Want to plant potatoes now. Help please!!!

~Chameleon~

I have read somewhere else that if you remove the flowers from potato plants before they get to the fruiting stage it will actually increase the yield. Is this true and is it something that is generally done?

I guess it makes sense if you think about a plant's life cycle as once it has flowered and fruited/seeded it has achieved it's purpose in life and will die off

Also, can I plant some "earlies" now to harvest in Sept/Oct?

If this year is going to be anything like the last couple of years the weather should still be relatively mild up to Oct/Nov and will probably be somewhat warmer than it has been over the last 3/4mths :rolleyes: :rotfl:

Larumbelle

madhouseof4 wrote: »

I was late putting out this years seed spuds, didn't do it until nearly the end of april and have just had an email from blightwatch to say that my area is in full smith mode (most likely conditions for blight to strike or spread). I am debating a copper fungicide, but it kind of goes against my whole "natural, organic" gardening.

You could try making horsetail treatment for it (if you don't have any horsetail let me know, I've got the little so-and-sos everywhere!) It's a natural fungicide and there's anecdotal evidence that it works to prevent potato blight as well. You can extract it using the 'comfry plant food method' (weigh it down in a tube and collect the drips as it decomposes) or you can boil it up in rainwater. Either way it needs to be diluted 1 part horsetail concentrate to 10 parts rainwater and sprayed on to the plants every 2 days in dry weather, every day in wet or very humid weather. It needs to be rainwater as it has less chlorine.

Edited to add: http://www.dgsgardening.btinternet.co.uk/recipes.htm This site has a horsetail recipe, but recommends garlic spray to treat blight. I don't like the look of bordeaux mixture much!

Hope this helps those struggling for a natural solution.

Saints76_2

You can also buy cold stored certified virus free tubers to plant now for xmas as I have had some just delivered. Apparently once planted in the hot summer soil from the cold of storage they take off. I will let you know how I get on with them. You can buy them from Dobbies, Suttons,victorian nurseries and they all do a number of varieties. Carlingford are the traditional xmas variety but I believe they are now breeding new anti blight ones for xmas.