Grow Your Own Magazine

I have harvested my second container of kestrel potatoes, which I am quite pleased about

I do have a couple of questions though as regards the size of my pot and the yield.

I have used 3 pots which are (if I remember rightly!)around the 30 litres and in each I placed 3 tubers. Because of the weather I waited a month longer than the usual time, and after checking by having a feel around, I have harvested the first two pots 3 weeks apart.

Whilst I was excited at the amount of potatoes that I managed to grow, I did feel there was an excess of compost not used. Is that normal? How much yield would you expect for the size of the pot I used and 3 tubers?
I did get about 20 potatoes (didnt weigh them!) but like I mentioned there was a lot of compost that seemed spare.

I am now considering for next year to either increase the amount of tubers (maybe 4 or 5?) or to use a smaller pot with 2 or 3 tubers?

Incidentally the yield from the 2nd pot was better, but by that point I was watering better as I noticed the bottom half of the first pot was qiute dry!

Any advice?

If you want the tatties to fill the pot, only half fill the container and plant the tubers. As the tops grow earth them up by adding more compost. That way your tatties will fully utilise the compost and hopefully give a bigger crop!

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My Majesty made for him a garden anew in order
to present to him vegetables and all beautiful flowers.- Offerings of Thutmose III to Amon-Ra (1500 BCE)

Strange thing is, that is exactly what I did as instructed by the wonderful forum members.

I must have earthed up about 6 times in total, which is why I am trying to work out why some of the compost was wasted. I was wondering if lack of sun () has anything to do with it??

It hasnt put me off, I am just trying to work out how to improve.

Shelle
I think that maybe you underestimated how much water tatties need, epecially when the tubers are forming and swelling, espesh if they are in pots and have no source of water other than your good self.
It is hard to judge and nothing beats experience, but you have already learnt from Pot 1's dry compost.
I grow some tatties in 18 litre buckets and I put two tatties in each bucket on top of 6" of a soil based compost mixed with chicken manure pellets. (Remember tatties are realatively quick growing bulky crops and as such need a lot of food) I only earth up once or twice -too lazy to do it more often and have had good results.

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Rat

British by birth
Scottish by the Grace of God

Blog updated Wednesday November 13th

Water them well Shelle. Shame you didn't weigh them as it's easier to compare crops that way. Last year I averaged 4lbs to a bucket (I believe that's very good crops) and one bucket of Rooster produced 6lbs. I believe that's WOW ! One bucket of Nadine burst the bucket ! I've had much lighter crops this year. Maybe because it's raining I haven't watered to the same extent, but the foliage prevents the rain soaking the bucket. Keep going with your trial and do let's know how you get on. We all want to get as many potatoes as we can from our buckets.

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From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs.

Shelle

I asked the very same question of Alice a while ago as I was concerned that I wasn't getting good value from my containers.

My pots are around 45 litres and I was only getting 1.6kg from 3 seed potatoes. These were earlies - Duke of York.

Since then, I have harvested my maincrops - Valor - and the yield is much greater, aronud 2.7kg each. I was quite pleased with this - it's probably my biggest haul so far.

I have had no problem keeping them watered and fed this year as temperatures have been lower, and I haven't had blight, so I reckon it was a good comparison.

In the future, I shall put four of five tubers of an early variety in each of these large pots and see if the yield improves. I may step up to four of the maincrop. I shall also try and do a more regular feed as they do run out of steam rather early.

I don't want to use smaller containers because of space issues and watering - it is a lot easier to give a good soak to a larger container in my experience, and it is easier to keep the foliage supported and away from slugs and snails.

Thanks for all your feedback!

Think it may have been due to watering earlier on in the process. Think I will drill some more holes in side of container to let me see when I reach bottom to ensure more eveness of watering.

If I can find any potatoes now, I will plant them for a christmas harvest (in my dreams anyhow!) and may try 4 in one pot and 3 in the other to see what happens.

Just need to find some potatoes now, everywhere that does small amounts seems to be out of stock

Shelle I'm having the same problem too and had reached the conclusion that it must have been a watering problem. For us its been the driest summer we have ever had, so I probably only watered as much as I usually do and they have dried out too much.

The potatoes I've grown in pots (Jerseys and Charlottes) have been very nice tasting, if a little small and not many of them, about 1.5 lb from 3 tubers in a large garden pot measuring about 14" across. And the compost, once the leaves etc has been removed has been very fine and not full of the usual roots. I also earthed up a couple of times, but I must admit did not put any chicken pellets in the pots (forgot about that!) - thanks Rat for reminding me.

Its all in the diary for next year!

Jenny, you must be one of the very few who can say they had a dry summer. Glad someone had a good one.

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And when you're back stops aching,
And you're hands begin to harden.
You will find yourself a partner,
In the glory of the garden.

Rudyard Kipling.

We do like to be different here Bramble! June was the second driest in Shetland since records began and I think July might have been nearly there too. Also heard when we were there on holiday that it was the same in Orkney. No had any sun though.

Seeing you mention chicken manure pellets, I was investigating "potato fertiliser".

The latter is heavy on the potash (6:5:10), more like a tomato feed, whereas chicken manure is heavy on the nitrogen. I wonder if starting off with too much nitrogen is a good idea - does it not lead to too much foliage growth rather than tuber formation?... or, should you start with nitrogen and move on to potash at flowering time? The potato fertiliser has extra magnesium, too, I notice.

Anyone use potato-specific fertiliser?

Potatoes and tomatoes are both in the same family only the part we eat differs!
As you mention, chicken manure will cause excess top growth at the expense of fruit/tuber.
I must confess to using a slow release potassium rich fertiliser with mine (not organic I'm afraid!) but they have a heavy mulch of FYM!

Works for me and you can keep your chicken sh*t for your brassicas!

A fertiliser rich in phosphate is theoretically good at boosting root growth so may be worth it for spuds which are basically swollen roots? Potassium is helpful to fruit and flowers and it also has a hardening effect and should make for stronger top growth.

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My Majesty made for him a garden anew in order
to present to him vegetables and all beautiful flowers.- Offerings of Thutmose III to Amon-Ra (1500 BCE)

Just harvested my biggest haul ever, from one of the new potato bags (the Haxnicks tarpaulin material ones with handles sown on the sides).

Just over 3 kgs of Valor from 3 tubers. Grown in a mix of garden compost, peat-free organic compost, comfrey pellets, etc. Used organic liquid feed fairly regularly.

I'm quite pleased - it makes up for my small crop of earlies.

i have just bought 10 taties off ebay Charlotte's and have planted them today, 4 in a black bin and 2 in a 50ltr compost bag and 2x3 in 150 ltr bags.
hopefully ready for Xmas.
i have read about first Early's main crops and 2nd Early's but i feel sod it if there sprouting plant them.
lets see what happens and i wish you all success.

I think you're right Nosferato. What matters about the different classifications ( earlies, mains Etc) is how many frost free weeks they need to produce a crop. With Charlotte you'll need 13 weeks, and at this time of year a bit more. If you give them a bit of frost protection you should get good potatoes for Christmas. Good luck with that. Last year I went away to Spain for some winter sunshine and my potatoes drowned in their containers for want of a bit of attention. Luckily I had saved some in the freezer so still had my tatties for Christmas.

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From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs.

This year I got excelent results in my tubs. The soil I used was a mix of compost, vermiculite, water retaining granuals and bone meal.
Once a week I also gave a liquid feed.
I only grew two types of spud. Desiree and Shetland Blacks
Desiree is a maincrop potato variety, with high and early yields. I have since found out that Shetland Blacks have shallow roots and dont need deep pots, so will be saving my large tubs for more Desiree next year.
I think that the water retaining granuals and bone meal made a big diference to my results this year over last years harvest. After all bone meal builds roots and thats where the potatoes are to be found

That's interesting - I have some blood, fish and bone in my shed - do you think that would do the trick too?

Blood fish and bone meal is a balanced organic fertiliser which was the predecessor of the non-organic National Growmore pellets.
Incorporating it in your compost at planting time will make NPK readily available throughout a long period. A high potassium liquid feed, or comfrey tea if your organically minded, could be applied later in the year prior to flowering!

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My Majesty made for him a garden anew in order
to present to him vegetables and all beautiful flowers.- Offerings of Thutmose III to Amon-Ra (1500 BCE)

I throw growmore around everywhere before planting anything! It worked well for the flowerbeds so I tried it with the veg as well and it certainly hasnt done any harm. I didnt realise it wasnt organic though - should I be using bf & b instead?

I've got 4 maris piper in a 50l compost bag, is this too many then, won't there be room for the tatties to develop much? I was hoping to start looking in a week or two.

BTW, sorry to jump in and hijack things here!

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Life may not be the party we hoped for but since we're here we might as well dance