Potatoes All Year Round?

**Jamesy_uk** · 08-01-2013, 09:53 AM

I think you would need to give them a lot of care and attention in the way of heating and maybe lighting to get a decent yield to the point at least in our climate it's wholly uneconomical. I guess it depends how far you are willing to go to get fresh spuds!

**VirginVegGrower** · 08-01-2013, 10:42 AM

Frosts? You'd have to do an awful lot of wrapping up. I'd say no, unless you heat your outbuildings but that cost then makes your spuds expensive.

**veggiechicken** · 08-01-2013, 10:48 AM

I have spuds in bags in the GH now - unheated, unwrapped. Don't know whether there are any tubers yet though

**Two_Sheds** · 08-01-2013, 10:55 AM

Originally posted by veggiechicken View Post

... but could this work all through the year.

They need light, no frost etc.

I've had spuds in the gh all year round (because I've not been bothered to dig them up) but not really taken any notice of what grew, when.
Inspired by your idea, and from noticing that overwintered tubers (volunteers) on the lotty give me the earliest crops, I've just popped one in a 5" pot in the unheated, but frost free, gh.

http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...urs_62952.html

I'll do another in a fortnight.

**Tripmeup** · 08-01-2013, 12:24 PM

On a related but slightly different tangent, my in-laws still have Desiree and British Queen in the ground from last year!!
I have been digging them and using them as needed and they have been largely ok (some have small holes, from wireworm I think)

So from that particular sowing, we have been eating potoatoes from July (British Queen) onwards, with probbaly another 3 weeks worth still in the ground...

I know it wouldnt work every year but we have had a very mild winter so far.....

**Mikey** · 08-01-2013, 04:54 PM

I'd guess you'd need a fair amount of storage for 52 tubs of spuds VC.

One of the old boys on our allotments grows all his spuds in pots on the allotment, he has his own special mix which is free from pests, so that he produces perfect spuds every year.

For the bulk of the year I'd suggest you'd have to be supplementing their light needs, how many fluorescent lights do you have again?

**veggiechicken** · 08-01-2013, 05:01 PM

You wouldn't need 52 pots though as you'd be replanting each time you emptied a pot - so maybe 20 or so. Through the summer they'd be outside and in winter under cover.
I lost all my spuds to blight this year so I'm reluctant to give up a chunk of garden for nothing again!
I'm going to shove in a spud a week and see what happens

**Mikey** · 08-01-2013, 05:16 PM

Course you would, D'oh, you'd only really need a rotation to bring them to full term. Head not screwed on today. Even so, 20 odd pots of spuds is a fair area, 1/2 a garage in winter?

**veggiechicken** · 08-01-2013, 05:26 PM

They'd need light so the garage wouldn't be ideal - and I'm not leaving the lights on for them

But I have free space in the GH that could be taken up by pots of spuds overwinter. Tomorrow I'll start - I have some accidentally "chitted" spuds

**Mikey** · 08-01-2013, 05:33 PM

Could you not turn the garage into a large light box VC?

**veggiechicken** · 08-01-2013, 05:36 PM

It has fluorescent light tubes!! It'd be difficult getting the car in with all those pots of spuds though - like some sort of slalom parking

**Mikey** · 08-01-2013, 05:41 PM

When did you last park the car in the garage VC?

**veggiechicken** · 08-01-2013, 05:48 PM

Which garage, Mike?

**Farmer_Gyles** · 09-01-2013, 11:43 PM

my spuds for xmas are still in the sacks in the greenhouse, unheated .... there are good, strong stems and leaves, no flowers yet, don't know if there are any spuds there ....

i don't think it's worth doing a bucket every week .... better doing several buckets one week, empty them as required .... store what can be stored .... get a much better crop through summer ....

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