harvesting potatoes

[loocyloo]

:-) morning!

We planted the 'grow your own potatoes' and all grown ... But I now can't find the bit of paper that said when to harvest!
I'm sure it must be around now ...
Does anyone know? !
Thanks
Xx

[lollipop kid]

:-) morning!

We planted the 'grow your own potatoes' and all grown ... But I now can't find the bit of paper that said when to harvest!
I'm sure it must be around now ...
Does anyone know? !
Thanks
Xx

Not sure if you planted something similar to us, but we planted "Main Crop seed potatoes" (Bambinos) in April. (Ours are Scottish seed potatoes - and I'm Scottish, so I was chuffed to bits to learn this stuff!! I used to see my Dad planting potatoes, so it brought it all back.)

It says plant from March-May, and harvest September/October. (I am sad, so I laminated my 'instructions' and hung them on a hook near the potatoes.

As an aside, I pulled one up recently to see what was happening, and there was one potato at the end of one of the shoots (I broke the others off in my attempt). The surviving potato was really dinky - about the size of a decent-sized gobstopper! (I put it back in.)

Next time I plant these, I've got some fabric grow bags. I'm going to cut a square window out of the bag, tape velcro round it, put a piece of plastic inside (so I can see through the 'window'), then put my velcro'd flap back over. Then next time round, I'll be able to just lift the flap to see what the potatoes are doing!

Hope it helps,

L

[loocyloo]

I've just found the info on the website and harvesting is tomorrow!

We had rocket and a Scottish variety too.

http://gyop.potato.org.uk/pc53/About...ts-in-the-pack

[lollipop kid]

I've just found the info on the website and harvesting is tomorrow!

We had rocket and a Scottish variety too.

Grow your own potatoes - whats in the pack

Wow - this looks terrific! I love the lesson plan stuff.

(Much better than my Robert Dyas spuds!)



L

[JoRo163]

We planted some potato tubers this year. They are thriving in a pot on my patio as we speak. In my 'instructions' it says the plants should flower and then will die off. So when the plants withers and dies, it's harvest time! Mine won't be ready til September, I'm so excited to see how many have grown!

[bunyip]

Not sure if you planted something similar to us, but we planted "Main Crop seed potatoes" (Bambinos) in April. (Ours are Scottish seed potatoes - and I'm Scottish, so I was chuffed to bits to learn this stuff!! I used to see my Dad planting potatoes, so it brought it all back.)

It says plant from March-May, and harvest September/October. (I am sad, so I laminated my 'instructions' and hung them on a hook near the potatoes.

As an aside, I pulled one up recently to see what was happening, and there was one potato at the end of one of the shoots (I broke the others off in my attempt). The surviving potato was really dinky - about the size of a decent-sized gobstopper! (I put it back in.)

Next time I plant these, I've got some fabric grow bags. I'm going to cut a square window out of the bag, tape velcro round it, put a piece of plastic inside (so I can see through the 'window'), then put my velcro'd flap back over. Then next time round, I'll be able to just lift the flap to see what the potatoes are doing!

Hope it helps,

L

Excellent idea.

Do make sure to use an over-sized flap to shut out as much light as possible, or your taters will suffer from green-top (ie. slightly toxic and unpleasant-tasting tubers).

[bunyip]

We planted some potato tubers this year. They are thriving in a pot on my patio as we speak. In my 'instructions' it says the plants should flower and then will die off. So when the plants withers and dies, it's harvest time! Mine won't be ready til September, I'm so excited to see how many have grown!

A couple of things to be aware of. Not all varieties of potato will produce flowers. Hopefully yours will if the instructions mention it. As a time-based guide, potatoes are generally ready anything from 13 weeks (earlies) to 22 weeks (late maincrop) after planting.

I think the instructions refer to the flowers dying, not the plant dying. If you keep watering and leave it to its own devices, the plant will not die until it succumbs to frost or disease (and then would regrow next year from the tubers it will have produced.)

Some growers pinch out the flowers, to get slightly larger tubers. Otherwise, the plant puts more energy into flower production and less into tuber growth. Personally I like the flowers, especially a mixture of purple and white ones from the cultivars I select for the allotment. Some flowers will go on to produce seed - carried in what look like hard, green tomatoes. Be aware these are inedible. In fact the tubers are the only part of the potato plant which is not toxic.

A word of advice on those expensive 'potato bags' - don't buy them, you're wasting your money. You need compost to fill a potato bag. It's just a bag. The compost comes in a bag which is far better for growing potatoes. Empty out the compost (you'll need somewhere to keep the excess until needed) then turn the bag inside out, so the black inside is now outside and attracts the sun's warm rays to encourage growth. Punch a few holes in the bottom to allow drainage and prevent waterlogging. Ta-dah! One free potato bag. The only disadvantage is the possibility of it toppling over. You can reduce the chance of this happening by filling it in such a way as to produce a flattish base, and use a potato variety (eg. Swift) which is relatively low-growing. You can also roll down the sides of a compost bag and roll up again as the plant grows - something you can't do easily with most of those shop-bought 'potato bags'.

As a rule of thumb, if you see anything on sale in a garden centre, ask yourself if it is a worthwhile purchase or just another superfluous 'gadget' to make money for the garden centre.

[lollipop kid]

Great tips, Bunyip!

Thanks a million. (I hope we get enough potatoes now for a decent plate of chips! )



L

[loocyloo]

A couple of things to be aware of. Not all varieties of potato will produce flowers. Hopefully yours will if the instructions mention it. As a time-based guide, potatoes are generally ready anything from 13 weeks (earlies) to 22 weeks (late maincrop) after planting.

I think the instructions refer to the flowers dying, not the plant dying. If you keep watering and leave it to its own devices, the plant will not die until it succumbs to frost or disease (and then would regrow next year from the tubers it will have produced.)

Some growers pinch out the flowers, to get slightly larger tubers. Otherwise, the plant puts more energy into flower production and less into tuber growth. Personally I like the flowers, especially a mixture of purple and white ones from the cultivars I select for the allotment. Some flowers will go on to produce seed - carried in what look like hard, green tomatoes. Be aware these are inedible. In fact the tubers are the only part of the potato plant which is not toxic.

A word of advice on those expensive 'potato bags' - don't buy them, you're wasting your money. You need compost to fill a potato bag. It's just a bag. The compost comes in a bag which is far better for growing potatoes. Empty out the compost (you'll need somewhere to keep the excess until needed) then turn the bag inside out, so the black inside is now outside and attracts the sun's warm rays to encourage growth. Punch a few holes in the bottom to allow drainage and prevent waterlogging. Ta-dah! One free potato bag. The only disadvantage is the possibility of it toppling over. You can reduce the chance of this happening by filling it in such a way as to produce a flattish base, and use a potato variety (eg. Swift) which is relatively low-growing. You can also roll down the sides of a compost bag and roll up again as the plant grows - something you can't do easily with most of those shop-bought 'potato bags'.

As a rule of thumb, if you see anything on sale in a garden centre, ask yourself if it is a worthwhile purchase or just another superfluous 'gadget' to make money for the garden centre.

Thanks.
I use compost bags for my potatoes!

[bunyip]

Great tips, Bunyip!

Thanks a million. (I hope we get enough potatoes now for a decent plate of chips! )



L

Ah, I see the health eating policy underwent revision then?

I used to volunteer on a community allotment project. One of the groups we hosted was a group of 'troubled' teens who were on a scheme to try to make them a wee bit more employable. They had a healthy eating talk on-site from an NHS nutritionist who asked the sort of thing they ate, then criticised them for eating chips, at which point one came back with the wonderful defence, "but Miss, chips is a vegetable." It stuck with me ever since.

[lollipop kid]

Ah, I see the health eating policy underwent revision then?

I used to volunteer on a community allotment project. One of the groups we hosted was a group of 'troubled' teens who were on a scheme to try to make them a wee bit more employable. They had a healthy eating talk on-site from an NHS nutritionist who asked the sort of thing they ate, then criticised them for eating chips, at which point one came back with the wonderful defence, "but Miss, chips is a vegetable." It stuck with me ever since.

That's brilliant!

I had chips with virtually every meal when I was a kid.

When "Potato Waffles" were launched, my Mum got me some and gave them to me for dinner when I got in from school. And, you'll love this - I had them with chips! (Oh, and fried egg - she didn't want me to be hungry! )

L

[k1rstie]

The potato bags that come with the school scheme potatoes are really good. Both bags fit really nicely in my old curb side recycling box.
( I occasionally find the recycling boxes left next to bottle banks)

I always leave my plants a long time more than the suggested 'harvesting week' . Usually until the end of the holidays or even September.