potatoes

[sam 51]

hi all, just started to think how MANY kg of seed potatoes to buy.
today on the plot, I made 3 sections of area for my spuds.
they measure 9mts x 1.2mtrs,
how many potatoes will I need,
and all being well what yield will I get.
thanks sam.

[Vince G]

Hi Sam, it's quite difficult to say how many kilos of seed potatoes to buy because it depends on how big each seed potato is. We always plant ours about 60cm apart in rows which are about 60-70cm apart. So in 9m x 1.2m I would be looking to plant 2 rows of 15 seed potatoes.

Regarding yield, depends on a lot of things like soil, watering, blight..... but we planted four 6m rows last year which we dug up in September and which I reckon will last me and my wife until the end of February.

[Thelma Sanders]

JBA potatoes have a calculator at the bottom of their page

JBA Seed Potatoes

[Feral007]

I just bung em in an hope for the best No help at all I'm afraid

[Bigmallly]

Looks like you are gonna get varied answers Sam (nowt new there)........I plant my spuds 1 foot apart, with rows 1 foot apart.........try different variants, note them & compare at harvest time as to what worked best for you.

[Scarlet]

...and I plant mine about 15inch apart.

[Two_Sheds]

started to think how MANY kg of seed potatoes to buy.

I do it a different way (naturally). I reckon we eat potatoes twice a week, 2 of us. So that's 4 spuds a week (large; or 8 small).
52 x 4 = 208 spuds

I reckon on about 10 spuds per plant, so that's 20 seed potatoes I need to buy

They get planted 12" apart.

This is how I work out what I need to plant: other people will have different methods, esp. if they're ultra strict about what-goes-where.
But I will have my main spud patch, then fit spares in anywhere I can. I also don't worry about the numbers all that much: if we run out of spuds, then we eat pasta or rice instead. Or buy spuds when they're cheap in the shops

[sam 51]

how big is your plot,what else do you grow.
trying to get some idea about growing veg, as there is only 2 of us.
don't mind giving some away, but hate wastage.

[Bigmallly]

Nothing will get wasted Sam, there is always someone who will take it off your hands.

[Scarlet]

I try to grow fruit and veg that my family will eat. We never have any waste. It gets frozen, made into jam, chutney or given to my friends.

[sam 51]

thanks. with my planed first lot of sections,
3 in total. if I grow 1st early, in 1 bed, and harvest in june or before.
does that mean I cant grow potatoes in that same bed for 3 years.
I was hoping to harvest the 1st earlys in around june,
and put in the lates in the same bed for winter time. sorry to be a pain in the aris.
but need to learn.

[Two_Sheds]

no, they all get planted at the same time Sam. if you don't plant the maincrop until June, they will be earlies
Maincrop are just in the ground for a longer time, so they grow bigger. If you leave earlies in the ground, they become maincrops

[Dorothy rouse]

Sam, you plant them all around April time, your first Earlies should be ready from beginning of June, and hopefully will last you until your main crop are ready, August onwards, through to Autumn, you can then dig them up and store, to keep you going through the winter. So you can see they do take up a fair bit of space. Once you've lifted your Earlies, you can plant other crops, maybe runner beans, or courgettes. This worked well for me this year, others may not agree. I had Earlies first week in June.

I've had potatoes in the same place for 2 years running, and they were good, I did add compost/ well rotted manure during the winter time, but i am changing their position next year.

[sam 51]

thanks all for that.i now understand.
what are the most ones with taste.
there are so many out there that ive not herd of,
and the popular shop ones are so bland.
there is an allotment across the road from me,
I been told that they suffer from blight, so fingers crossed.
I think I need a good disease crop,

[Scarlet]

Well even in sunny dry Wiltshire we get hit by blight if the weather is wet. (This year I didn't have a problem) I just try to get my spuds in and hope to lift them before it hits. You have less problems with earlies because they are lifted several weeks earlier than your main crop.