Grow Your Own Magazine

OK i've read through several threads, read the info in my books - looks very easy - was put off last year by talk of chitting and pictures of cutting planting pieces and earthing up etc - but now i realise there's nothing much to it

i've got room for about 30 plants total - mix of earlies / second earlies / maincrop
i want to try a few varieties so only need a few of each variety - but the bags of seed spuds have loads in - do i use the smaller ones for planting and just eat the bigger ones??
does anyone know any garden centres that sell seed potatoes singly so that i could get 6 each of 5 varieties etc?

one book i has shows spuds being grown under plastic sheeting, meaning no need for earthing up - i love using weed control sheeting as it saves me a lot of time and effort - can i use it for spuds? or does it let too much light through? if it lets too much light through, i can mulch on top of it (got loads of stuff for that) - will that be good?
if i use the sheeting, do i bury the seed potatoes or leave them on the surface and just cover them?
is blight more likely if i use sheeting??

from what i've read about spacing can i plant alternate rows of earlies and maincrops, each row say 15" apart, so that when the earlies come up, the maincrops will be about 30" apart ??

so far i've got a "salad" variety called Nicola and a maincrop called Sarpo Mira - has anyone tried these? if so, any good?
any recommendations for others?

I wouldn't be tempted to eat seed potatoes as they may have been treated with a fungicide. Some seed suppliers (usually local ones rather than the big companies) allow you to buy as many or as few as you need, so it might be worth looking around to see if you can purchase them in smaller quantities next time. Perhaps you could ask some gardening neighbours if they could take your surplus off your hands? It will probably pay off in no time as you'll be given loads of stuff in return.

Wilko's (Wilkinson's) sell in packs of 10. I've had one of Lady Chrystl and one of Anya from them. It's useful to get small pack like this so you don't end up with your whole plot covered in one type. I think Piglet grew one of the Sarpo varieties last year. They are supposed to be resitant to blight.

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I agree - don't eat seed potatoes. Not a good idea.

You'll have to check out garden centres to get small quanitities - some might stock the Unwins bags in which you get less than ten tubers. Small quantities are more expensive, mind you, and there is less choice.

You can basically grow your potatoes in anything as long as they are in complete darkness and have enough food and water. In theory, the woven weed control membrane would work but you need to hold it up to the light as see how dense it is. Any kind of plastic will attract slugs as it stays nice and moist underneath but then you benefit from less evaporation from the soil. It's probably best to put some straw around/ on top of the tubers, then lay down the plastic, then mulch on top of that.

Personally, I would just bury the damn things and be done with it!

thanks guys
good job i asked if they were ok to eat!
don't know any gardening neighbours - so if anyone on here local to me wants a few spares just give me a shout!
do slugs like spuds? or just green stuff? i will be using slug pellets cos i got a lot of slugs and not much time to do anything else about them
nearest wilkos i know of is in sutton - cost more in petrol to get there and back than i'll save by buying smaller amounts

You could put a few of the Nicolas in a paper bag in the fridge, then plant them out in July for a Christmas crop - you'd have to buy some fleece to protect them from frosts. They could go in the space vacated by your first earlies. Nicola are one of the varieties which are used for this so it should work.

our local woolies & poundstretcher both had packs of 10's or have you got an independent garden centre ours has loads of different varieties and you can buy as many or few as you want

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Bluemoon, can you get a Christmas Crop with 1st or 2nd earlies or both?

i never thought about seed potatoes being treated i have just bought deserre (however you spell it )and kesteral i bought them loose as in you just fill a flower pot up to the lip and was only 99p a kilo which i thought was good, but than saying that unless you buy organic or from somone else who has them to share whos to say our shop ones havent been treated as well im a little lost about what right and wrong :S i want to go as organic as i can,

cheers guys - great info
local woolies only have small gardening sections and no spuds - will have to try more garden centres
good to know about spuds for christmas
i guess it's about time i replaced the slimline fridge with a full size one!

You can use both, but adjust planting times to allow for their expected time of maturity. Also they will grow quickly at first, but then slow down as it becomes colder - the opposite to Spring planting. It can be fairly difficult to have them ready precisely at Christmas though as a mild Autumn can speed things up, an unexpected early frost can finish them off, heavy rains could make them impossible to dig up. You need to be either, a) Lucky or b) Psychic, but it's usually worth a go.

Sent you a PM FG

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I was planning to keep back a few of my earlies after cropping to use as christmas seed spuds - would this work?
Tx

Hi F_G

I know its too late for this year but you could try giving Knights garden centres a ring as they may have a pick and mix selection of loose potatoes. They are pricey as garden centres go, but they do stock many items that many other garden centres don't. And if they do have a pick and mix selection remember to fill the bag right to the top and possibly even spilling out a little as they charge by the bag and not the weight.

Knights Garden Centres