Stupid potato questions

madhouseof4

I'm glad you asked Morty!! I was wondering the same thing. I have planted tubers at varying times since mid March, so obviously I have some that have alot of foliage on, others with some foliage and the rest are just starting to break the surface. I wasn't sure what to do so left it all until today. The 2 lots that I started in mid March I have earthed up by about 3 inches, which nowhere near covers the leaves. I earthed up the ssecond lots upto the leaves and the 3rd lots, I have covered them over again. I have no idea which is right, it's like a HUGE experiment.

Sweet_Pea_2

Im glad I found this thread, its not just me thats doing it all by trial and error. I have a few gardening books, which go on about chitting potatoes and earthing up, but do not explain what this means!
I planted some charlotte potatoes which were not special seed potatoes, just Aldi ones which I would have put in the compost bin otherwise as they had started to sprout. I have never grown potatoes before, and low and behold lots of greenery has started to appear. (To be honest, I had no idea if this was actually potato related, or if it was a weed to begin with) I have not covered anything over yet - I thought you covered the stems up to the first leaf, not the whole lot? In one of my gardening books there is a picture (where gardenings is concerned I need BASIC instructions - lol) and the plant is quite tall therefore in a normal garden bed you would not be able to cover it all over surely?
Even if I am doing it all wrong, its still very exciting - I find I have to keep popping outside to make sure its all still there, and got most upset the other day when OH broke the sad news that the rabbit had eaten one of my pea plants! (Needless to say all the peas are now covered with a "fence" of plastic netting to keep the rabbit out)

Morty_007

Sweet_Pea wrote: »

I have not covered anything over yet - I thought you covered the stems up to the first leaf, not the whole lot? In one of my gardening books there is a picture (where gardenings is concerned I need BASIC instructions - lol) and the plant is quite tall therefore in a normal garden bed you would not be able to cover it all over surely?

This is an excellent point

**visions of my postage stamp sized garden looking like a haven for gigantic moles with just green tips and the top of the neighbours brick wall visible.**

hazzie123

Is it too late for me to plant some potatoes? Old or new?

mariauk

Hi hazzie

I put the last 3 of my Saxon seed tats in last week, You have nothing to lose if you do. I can`t see why not

spudman_3

Good afternoon.
I am a potato agronomist here are notes to the questions posed
Most potatoes do flower,each variety has an individual leaf shape , stem height and flower colour as well as tubershape/colour.
Rocket for example produces a blue flower.
growth takes three phases, firstly rapid leaf and stem growth,and flowering
second phase is tuber swelling, when the foliage crop height will reduce as the energy is going to the tuber expansion,the crop "goes on its knees"
third is senescence when the leaves start to go brown and shrivel up and the stems die.The skins on the potato tubers then will be forming and setting.If you store potatoes they will nedd a fully set skin to minmize dehydration losses, and the cooler the storage place, the better.
Commercially we store at plus 2 degrees C, and nil chemicals.

Plant seed potatoes, and you can reridge ,[ cover the plants with soil], so the daughter tubers are in the dark of a soil covering.
Green tubers should be chucked out-- the solanin is a poison , and foul tasting.



The maturity classes are
first early 70/90 days growth
second early 90/120
maincrop 120 plus
I would suggest that if you are growing in a barrel or large pot, then try the salad varieties Charlotte or Maris Peer.
You can plant up to mid june for loose skin harvesting in october.
Please fertilise preplanting, and do not use tomorite etc because excess N2 produces soft leaf structure which is blight susceptible and you are slwing the plant from going to he tuber bulking stage.
The main pests are slugs and potato blight so spray an appropiate fungicide from crop emergence if conditions are "blighty",

You can replant home saved seed, if you harvest then allow the 6/8 week resting period.
Store in cool , dark conditions

There is no need to remove flowers or any "seed tomatoes".

any questions please mail ahead

spudman

Extra thoughts
A watering
potato tubers are between 75 to 80 % water.
so watering or irrigating will increase yield if the soil is dry.

Commercially the need for watering is calculated based on
1 the soil type -- sand which poorly holds water to clay soils which have much greater water holding potential
2 crop growth stage, when the plants have shed flowers and dropped height, water can be withheld to "dry " the crop out.-- say mid August
If the plants are watered after this stage, then there is potential for uneven growth, and alas excess watering in some circumstances can encourage bacterial tuber breakdown.

3 weather


My tip is -- Water to need only , so water the soil between the ridges , and not the leaves .
Humidity gives the conditions for Potato Blight.

It is best to water during the late afternoon or evening, and make sure that you do not get ridge breakdown or runoff.
B disease
do not ignore potato blight , you can see dark spots on leaf margins, and under humid conditions a white surround to these areas , particularly on the underside of the leaf.

Remember -- fungicides can only slow the disease, so you can get potatoes to harvest.
The disease can be washed down the leaves to infect the stems and possibly the tubers in the ground.
Also, blight can be spread by resting spores in the soil for future years.
Always grow on clean ground in a 1in 5 or 6 years rotation.

happy potatoes to you all!!!

soba

Thanks, spudman, that's answered all my questions, plus a few I hadn't thought about!!

nuttyrockeress

So now time for my stupid question......

First time potato grower her so be nice.....

I made a !!!! up and put in far to many so split them into more containers.

I have big green leaves and have done for at least 3 weeks. Am i supposed to cover the leaves with soil? Only thing is if I do, the compost will overflow.....

Help!

absfabs

spudman wrote: »

growth takes three phases, firstly rapid leaf and stem growth,and flowering
second phase is tuber swelling, when the foliage crop height will reduce as the energy is going to the tuber expansion,the crop "goes on its knees"

Thanks Spudman, your advice makes much more sense then the gardening "experts" books.

I will try and be more patient this year and wait for flowers and "kneeling" of the crop.
(at least some of them - I have already been tempted to poke the fork in to one side to see if there are any delicious new potatoes waiting ... I'll try and control myself for another day!)

nuttyrockeress

nuttyrockeress wrote: »

So now time for my stupid question......

First time potato grower her so be nice.....

I made a !!!! up and put in far to many so split them into more containers.

I have big green leaves and have done for at least 3 weeks. Am i supposed to cover the leaves with soil? Only thing is if I do, the compost will overflow.....

Help!

Anyone