Grow Your Own Magazine

Hi - I am new to this forum, so I hope you haven't had big discussions about this before.

I am on season 2 of my allotment (I only grew veggies on half of it last year, and I'm learning to live with the horsetail) and last year my maincrop pots were growing really well and suddenly they all died. There were still pots underneath, but I guess they were smaller and fewer than my fellow diggers potatoes.

I decided maybe it was lack of water, so this year I planted them under a membrane - which lets water through but slows evaporation and weeds (not horsetail though!). I planted earlies and maincrop.

The earlies started dying and now all but one have gone - and that one looks great, bushy & green, but the only one. There are pots under most of them, so I am digging them up. They had a big problem being eaten by slugs. The maincrop are still standing, but not as well as the other allotments on my site. Slugs haven't really got to them (only the odd one or two) but they are going yellow and not looking great. I have watered them and started feeding with a nettle feed I made (I think instrustions were in the mag earlier this year) and they are rallying, but I think I will loose the battle, and my spuds way before September.

Can you help with what I might have done wrong, and can I salvage them?

Hi LTP welcome to the vine,

Early spuds normally take 10-12 week to be ready so if the tops are dying off it may mean that they are ready to eat. The maincrop take about 16 weeks so depending when you put them in & what vairety they are they may be nearing readiness as well. That having been said, you've had a severe hot dry spell down there haven't you so it maybe just a bad year for spuds for you.

As to the slugs, yes, I afraid they will thrive under a membrane as its dark & damp. The only way arounfd this would be to use a nemotode I guess as i'm sot sure how evective pellets would be.

Try giving them a good watering (couple of cans per row) nd they may pick up

__________________
ntg

Never be afraid to try something new.
Remember that a lone amateur built the Ark.
A large group of professionals built the Titanic

http://grief-encounters.blogspot.com/

Hi LTP and just to echo Nick's greeting, welcome to the 'Vine.
I would ask your fellow lottie holders what they think about your tatties - after all, they are growing theirs in close proximity to yours and may well have encountered similar probs before - and will therefore be able to give you good local advice - as for slugs - nuke 'em

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Rat

British by birth
Scottish by the Grace of God

Blog updated Wednesday November 13th