Potato Harvest Issues - What Went Wrong?

Eldi_Dos

@sujsuj

You should look up crop rotation in a allotment and the benefits that can be had by following that method.

Farway

sujsuj said:

For the last three years, I’ve been growing potatoes in this area. Before that, the previous owner also planted potatoes here.

And there is one of your problems, pests and any spud specific diseases have had years to settle in

Eldi_Dos said:

You should look up crop rotation in a allotment and the benefits that can be had by following that method.

And here is your answer to the problem

Grow your spuds elsewhere on the plot next year

fatbelly

Try peas/beans on that plot next year, leaf greens the year after, and roots after that. By the time you come back to potatoes, you should have fewer problems

twopenny

Harvesting late does result in this.

When the stems and leaves turn yellow dig up.

And yes, rotation helps.

Not sure about wood ash, it makes sense to lighten the soil but the potash in it is usually used for flowering and fruit.

Still those potatoes will still taste a lot nicer than supermarket ones

Nobbie1967

I used to get a lot of slug damage like you seem to have. One way to avoid is to plant a second early variety like Charlotte in early April and dig up in mid to late July before the slugs do too much damage. The other strategy is to use slug nematodes. I did that for my main crops this year and there is very little damage despite leaving in the ground until mid September. Small potatoes is usually due to poor soil or lack of water.

Money_Grabber13579

Late to the party on this one but used to grow potatoes commercially.  When a field had potatoes grown in it, that field would not then have been used for potatoes again for the following 3 years, specifically to reduce the risk of pests and diseases.