Chitting v yield

[Nicos]

If you don't chit them what do you do to stop them sending out little shoots anyway?

cool and light means the chits will be smaller and green ( and that's OK!)

..or better still buy them later in the season when you are about to plant them!!

I put mine on egg trays because mine tend to chit and get caught up in the netting bag which is a right pain

[Mikey]

I've not grown potatoes before and will be planting a few rows of International Kidney this year so will try the Jersey way and report back on what happens.

For those that weren't aware the International Kidney is the tuber used for Jersey Royal Spuds, I quite like them though my soil ins't sandy enough for them so they never really look like a Jersey Royal, I prefer to rename them 'Common Welsh', a bit like me!!

[NorthEastPhil]

I'm not sure what the weather is like with you just now but it's about the get a lot colder. Is there a best time for this process?

When would you be looking to plant these out?



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[Kristen]

When would you be looking to plant these out?

I plant some in bags/containers which will be indoors until they are above ground, and then in the conservatory ... and then in the greenhouse once we get to end of March (and greenhouse won't freeze).

The crop from those takes me up until the outdoor ones are ready.

I used to plant early outside, but I then had to spend evenings trying to cover the ones that had shot up to keep the frost off them ... and I decided that delaying planting a couple of weeks only delayed harvest by a week or so, but saved me several nights fiddling with a torch and some fleece!

[NorthEastPhil]

Kirsten
Many hanks for the reply. Can I just get this correct in my simple and newbie mind.

You have your containers inside, planted around now, or when the tubers have sprouted, these remain indoors/...../greenhouse until March and then do you just place the containers outside to allow them to continue to grow on. Meanwhile in March you start and plant a new lot of potatoes for later in the year?


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[Noosner]

V interesting discussion, Potato Grapes - thanks for all info, which is food for thought. Can I ask what's the best food for potato plants? I've never fed mine beyond initial manuring and also never seem to get that plumptious a crop.

[Kristen]

Kirsten
You have your containers inside, planted around now, or when the tubers have sprouted, these remain indoors/...../greenhouse until March and then do you just place the containers outside to allow them to continue to grow on

Not quite: they can't go outside in March as it is too cold. (Frost will kill the tops of the Potato plants which will set them right back, or kill them )

Until the shoots are above the compost level they don't need light, so I put the planted containers/bags in my utility room to start with. Its a warm-ish, but not "hot", and that gets them started.

Once the shoots are above the compost surface I move them to the conservatory. Its not heated, but it is frost free (that is critical). My greenhouse is also unheated but without the benefit of a shared wall with the house it definitely goes below 0C.

Once we get to end of March then the greenhouse won't go below 0C (well ... it never has so far! if we get an ice-age then I'll have to rethink ), so I move the containers into the greenhouse at that time as they are a bit unsightly in the conservatory, and as it warms up in the Spring I have lots of other seedlings that need that warmth of the conservatory.

I only put the containers outside if we get a really warm spell before have been harvested. By then the foliage is huge, and its brittle / soft and tends to get damaged when moved, so best not to move them if possible. However, mature Spud plants transpire a lot of water, so having them under cover where they get too hot means they are likely to wilt, so that might be a reason to move them out of a greenhouse (particularly a small one which will heat up faster). They will have to come back in if frost is forecast though - which is likely March / April, and some years we get one or two in May.

Meanwhile in March you start and plant a new lot of potatoes for later in the year?

Yup, they are planted outside direct in the soil.

Last year I planted in bags (indoors) 1st week of February, and outside 1st week of April.

[NorthEastPhil]

Thanks for all of that, the picture is clearer now.

I live in a wee cottage so finding space am be an issue but I'll have a think about that, we have a back bedroom that not doing a lot, north facing however.




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