Potatoes Made Easy

[tattieman]

Chris you can plant anytime up till mid August.
cupcake I am glad you like it.

[Caro]

Thanks Tattieman. Just put in my order for your Christmas spuds and grow-bags. Some, for me, some to try to get my brother and SIL into the whole grow-your-own thing.

Looking forward to them arriving!

[tattieman]

Thanks Tattieman. Just put in my order for your Christmas spuds and grow-bags. Some, for me, some to try to get my brother and SIL into the whole grow-your-own thing.

Looking forward to them arriving!

Update - Caro had her potatoes delivered but was not in.
The nice delivery man left them for her nice and safe and put a card in the door to say where they were. The only problem was that he put them into the recycle bin and that they got lifted by the local council
More on their way.

[CaroltheCarrot]

Mine were delivered on Friday and are safely in their tattie bags so they can be moved into the tunnel,thanks tattieman

[Snadger]

Update - Caro had her potatoes delivered but was not in.
The nice delivery man left them for her nice and safe and put a card in the door to say where they were. The only problem was that he put them into the recycle bin and that they got lifted by the local council
More on their way.

At least they were recycled!

[Caro]

At least they were recycled!

Huh! Tattieman asked me if I meant that the council had lifted my spuds?! (The answer was yes, but not in a good way! )

Anyway, thanks very much to Tattieman, I'm looking forward to receiving my replacements. And there's no recycling this week

[Caro]

Thanks Tattieman. Took no risks. Went and collected them from the delivery folk today (as I'd been out again when they came).

They're here, safe and sound. Whether I get them to grow is another matter

Thanks very much for replacing them, and so quickly!

[ANewGrower]

Tattieman, I've just ordered the Christmas potato collection from you I'm on hols for 2 weeks from 14th August though so hope that doesn't inconvenience any delivery!

Thanks for all the helpful advice you've given!

[Ian White]

Quick question all,i have just ordered some late season spuds,Maris Peer,do i need to chit them or can i just plant them up?

All the best,Ian

[susiewoosie]

I have a question about storing my potatoes. I have international kidney, vales sovereign and pink fir apple. Most of the instructions I've found have said to leave the potatoes on the ground to dry for a bit before storing them. Unfortunately Ayr seems to be having lots and lots showers at the moment. I should have said that I'm growing them in containers. I have also bought a hessian sack to store them in when I can.

[shirlthegirl43]

Tattieman, how much chance is there of Arran Pilot planted now giving a harvest? I picked up a bag of your seed spuds at reduced cost from our local garden centre yesterday (rare to get a bargain from them)

[AJG]

Very new at this growing lark!

Afternoon all, this post is related to the spud issue but i need advice today, I've just pulled up a few nice spuds, my first ever! from the supermarket ones i let chit on the windowsil, i've got now a very big bag of compost, so can i use it again for more chitted spuds (maris piper) or should i use it as mulch and start again with new? ~Thanks

[tattieman]

Hi everyone. Sorry I have not been on here but my ISP has problems with the site and I can't get on here at home.
As most of your posts are quite old I will just say that I hope your harvests went well.
AJG I would wait until next year now before you start to plant anymore spuds.
I would leave your compost outside in the wind and rain over the winter and re-use it for growing other crops in.

[garlicgirl06]

some advice for a newbie please

a fantastic thread & some great advice from tattieman but after reading most of it i still have a couple of queries specific to my plans. I've recently inherited my garden so after removing lawn i'm pretty much at the very beginning leaving me with some concerns for my potato crop.

1) i need to lower pH. Is it to late to add manure & when should i add fertiliser? Will soil conditioner help.

2) When can i plant 1st & 2nd earlies with regard to question 1 and do all other spuds get planted at the same time, thru to maincrop King Edward.

3) i've got tons of stones in some parts which will delay the readiness as i remove as many as possible i've thus bought some bags made of jute for the Swift which i will plant in March. Do i still need to put holes in the jute bags for drainage? I bought the jute thinking drainage wouldn't be a problem.

4) all my seed spuds arrived today including maincrop. I get the chitting of earlies but what do i do now with the others? There's much conflicting advice here. At present i have them in a cardboard box in the dark coolness of the brick built shed. Should i bring them out into the light? And will they also need chitting?

5) Can someone with some clarity tell me what i'm looking for with the chitting and readiness. I think i have it sussed & i read something that makes me think i've got it all wrong. In some pictures it's like a little nest of growth but then people talk about removing bits and i get confused

6) When my seed spuds arrived i'm not kidding i couldn't find a single eye. Is that good or bad & do i thus just place them in the egg boxes with the rose side up?

And before you go advising me to read past threads,etc i think that's what's causing my confusion as i was pretty much squared away with everything but questions 1 & 2 before i finished 2 days of reading.

As my first post proper i'd like to thank everyone for providing such a great forum for discussion & wish you all an excellent year of gardening delight.

[zazen999]

1 - what IS your current pH?
2 - no idea - whereabouts are you in the country?
3 - no - if water drains out of the jute you should be fine - however this also means it will need watering more often
4 - if you have space, then you can chit them but mains don't actually need it. if they start growing shoots then it's best that they are in the light rather than growing spindly long shoots.
5 - just leave them to chit and plant them when it is your time to plant them. We don't know when this is as we don't know where you are - for me it's mid march.
6 - just put them in egg boxes, you will soon see when the chits come.