2015 potato harvests

[BUFFS]

due to the lack of warmth this year up to now our tatties yet to be lifted (6-8 weeks behind) but I hope mine come out like some of yours, 5 tubs of salad blue and 2 of duke of York in half dustbins and 18ins high old recycle bins and so fingers crossed...

[Penellype]

First bag of Charlotte harvested as the leaves had all died back. 3 seed potatoes in home made compsot. 3lb (nearly 1.4kg) of small to medium sized potatoes, plus a lot of tiny ones that I won't eat. Some of them have quite bad scab.



This might not sound a lot but this bag was grown in almost total shade, underneath the foliage of the more vigorous Sarpo Mira. The Charlotte foliage is the yellow in this photo:



I think this is a good result, considering their position.

[Nannysally99]

2nd half of a box of Charlottes, 5 1/2 lb today, making a total of 9 1/4 lb from 4 tubers.
Well pleased

[maverick451]

Thats very good Penellype, particularly when being shaded out.

I harvested the last of my swifts today, 87 days, 2 seed potatoes and got 1.8kgs or 4lb, they are a bit big, I think swift are best at 70-80 days

Leaves dieing back



Harvest (with swift you seem to get fewer but bigger potatoes)


1.8kgs

[Snow]

2nd half of a box of Charlottes, 5 1/2 lb today, making a total of 9 1/4 lb from 4 tubers.
Well pleased

That sounds like a fantastic harvest! What tips have you got?
I harvested two Arran Pilot plants yesterday and got 1.580kg from them. So still less than I had hoped for. These are my father's favourite. Good size. No slug damage. They seem to have tougher skins than the other varieties thus far, and look a little gnarly, though I think that's just the type of spud they are. Will taste test them tonight.

[Snow]

Dug up some more Arran Pilots. 1kg, 16g. My largest crop from a single plant so far (though way off what @Nannysally99 has achieved!). Look much the same as the last lot, a little more scaby perhaps.

They gave off quite a bitter smell when I scraped them for eating, and they had some bitterness in the taste too - strange, a sort of bitter and sweet taste together. I'd say the worst taste of all I have grown before. No plans to grow them again.

I also dug up one of my three Duke of York plants. Lovely colour. Three on the right were very scaby. I think the scab is due to them being planted where I had a jap maple last year, and the roots are still rotting away there, I think that is probably why. Anyway, most haven't got much scab. 728g.


And a bit of a funny one which reminded me a bit of the Joker in The Dark Knight movie.

[Snow]

Last harvest from the ground. A couple of massive Arron Pilots (one almost half a kilo on his own) from the plant that was first to flower out of any I sowed this year. And the last of the Duke of York. Just ate the duke of york for my tea, roast, lovely. Couldn't eat one shaped like a bird though, my daughter - 4 year's old - wanted it to play with and be her friend. What kind of Father would I be if I said no? Maybe I'll enter it in the show, I seem to recall there was an amusing category.


All the rest to come will be from containers now.

[Jungle Jane]

Arran pilots have been my favourite first early this year,but I grow in compost & sand in potato bags,had no bitterness & its a lovely soft potato when boiled with butter,I feed with tomato feed too. People have different experiences of the same variety,it's difficult to know what are good varieties,must depend on soil type?

[Penellype]

Harvested a 30 litre pot of Charlotte from my friend's garden today (a lot sunnier than mine). Very pleased with 2.6kg (nearly 5.75 lb) of potatoes from 3 tubers.

[Nannysally99]

Harvested half a tub - 2 tubers of Pentland Javelin. Nothing very big at all, weighing in at 3 1/2 lb

[Snow]

Harvested a 30 litre pot of Charlotte from my friend's garden today (a lot sunnier than mine). Very pleased with 2.6kg (nearly 5.75 lb) of potatoes from 3 tubers.

I think I'd be well happy with that Penellype; over two and a half kilos from a 30L tub. Great result.

[sparrow100]

Just taken up the first 2 short rows of Charlottes. The haulms were massive, but the haul was average and I nematoded a bit late which means that lots were holey. I didn't give them any extra feed and I think I will next year. I also turned out a 40L spud bag and while one side was nice and damp, the other was dry as a bone and full of red ants. So obv my watering was under par too...:S

Thankfully I always put in too many spuds, so we'll still have enough to last us till Christmas! (Blight permitting as the rest of the Charlottes are still in the ground, plus the few Desirees)

[Penellype]

I find that bags are very hard to water evenly as the sides tend to flop over. I've grown most of my spuds in 30 litre buckets instead of bags this year and I am completely converted. Easier to carry about (they have a handle each side), easier to water and bigger crops.

[Penellype]

Final bucket of Rocket harvested at home today, more because I needed the bucket than needing the potatoes! There was still some green foliage on the plants.

3 seed potatoes in a 30 litre bucket moved around the garden to any available spaces, but probably spending a fair amount of time in the sun. Yield 4.5lb (2.05kg) not including the potato that is not on the tray in the photo, as that had gone brown and was thrown away.



Very pleased.

I should probably add that the growing mixture was fresh hotbin compost with a bit of vermiculite added, but basically completely home made, chicken bones, eggshells, chunks of wood and all.

[Potstubsdustbins]

I harvested my first dustbin of LadyC today as expected the yield was average 4 seeds made just 3.5Kgs. This is one of two bins that get reduced sunlight due to position.