Topic: Why don't I have any potatoes??

[antipodes]

On the weekend I dug up a couple of the potato plants to get a few new potatoes. As far as I can remember they are Sirtema variety. They were planted on March 19. But I discovered that there were only about 2 or 3 spuds to each plant!! They were about 3 ou 4 inches wide each.
I was very disappointed and I am wondering if they will all be like that? I will leave the others for a while to see if more tubers develop. but does this sound right? The last time I grew spuds in a friend's garden there were at least 10 spuds per plant!!
I haven't looked at the Roseval reds yet, hope they are not in the same way ???

Apart from that though I got some lovely lettuces over the weekend, some rocket and some nice peas. My onions are looking great (well above ground at least), the stems seem very thick and healthy.

[robkb]

Hi Antipodes,

Not too sure about this, but did you have the hot, dry April we had here? My Pentland Javelin first earlies (planted in March) are only just starting to bulk up a bit now, the ones I've lifted so far have had maybe 6 to 10 spuds per plant but they're tiny! I'm leaving them for a bit longer, in the hope that the incessant rain will make them bigger...

Cheers,
Rob ;)

[coznbob]

Dug some of my earlies up last week, even though some of them were huge for earlies, only got a few spuds per plant, which were very deep down.

In my case I thought it might be due to putting them in semi uncultivated ground, it hadn't been manured the previous winter and had quite a large amount of clay in.

Saying that as I planted them to break up some of the clay, anything we got was a tasty bonus!

[cornykev]

I got about six or seven per plant and some like Coz were big ones like  a jacket spud size.  :P ;D ;D ;D

[pigeonseed]

I've also been disappointed this year, I've dug up two plants and had 4 potatoes from one and no potatoes from the other!!! I'm leaving the others in to see if they can mend their ways.

It was hot and dry in April but then summers are often much dryer than this one in London, so I don't know why.

I must have lazy potatoes.

[cambourne7]

I am going to try pulling some spuds at the weekend and see what there up to.

[watkin girl]

potatoes need alot of water, i had a feel around for my spuds begining of month and they were tiny, i immediatly watered them really well every night and now they are quite big and  i have quite a good harvest. water is the key.

[tim]

Don't know what the weather's been like over there, but we've had all the rain we need for a while and, despite that, yield is low on our earlies.

Nothing to do with water - just very few tubers forming. Like 3-5 on a plant. Normally about 10. But still lovely!

[shirlton]

The one plot we have is sandy soil and the spuds are doing great the other is quite heavy and they are useless, needless to say we won't be growing potatoes on there next year. The broad beans did remarkably well so thats where they will be going.

[nitiram]

Was going to post a message to see if any one could tell me why i have no spuds but it looks as if I'm not the only one with problems. Can't be lack of water surely!!!!!   I planted mine at the bototm odf a trench then back filled as they sprouted up.. Always used this method but first time nothing has appeared. What do i do now? leave them alone and hope somthing appears? Or dig the lot up? Have three healthy plants with flowers on out of five rows planted of seed spuds

[manicscousers]

I'm beginning to wonder about the seed potatoes, what variety was everyone growing ?

[saddad]

Some varieties are late mains Antipodes... which will not even start producing tubers until the day length starts to shorten... Pink Fir Apple is the one most people would know.. don't recognise your named variety...
 :-\

[tim]

I rescind - went a bit further into the row & things look brighter! That's 2 plants. Colleen. (First ones dug 24/5.)

But there are still many wee ones which will never see a plate.

[antipodes]

yes it is quite intriguing all this - we did have a lot of hot dry weather in April then in May it rained a lot, and now it alternates between rain and sun. The ground on my plot is a sandy loam, it seems to hold water reasonably well without getting heavy.
I also planted some "surprise" potatoes that I dug out of the ground during the winter, they were left by the previous tenant!! OK now I know that you are not meant to do that, but those curiously enough have grown pretty well!! And the ones I flipping well paid for are useless!!

[jonny211]

I also had very few spuds from tow rows of Swift (about 12m square of plot), I know I'm not alone in my dissapointment now  :(

[Suzanne]

I am going to have a look at my "Duke of York" first earlies which have had flowers on them at the weekend. I do hope that I get some potatoes, I have family over for Sunday lunch and I was counting on it.
 :)

[barkingdog]

Mine too are like this very few spuds but those that are there are huge!

barkingdog

[antipodes]

I can see that next year I will have to look more carefully at these notions of early, late, etc which I admit I didn't really take much notice of this year. That is what you mean by live and learn!! Fortunately I am considering this first year as more of a learning experience and will just take what I get but I feel confident that next year I will do many things differently! Like plant more soft fruit, overwinter onion and garlic and get myself a few tunnels to grow things in the nippy season, instead of just waiting for the sun!!

[shirlton]

Our Pentland Javelin are doing really well but the Arran Pilot are not so good. Just a few biggish taters on eack plant.

[nitiram]

Dug up where I had planted the spuds yesterday, all I hit was water and pockets of slime that were once potatoes. My lottie had been badly flooded Tuesday night and seedlings all washed a way, the rest drowned...so am not happy. Is there anything i can plant so late?