make it a little clearer who you are talking to please? I don't think there was anything uncourteous in replying to someone's demand for me to reveal my 'sources'. (strange they don't seem able to reveal thiers.)

lolarentt, lets not be childish. There was no need for you to add your 2 cents worth as it had already been dealt with thank you. You could have used some of your wisdom in growing vegetables on this thread rather than just adding to have a dig.

Lotus-eater

relay wrote: »

Any chance you could make it a little clearer who you are talking to please? I don't think there was anything uncourteous in replying to someone's demand for me to reveal my 'sources'. (strange they don't seem able to reveal thiers.)

agreed just filling in space

nodwah

relay wrote: »

You don't introduce anything to the soil by planting supermarket potatoes, this is not true. Seed potatoes are not 'screened' for diseases they are just grown at higher altitude to reduce insect damage & are no less likely to get infected with disease than supermarket potatoes.

Only a couple of years ago my regular seed supplier lost it's entire stock of seed potatoes to blight. Now how do you suppose that happened if they were screened for disease?

Where do people get this idea that supermarket potatoes can introduce something nasty into the soil?

If that were true they wouldn't be sold for human consumption because it would mean they were already infected with something & thus unfit for human consumption. There is no reason why you can't plant supermarket potatoes just for one season.

I think people believe that they can't use supermarket spuds because the industry always tells us so - they have an interest in us buying the seed potatoes after all- but GQT and GW and all the rest always go on about it. My mother believes that they are poisonous but little does she know that she's often eaten them at my house- I've often planted the spuds that are sprouting in the bottom of the veg basket and got smashing spuds at the end.

ps plus sometimes potato peelings in the compost heap actually sprout and produce tubers and I've eaten them too!

pinksleepybear

relay wrote: »

Any chance you could make it a little clearer who you are talking to please? I don't think there was anything uncourteous in replying to someone's demand for me to reveal my 'sources'. (strange they don't seem able to reveal thiers.)

lolarentt, lets not be childish. There was no need for you to add your 2 cents worth as it had already been dealt with thank you. You could have used some of your wisdom in growing vegetables on this thread rather than just adding to have a dig.

It wasn't a demand - just a question. My reply to the OP was just repeating what I'd previously read, I hadn't heard anyone else with your point of view before and I wanted to read more about it.

I think your reply quoted above is pretty uncourteous, though. If you want to continue this conversation, you can PM me otherwise I think we'll take the thread a bit off topic.

Clowance

if growing in containers, as they are not in contact with the actual soil? I am going to try it this year but paid 2.99 at the garden centre for the seed pots which are far too many and quite withered looking, if I do it again next year I would certainly be tempted to use sprouted supermarket spuds.

crystalsinger

Week ten this saturday since I planted and doing nicely. The ones planted directly into the soil 6 weeks ago are now poking through so I just earthed them up, but really pleased with the pot growns so far. The most advanced 3 have been out day and night all week, but am still watching for frost.
They are not flowering yet (beans are though) and I have been feeding them with tomato feed. Perhaps I will have a peek in a few weeks to see whats happening under the soil. When do people think I might be harvesting? I hoped for my first around the early May BH?

gt568

Well I guess I stand corrected. Everybody should plant supermarket spuds. I'm surprised though as it goes against everything I've been taught. Each to thier own I suppose.