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

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Comments

  • rinroo
    rinroo Posts: 952 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    Just a quick question,

    I was going to buy a potato barrel, but they are a little expensive. I have just got a new kitchen bin so my old one is waiting to be skipped. Its a metal pedal bin but with a plastic insert inside. Its deep but not very wide, would this be ok for growing spuds in.
  • Lotus-eater
    Lotus-eater Posts: 10,792 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    You can use an old compost bag, I used the old paper recycling boxes from work, some people use buckets.
    You can use anything you like, potatoes aren't snobbish and don't care what they are in.
    Freedom is not worth having if it does not include the freedom to make mistakes.
  • Hi everyone, i'm a bit new to this gardening malarky, did a few things last year, and trying again. Just bought some seed potatoes and put them on the windowsill in egg boxes to chit, how do i store the other seed potatoes so they dont start chitting also?
  • Lotus-eater
    Lotus-eater Posts: 10,792 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    the_grizz wrote: »
    Hi everyone, i'm a bit new to this gardening malarky, did a few things last year, and trying again. Just bought some seed potatoes and put them on the windowsill in egg boxes to chit, how do i store the other seed potatoes so they dont start chitting also?
    Why don't you want to chit them?
    Freedom is not worth having if it does not include the freedom to make mistakes.
  • Lotus-eater, don't want them all coming through at the same time, i have proberly bought more than i can use, 2 x packs for £5 @ B&Q, plus space is a lot smaller than i would really like, the wife still wants her flowers.
  • Lotus-eater
    Lotus-eater Posts: 10,792 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Just keep them in a cool dark place. I still don't understand what you are doing though, if you haven't got enough space, what does it matter if they are chitted or not?
    Unless you are planning to do one crop after the other? Good luck if you are, you'll need it with blight.
    Freedom is not worth having if it does not include the freedom to make mistakes.
  • Alan_Cross
    Alan_Cross Posts: 1,226 Forumite
    Just keep them in a cool dark place. I still don't understand what you are doing though, if you haven't got enough space, what does it matter if they are chitted or not?
    Unless you are planning to do one crop after the other? Good luck if you are, you'll need it with blight.

    Is blight a problem if you plant in fresh compost each time..?
  • Lotus-eater
    Lotus-eater Posts: 10,792 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Its not really to do with the compost, although apparently blight can come from overwintering things in the soil, its unlikely.
    Blight comes in the air and the spores settle on the leaves, although if you keep your leaves dry, they have a much better chance of not getting blight.
    For that reason you should never water the leaves of potatoes and tomatoes.
    Freedom is not worth having if it does not include the freedom to make mistakes.
  • hi my pentland javelin have been chitting siince 20/1 however they started off a bit but dont seem to be doing much since - they are on the windowsill, do you think this is too cold for them?

    A friend gave me a selection of swift which had started chitting and they seem to be going well.

    Is it the type do you think as both are on the window sill

    Thanks
  • sb44
    sb44 Posts: 5,203 Forumite
    I've been Money Tipped!
    How big do the roots need to be if you re going to plant some shop bought potatoes that have sprouted?

    They won't be planted in the ground but either in pots or grow bags stood on their ends.

    These are a few of the ones I had sitting in one of those green food saving bags in the veg rack! :eek:

    When can I plant these?

    Ta!

    ebay011.jpg
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