Chitting and planting potatoes

[knittywittywoo]

Newbie potato planting question.

Last year I grew some potatoes just by planting normal potatoes.
This year we have been and bought seed potatoes which are chitting on the table.
I know we can't plant them in the same place as last year but I also grew some in buckets. Are the buckets ok to use again if I put in different soil?
This is all confusing to a newbie but so much fun. It kept my 6 year old son entertained all last summer.

Also when is the best time to plant them. Some of them have quite long stalks already but it is still quite cool here ( west yorkshire ), especially at night.

[Capsid]

It's all about reducing the chance of disease spores being carried over. So fresh soil or a different bed and certified disease free seed potatoes would give you a high chance of not getting infected potatoes. It's still not guaranteed though.

You can probably plant them now but waiting until Easter is normal. The aim is to avoid frost damage so plant them if you can protect them (use newspaper) when a frost forecast. If you're not in a hurry then I'd wait.

[Norburger]

It will also depend on the variety you have purchased as to the guide of when to plant them... I would wash the buckets out first then use fresh compost....

as you will this method is great for lovely clean potatos.

[Cosmo and Dibs]

I've just opened the Maris Piper seeds spuds, and they already have stems of about 2 inches long. Does this mean that I don't need to chit them?

I have 10 seed spuds. How many actual potatoes will this create?

[maytreefrannie]

Due to oversight, I don't at the moment have any proper seed potatoes - GCs sold out, and the few I had already got thrown out by mistake.

So I've already planted a couple of supermarket-bought Roosters in a bucket and am now chitting just a few Maris Pipers (my all time favourite potato). I'll see how they do in a container. If I can, I'll get some more proper seed potatoes and grow them in the ground.

The thing is, when I had a compost heap (in the open, not in a dalek), every year we had some lovely 'volunteers' that grew from peelings thrown out to compost. I never kept track of how many or what varieties they might have been, but we picked them and ate them, that was some years ago.

aren't potatoes wonderful??

I second that!!!

[Pickle]

Potato questions

Don't ask me how but while I was out in my garden sorting things out ready to plant my new seed potatoes I discovered that I had an entire planter that hadn't been harvested The potatoes are a lovely size and look in great condition but they are (as you would expect) sprouting furiously. My questions are, are these still OK to eat and also would it be OK to put a couple of the sprouted ones back in to get another crop from this year.

[Two_Sheds]

Don't ask me how but while I was out in my garden sorting things out ready to plant my new seed potatoes I discovered that I had an entire planter that hadn't been harvested The potatoes are a lovely size and look in great condition but they are (as you would expect) sprouting furiously. My questions are, are these still OK to eat and also would it be OK to put a couple of the sprouted ones back in to get another crop from this year.

They'll be rubbery, watery and horrible to eat.
I speak from experience.

Plant them out if you like though.

[Cosmo and Dibs]

Yet more spud questions!

I'm worried about the frosts, and have been told that I should cover the plants up when they emerge with newspaper. But wouldn't this flatten them? Can I not just use upturned pop bottles instead?

And what is 'earthing'? And how do I do it?

[zazen999]

When the plants emerge, drag soil up around them [earthing up]. Do this as often as you can until last frost date for your area [prob mid may] and then, once or twice again until the mound is about 18 inches above where you planted the potato.

[snakeshack]

earthing up is drawing the soil up to cover the haulms(green shoots) and will protect from frost .It also allows the potatos to form higher up the stem and prevents them from going green due to exposure to light.

[bazzaboy]

Ditto, Pickle. Although not exactly approved by the Potato Council I've chitted those I overlooked last year and will be replanting in several containers and hoping 2nd time lucky! b.

[Duk21]

Potatoes under black plastic

Hello there

I have heard a few people say you can grow potatoes under black plastic, then again my next door plot holder says the ground isnt getting the nutrients from the rain cos its shielded by the plastic. Is this method of growing spuds a good or a bad idea. I was thinking of trying a few just to see?

duk

[Two_Sheds]

What nutrients are in rain?

the main prob with black plastic is that it encourages slugs to hide (and breed) underneath it.

[Sanjo]

Duk21, not sure how much nutrient you get from rain. I would have thought most of the nutrient was from the compost/manure/soil you planted in. Rainwater is better for outdoor veg it's true but personally, I wouldn't worry too much about it. What about growing under weed control fabric instead. It works the same in that it keeps the light out, but it lets the rain in. I did some of mine last year under this (and cardboard) and it worked a treat. I did them "no-dig" so the spuds were laid virtually on the surface and away they went. I just peeled back the fabric when they were ready and it was just so easy. If in doubt - experiment. Good luck with it anyway. Sandra

[Marthaclematis]

I put five seed potatoes in a bucket today and covered them with about 3inches of compost. They are Hunter variety but the instructions didn't say when to harvest. I don't even know if they're first or second earlies. Can anyone help?