Topic: another spud question

[aquilegia]

How far down from the soil surface should I find the spuds?

Obviously it depends on how much I've earthed them up, but would they be nearer the bottom where I put the seed potato or near the top or in the middle?

I hand dug about half way down one of my old compost bags with a spud growing in it to see if the spuds were ready for harvesting and found not a sausage (well, spud!) I gave up there as my hand was sore.

Does that mean no spuds have formed or I gave up too soon? I planted that potato 11 weeks ago. It's an early.

On a separate note, I did find two potatoes in another bag - one that had been got by slugs and blackleg. I emptied out the bag and found two of the tiniest potatoes I've ever seen. Both less than an inch long. They are so cute. Hardly worth it - but I'm going to cook them!

[derbex]

Can't help with the problem -but I found 2 baby volunteers in a courgette planting hole, which I cooked and ate -they were lovely (if not filling  :) )

Jeremy

[Mrs Ava]

Aqui, I seem to remember reading somewhere that the spuds aren't ready for 13 weeks.  Some of my earlies are tiny, but some others are big.  I dunno, what is going on!

[aquilegia]

Yes - 13 weeks. I remember that too. But I expected to find something, even a tiny something. Not the whole lot of nothingness that I did find.  ???

[Mrs Ava]

Well, a ramble coming up here so sit back, relax, grab a cuppa  ;D, my sister grows her spuds in one of those spud bin things - her hubby brought it for her last year as she only has a weeny garden and no time for an allotment.  She puts about a foot of compost in the bottom, plonks on her well chitted seed spuds, and away they go.  She feeds them and waters them when the compost is dry - she can lift a slidey gate at the bottom and see if the compost is dry down there, and she earths them up like her big sister told her to do.  Last year, around the start of July, she could wait no longer and she tipped the lot out.  She was able to fill a carrier bag with new spuds, but she noticed that there were no spuds from about half way up the bin, just long stalks.  So, we earth them up, but do they reach that growing point when they won't produce anymore spuds on the stems, I mean, can they go on producing spuds indefinately the more you earth them up....thinking along the lines of me using a step ladder to earth them up some more  :P.  This year, she put a couple of foot of compost in the bottom, and didn't bother to earth them all the way to the top.  Will have to wait and see if she gets as many spuds again.  So, all this nonsence is leading me to say, maybe your spuds are at the bottom of the bags, would it be awful to maybe slice a hole in the bottom of the bag and slide your hand in to have a feel?  You could always reclose the bag using pegs or tape or something.  There seems to be a lot of whichcraft and tall tales about growing spuds, tis a mystery to me, I am just chuffed if I lift a plant and have enough for 2 meals, and so far so good!  ;D  

Was your cuppa nice by the way?  ;D

[aquilegia]

That's exactly what I wanted to hear Emma!  ;D

So being as I stopped digging half way down, I was probably inches above the spuds. (fingerscrossed)

I shall give a go at cutting into the bag. I'm just far too impatient. I've never grown root crops before - at least with toms and courgettes you can see whether or not you've actually got something edible!

cuppa - was actually a cuppa water (too hot for tea) and half a cheese sandwich - yummy!

[Moggle]

Aqui, when I dug up my charlottes last weekend, most of the spuds were in the bottom of the pot, further down than I had expected.

Hope you end up with truckloads of spuds.

[aquilegia]

*Aqui restrains herself from going home and emptying out a bag right now!*

[Doris_Pinks]

Potatoes are funny things!! :o Some of mine have been close to the top, and others miles down! (well quite a way anyhow!) Dug up the last of my accent first earlies, and they are the size of bakers  >:( No lovely little spuds with mint and butter tonight for us then :'( :'(

[tim]

Youth is finite?? = Tim

[aquilegia]

I chickened out of cutting into the bag last night after my 'parsnip' disaster. Maybe this weekend I'll dare to have a look - I noticed two or the plants have flower buds on them so it must be almost time...

[john_miller]

Different varieties produce tubers at different depths below the soil. One variety commonly grown in this area, in particular, (Kennebec) is notorious for producing tubers near to the surface which, coupled with a tendency to go green if you shine a torch on it (well, almost), makes it a very difficult variety to grow. It is still grown because it has such great flavour and it gets huge- great bakers.
EJ- research has shown that potatoes will initiate many tubers (i.e. enzymatic activity can be detected in the rhizomes symptomatic of tuber formation, even if we would not recognise them as such) but will only succeed in maturing a few, with the excess 'tubers' be absorbed back into the plant almost immediately. It is probable that the plant will do this in reaction to it's potential to manufacture sufficent food to sustain it's ability to swell any initiated tubers. This will depend upon its leaf area and quantity of roots- potatoes produce seven distinct types of roots, depending from what part of the plant they emanate from and the quantity can vary considerably. Here endth another lesson.