First earlies

**gojiberry** · 05-06-2011, 12:53 PM

Not all veg is cost effective and sometime we grow for freshness and taste. I have emptied one of my tubs out and got 20 good sized potatoes from 3 tubers which is a good return in my opinion. Yes the tubers cost �1.50 and there is half bag of compost (which I will reuse for something else) but what a difference the taste is to ones from the supermarket and I know there have been no chemicals anywhere near my crop.

Ian

**Flummery** · 05-06-2011, 01:29 PM

High nitrogen can result in lush leaf growth. Probably not a problem since your leaves broke in the high winds. As goji says, we do it for the flavour though, so any result is good!

**smallblueplanet** · 05-06-2011, 01:35 PM

Originally posted by Green bean View Post

So sorry if this is a repeat I tried a search but gave up after 30min waiting.

Think there's still problems with the site then?

You've made me want to see how big our 1st earlies are - bet they'll be quite small, we've not had much rain around here. But yeah we also do it for the taste - but not sure you could buy organic new pots cheaper, which is what ours are.

**Green bean** · 05-06-2011, 01:47 PM

Thank you for the comments.
I agree wholeheartedly with you all can't beat the flavor and I am getting about 15/18 or so potatoes from 5 plants (too many in one container?). I was just a little disappointed with the yield I expected more traveling up the stem and thought that I had done something incorrectly but it appears I haven't phew..................

**Aberdeenplotter** · 05-06-2011, 05:22 PM

Originally posted by smallblueplanet View Post

Think there's still problems with the site then?

I'm not able to see the first post in threads today so something isn't right. The last I heard, the vine was going offline for some major work and a new server?

**Potstubsdustbins** · 05-06-2011, 07:57 PM

GB,

I feed with a nitrogen feed at the start of the season which promotes good green growth (the haulm). After about 6 weeks with new potatoes I change to a high potash feed such as tomorite to promote tuber growth.

Colin

**Jamesy_uk** · 06-06-2011, 09:45 AM

What size was the container? I usually place 3-4 in a round 40 litre bag place 2 tata's about 6" from the bottom and then 2 more about 12-14" one in each 'corner' basically.
On the cost effective front, not really ever going to be that if you grow in pots, even in the ground they do best with manure/compost to improve soil and maybe some feed in the tuber phase. A big thing in containers is to keep them well watered, last year on hot spells I was giving them a bucket a day of water but when i went to dig one out it was dry in the bottom half of the container.

**Green bean** · 07-06-2011, 06:53 PM

It would seem that I have been over zealous with my seed pots should be 3/4 instead of 5. I also mixed nitrogen feed with the compost looks like I should feed it to them at the right times instead. Well I'm loving the ones I have and I still have salad pots and main crop to come and there is always next year. Thank you all you may make a decent potato grower out of me yet..................

**Jamesy_uk** · 07-06-2011, 08:58 PM

It's all Experience old bean

, I have only been really researching and growing in the last 2 years and I am slowly adding more veg types to my repetoire.

**Potstubsdustbins** · 07-06-2011, 09:42 PM

GB don't forget you can reuse the compost for other plants next year. At the end of the season my used compost (providing there as been no nasties) is riddled and stored over winter in my empty dustbins. Come spring I mix in a dollop of blood,fish and bone or growmore which ever I have to hand and reuse it, this way you keep the cost of buying new compost down.

Colin

**arpoet** · 08-06-2011, 06:13 AM

Originally posted by Potstubsdustbins View Post

GB don't forget you can reuse the compost for other plants next year. At the end of the season my used compost (providing there as been no nasties) is riddled and stored over winter in my empty dustbins. Come spring I mix in a dollop of blood,fish and bone or growmore which ever I have to hand and reuse it, this way you keep the cost of buying new compost down.

Colin

You can also put steam through your old compst to clean it like the old gardeners used to do. It have seen it done on progams like the Victorian Kitcken Garden. I steam clean my old compost with a kettle steamer.
Roger

**womble** · 08-06-2011, 06:57 AM

Originally posted by Green bean View Post

Thank you for the comments.
I agree wholeheartedly with you all can't beat the flavor and I am getting about 15/18 or so potatoes from 5 plants (too many in one container?). I was just a little disappointed with the yield I expected more traveling up the stem and thought that I had done something incorrectly but it appears I haven't phew..................

Yes, this has been a bit of a bugbear of mine for a while. I have not yet seen this growing method produce what it said it should.
We're all told to earth up potatoes in pots, just keep going and the potatoes will grow up the stem. Not seen it.

**gojiberry** · 08-06-2011, 07:56 AM

Earthing up does produce more potatoes, but not to the extent that wee would all like. Also remember that we tend to harvest early potatoes long before the end of their growing season which reduces crop size.

Ian

**womble** · 08-06-2011, 07:59 AM

Earthing up once or twice yes, helps keeps the tubers non green also, but not this practice of continual earthing up, all the way up a tub to the top.

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