Potatoes for Christmas

There is a couple of links here that may help you.

http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...puds_7359.html

http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...ties_3608.html

http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...toes_2506.html

Thanks Mally.

After quite a bit of research I planted late season Charlotte new potatoes in containers (trugs with holes drilled in bottom) two weeks ago and they seem to be very happy. My original plan was to grow them for Christmas but I suspect they will be ready long before then.

I might plant another batch next week and fingers crossed I'll be munching them with my family on 25 Dec!

i picked up some Nicola from GC a week or too ago.
Also think a bit early yet so maybe this weekend or next but into bags so i can move into the plastic greenhouse when needed

I too may have got the timing wrong. I planted some supermarket anya about a month ago. 3 containers have now got halum appearing and I planned to steep up with compost when needed. Before the first frosts I will put them in the unheated greenhouse. Have I a hope in hell of getting tatties for christmas?

So it's not too late for planting for christmas? The garden centre ones I saw today said plant in July. Might give it a go.

I am going to do some rocket, did want some different ones but I have some rockets to use. Gonna do them this weekend. I did read the best time was the last week of august

I have started charlotte's off in potato sacks from tattieman's farm in scotland. 3 per sack in a mixure of topsoil, shreeded paper, multi purpose compost and a few handfulls of spent hops as i have found out that slugs dont like hops, and handful of potash well watered in. They are growing nicely outside my g/h ready to be taken in when the frost is forcast.
I dont expect make a profit on the job but as imported spuds at xmas can cost as much as 60p to a £1 per pound in the market it would be nice to break even.

I got some Charlotte & Kestrel from JBA; emailed them via their site for information, and I think tattieman got back to me with the following:

<edit>
For info, here was my email to them:
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That said, Christmas was ~24 weeks away when I was planning on planting. The Charlottes are way ahead of the Kestrels, and two sets are just breaking the top of a fully opened potato grow bag (haxnicks one).

I was speaking to someone else about it, and they said anytime until around the start of September is ok, they tend to do it then, and as long as you can keep them protected from the frost, then you'll be in with a good chance of nicely plumped up tubers on Christmas Day!

Mine are in my greenhouse now, mainly as I don't have the room for them because all around the greenhouse is just mountains of earth, so no suitable place to put them. I'm having to water more regularly than I did when they were outside - which probably explains their growth too (due to temperature). If they're ready before Christmas (which I fully expect them to be) I'll cut the foliage down, and just leave them in the sacks until Christmas. That reminds me, I need to get a tarp to empty them out on, it's a pain trying to not spill the compost everywhere!