Author Topic: Potatoes and the hot weather/dry soil/lack of water affecting the harvest (Read 10103 times)

Tee Gee · « **Reply #20 on:** July 10, 2010, 14:06:03 »

I grow about five miles from you and I never water potatoes as I believe with good preparation they don't need it!

However like you I was a bit concerned about the exceptional dryness this year and didn't expect much off my early potatoes.

This concern seems to be unfounded I am pleased to say!

I dug up my first root of 'earlies' (Rocket) this morning and this is what I got;

Flighty · « **Reply #21 on:** July 10, 2010, 14:06:52 »

He actually says that he dug up one plant and only got 90kgs!

Last year he said that he hoped to get 150lbs from one plant!
http://www.allotments4all.co.uk/smf/index.php/topic,50138.msg508018.html#msg508018

caroline7758 · « **Reply #22 on:** July 10, 2010, 14:09:38 »

Didn't even look at my potatoes today. Decided to wait and see if the rain comes. Light shower was forecast for midday, but nothing as usual. >:(

Actually nothing was actually wilting and I picked quite a few courgettes. When I dug down about 6" to plant some beans it was at least slightly damp.

Lugging watering cans about is so exhausting.

happygardner · « **Reply #23 on:** July 10, 2010, 14:49:56 »

if so what variety are they??????? and which garden centre??????????? TEE HEE

compo49 · « **Reply #24 on:** July 10, 2010, 17:56:09 »

Hello to my fellow Yorkshire Lotti people.

Just checked the BBC weather set to my area for mirfield and as calendula says it looks hopeful from Monday onwards for some rain. But saying that i looked last week i think it was Thursday and the forecast said heavy rain for this Tuesday coming but it keeps changing from day to day on the BBC weather site.
So i am keeping my fingers crossed that from next Monday the rain actually appears" Please " for here in West Yorkshire.
Hello to every one else in the country hope you all get rain as well and best of luck with your potatoes!
Bye the way i know we need the rain for the rest of our crops as they need it too!

caroline7758 · « **Reply #25 on:** July 10, 2010, 21:19:19 »

And some over the border into North Yorks, please! BBC today promised light rain showers and possibly heavy ones and we haven't had a drop. No doubt it'll come when I'm walking over at the coast on Monday. ::)

macmac · « **Reply #26 on:** July 10, 2010, 23:03:16 »

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hello to my fellow Yorkshire Lotti peop
OOH wish I could say that -born in Yorkshire -live in Somerset

plainleaf · « **Reply #27 on:** July 10, 2010, 23:05:46 »

mpdjulie if do right you can get over 1000lb /453.59kg. Alas i have not gotten that good yet.

calendula · « **Reply #28 on:** July 11, 2010, 10:19:45 »

Quote from: caroline7758 on July 10, 2010, 21:19:19

And some over the border into North Yorks, please! BBC today promised light rain showers and possibly heavy ones and we haven't had a drop. No doubt it'll come when I'm walking over at the coast on Monday. ::)

the rain promised now looks unlikely in the amounts it was going to be, probably due to the sw winds blowing it further north - my other 3/4 has offered to water ours and that will probably be x2 cans and 10 trips from pipe to plot ;D - the idiocy of a hosepipe ban is that I would probably use same amount of water but it takes 10 times as long - good luck

kippers garden · « **Reply #29 on:** July 11, 2010, 20:46:38 »

Dug some of my 1st early and 2nd early potatoes and there was no more than 3 or 4 spuds per plant. It has been really dry for weeks here in Leicester so i'm sure that is the reason for the poor yield. I'm praying my main crop will be better.

queenbee · « **Reply #30 on:** July 11, 2010, 21:42:46 »

Read a post on A4A recently that said 100 days must elapse before first earlies can be harvested, curiosity got the better of me and I dug one up (80days since planting) I only got 4 potatoes, lots of broad bean sized so I will leave them for another three weeks, a bit late planting mine due to the cold weather. My OH let me have them to myself, they were charlotte and tasted just like new potatoes should do. Lashings of butter. Am really looking forward to digging up more. Despite drought the soil was quite moist as I put loads of home made compost in the trenches when I planted.

compo49 · « **Reply #31 on:** July 12, 2010, 07:40:25 »

Hello every one.
Just to update the lack of water here in West Yorkshire .
We had some overnight but it was not much but saying that its grey cloud this morning and a lot cooler so the ground will not dry out as quick as it has been doing with the hot weather lately.
As said before the forecast over the week still looks promising for some more rain and hopefully then more spuds to harvest!

antipodes · « **Reply #32 on:** July 12, 2010, 11:12:02 »

The earlies were good but the seconds.... well several spuds but all tiny. And now the foliage is completely dead... SO not sure what to do with them really, it's dry as a bone here. And yet they were mulched, etc...

lottiedolly · « **Reply #33 on:** July 12, 2010, 11:49:44 »

We have just dug up our charlottes and got an appalling crop. they were hit badly in the last couple of frosts and at one point lost all of their foilage, so to be honest, i did think we would get nothing at all :'(

Digeroo · « **Reply #34 on:** July 12, 2010, 12:11:18 »

I dug up a desiree by mistake in a row of lady cristl. Finally got my first good sized potatoes and they tasted superb. Very disappointed with taste of everything else. I shall only grow desiree in future. If they produce more than the earlies when dug up at the same time there is not much point in growing anything else.

Flighty · « **Reply #35 on:** July 12, 2010, 13:15:35 »

Digeroo Desiree are the only maincrop ones I'm growing this year so fingers crossed that mine are as good as yours! :)

manicscousers · « **Reply #36 on:** July 12, 2010, 16:27:58 »

we've dug up some of the kestrel and desiree where the tops have died off, brilliant, baking potato sized on some, hen's egg size on others but, as the soil is bone dry, I'm surprised we got any :)

cornykev · « **Reply #37 on:** July 12, 2010, 19:19:36 »

I've dug nearly a line of Rocket up and I've only had about six or seven off each plant, the same as per TG's picture in size and number, the soil is dry and I was earthing up with council compost so I was expecting a bit more moisture underneath, the size are fine for new potatoes and taste great steamed and served with mint and a thingy of butter. ;D ;D ;D

compo49 · « **Reply #38 on:** July 12, 2010, 22:44:37 »

As its rained here most of the day but wasn't that heavy i reckon overall about 1/4 inch or so.
It will not have penetrated much down to the potatoes but some rain is better than none!Will have to see if it rains overnight again and some more tomorrow hopefully a bit heavier .
Haven't had chance to get to lotti to day and tomorrows not possible i want to see if there is any improvement with the ground and the potatoes.
Some of my main crop (not sure if it was Romano or Sarpo Axona) and one of my earlies International Kidney foliage's had fell over/wilting last week due to the heat etc hope they have picked up with this bit of rain so far!
How are yours doing were you are?

calendula · « **Reply #39 on:** July 13, 2010, 09:01:22 »

cannot imagine anyone in this region missing the rain that's coming Tuesday, late on and Wednesday - seems we have almost a week of it - soon we'll be moaning about the cold and wet weather ;D but the ground must be loving it

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Author Topic: Potatoes and the hot weather/dry soil/lack of water affecting the harvest (Read 10103 times)